Forty-eight years ago today — March 13, 1965 — guitarist Eric Clapton quit The Yardbirds. It's one of the best things that ever happened — period. Clapton, a self-declared blues purist, thought the band — which included vocalist Keith Relf, guitarist Chris Dreja, bassist Paul Samwell-Smith and drummer Jim McCarty — was getting too commercial.

I recently performed at B.B. King Blues Club on 42nd Street in New York City. The band was well-rehearsed; the staff fed us well and poured red wine (and Red Bull) down our gullets, treating us like the swell blokes we are. Our friends were there, plus lots of strangers. The sound crew did a great job. We even had chord charts right there in front of us. Yet we all made careless mistakes here and there.

The 35th-annual Kennedy Center Honors aired last night, December 26, on CBS. And while honorees Led Zeppelin are garnering the most headlines out of the event, blues guitar great Buddy Guy also was honored.

Check out the recently posted trailer for Produced By George Martin, which is coming to DVD and Blu-ray September 11 via Eagle Rock Entertainment.