WHILE MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS 2025 (BEATLES /CLAPTON COVER)

[Ralph P.]

THANKS DIETER FOR GETTING ME INTO A WHITE ALBUM MOOD.

I STARTED THIS TRACK ABOUT 2 YEARS AGO BUT WAS NEVER HAPPY WITH THE SOLOS. GOT AROUND TO PLAYING NEW SOLOS, AND TOOK A RUN AT CLAPTON’S FIRST SOLO…ONE OF MY FAVORITE SOLOS, I ADDED MY OWN IMPROV SOLO ON THE OUTRO.

-KARAOKE BACKING TRACK
-MARTIN OOO-28EC
-GIBSON ES-339
-FENDER ULTRA STRAT

THANKS FOR LISTENING,

RALPH

Ralph P.

[David L]

You nailed it, Ralph. Captured the tone and phrasing perfectly. Impressive vibrato and bends. Improv toward the end is very congruent with the overall vibe. Kudos, sir. As a point of interest, my wife heard this and thought it was Clapton.

[Ralph P.]

Thank You David…I always appreciate your feedback. The backstory of The Beatles/Clapton collaboration is very interesting. Clapton asked George for a lift into London, and they ended up at Abbey Road Studios. George told EC he wanted him to play on this song. George’s main intention was to get John and Paul to behave and take his song seriously. Just having EC there put the others on their best behavior and they all played brilliantly together and really put in a the effort that George’s song deserved.

The White Album was so much of John and Paul playing like they were making a solo album and the others were just backup musicians. Clapton’s presence brought them back to playing live as a band and you can hear in the track just how good they all were as a band.

Blah, Blah, Blah,

Thanks for listening David, and Thank You Mrs. L.

Respect,
Ralph

Ralph P.

[Geoff]

This is a top quality performance from you as always Ralph. Your guitar parts are excellent but, oddly enough, the part that really stuck out to me was that accompaniment around the 20 second mark – just loved the way you came in with that chorus effect the way. Funny how certain things catch my ear.

On a related note, I was sitting in the car listening to some song I have never heard before and I just could not take my ear off the bass playing in the background. The song itself was nothing special but the bass playing was amazing. I feel that way with your playing sometimes. You really enhance the sound with your accompaniment – testament to your rhythm background I think.

[Ralph P.]

Thank You Geoff. I love that chorus sound too. Around ’67-’68 guitarists found a way to play through a Leslie Rotating Speaker. Before, Leslies were usually used on Hammond Organs and they have actual rotating speakers inside of a rather large cabinet. The cabinet looks like a piece of furniture, and weighs about 150Lbs.

The Beatles, Clapton, and Hendrix all used Leslies around that time. I used my little cheap pedal that has a Leslie Simulator to try to get a little of that effect.

That type of chorus sound is very pleasant to listen to and adds a really cool vibe.

I’m glad your ears liked that sound.

Ralph

Ralph P.

[Geoff]

They most assuredly did Ralph -:) I guess my generation is somewhat later than yours and I am really no expert on gear – I had never heard of Leslie’s until now.

[JoeD1]

Very nice Ralph…I thought your outro fit in perfectly.

Joe

The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
Or the strength of an Oak with roots deep in the ground.
--Graeme Edge

[Ralph P.]

Thank You Joe. I was trying to reflect what Clapton played and trying not to overplay it.

I hope your recovery is on track.

Ralph

Ralph P.

[Dieter]

Yes, you can hear and feel your enthusiasm for this music. I think it’s one of the most difficult Beatles songs to play. Excellently played, including the improvised passages, and a wonderful sound. Please, more of this.

Dieter

[Ralph P.]

Thank You Dieter. I know you have a great appreciation for The Beatles just as I do. This is one of their hardest guitar songs because of Clapton’s playing…EC is such a master at phrasing and feel…I’ve learned quite a few EC songs over the years, and nothing he plays is ever “easy”…he’s one-of-a-kind.

Thanks for listening Dieter, and thanks for your Beatle covers…love them.

Ralph

Ralph P.

[San Luis Rey]

Well Ralph, you should be happy now! Great guitar work all around on this track.

Mike

[Ralph P.]

Thank You Mike…Yea, I’m happy now. I don’t think I’ll have to re-do this one again.

Ralph

Ralph P.

[Byron]

Very nice Ralph! Love that song you did it justice!

Byron

[Ralph P.]

Thank You Byron, I’m glad you liked it.

Ralph

Ralph P.

[Mike D]

Sounded fantastic ..well done!

Live on planet Earth ? You got the blues.

[Ralph P.]

Thanks Mike.

Ralph P.

[Liam Innes]

Well if you weren’t happy with it before you definitely should be now.

The phrasing and tone on the solos were spot on and especially on the first main one.

Well done for sticking with it and getting the result.

Liam.

“We are the music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams. “

[Ralph P.]

Thank You Liam, every time I listened to it I ended up re-mixing. Time to just let it go. Couldn’t get the acoustic guitar to sit right in the mix.

Ralph

Ralph P.

[charjo]

Sounds great, Ralph. That is one tricky solo. I really liked your second solo as well.
I loved the tone on the electric doing the fills, sounded really authentic. How did you get that tone?
John

[Ralph P.]

Thanks John, I really liked the sound of the fills too. I used my Clapton Crossroads Pedal, (rated on YouTube as one of the worst pedals of all time), and the pedal is pretty cheesy sounding. There are 2 settings that really sound good, and the one is the “Badge” setting, which is a Leslie Cabinet simulator. Worth the price of the pedal just for that. I played my ES-339 through that pedal into a Blues Jr.

I’m happy with my playing on the solos. but not thrilled with the sounds. I was playing a practice run through my cheap Fender Mustang Micro Plus Headphone amp, I’d recorded new solos several times, but this take just had the vibe and feel. I know you know that you can play the same thing 10 times and it sounds OK, but then you get that one take that has the feel. Gotta go with “The Vibe”.

Thanks for listening John, and Stay Well,

Ralph

Ralph P.

[Garry]

Fantastic Ralph. It was a couple of years ago and it is again! Your playing complements and enhances the whole song. One of my all time favourites! They always said Pete Best was the fifth Beatle but I reckon it was Ralph! 👏🌟👏🌟👏🌟👏 All the best! 😎🎸😎

[Ralph P.]

Thank You Garry. One of my favorites too.

Ralph

Ralph P.

[James B]

Really great, Ralph. Old EC put his heart and soul into this one, as you have also.

James

[Ralph P.]

Thank You James. The Beatles and Clapton really contributed to make George’s song great. I especially love McCartney’s galloping piano intro.

Thanks for listening James,

Ralph

Ralph P.

[JoLa]

Incredible, Ralph! Amazing guitar work, love the “Leslie” tone, it sounds so authentic! If I hadn’t known it was you playing, I would have sworn it was Clapton himself, simply fantastic – and tastefully not overdone, just right!

🎸JoLa

[Ralph P.]

Thank You JoLa. Always been one of my favorite songs to play.

Ralph

Ralph P.

[Helen Lazaridou]

Both passion and talent at their best dear Ralph ❤️💕♥️This was an absolutely authentic , inspiring performance!I read the story behind the song that you wrote to David!Incredible!And it feels like you are also a member of the band!Bravo my friend ❤️ 💙 💖

[Ralph P.]

Thank You Helen. I never had a chance to play this with a real band. I’ve jammed on acoustic versions with people, but not the electric version. Great song and a great chord progression to jam over.

Blessing to you and your Family,

Ralph

Ralph P.

[John H]

Cleveland is the heart of rock and roll Bro🎸
You nailed this. I appreciate the licks in between lyrics as much as the solos.
You maintained the integrity of the song as well as kept it your own.
Great tone as well.

Your Neighbor John

[Ralph P.]

Thank You Neighbor…I’m glad you liked it.

Ralph

Ralph P.

[Tremelow]

Holy cow, Ralph, this is increadibly good! Absolutely impeccable guitar work and the overall mix sounds perfect to my ears.

[Ralph P.]

Thank You for listening and for your comments Tremelow.

Ralph

Ralph P.

[Guido]

Great rendition, Ralph! Your guitar sounds very much like the real Clapton’s thing, and I can only guess how much work you put on this! Loved also you own improvisation at the end.
By the way, this is my favourite Beatles’ song and I always thought that Harrison was very underrated. I love also the Anthology (acoustic and acoustic + Orchestra version, that have also an extra verse, probably the best lyrics of the song) and the legendary performance with Prince.

Guido

[Ralph P.]

Thanks for listening Guido. I also love the acoustic version with the extra verse, and of course Prince’s version. Another of my favorite versions is by The Jeff Healey Band. Check it out. Great guitar work.

Ralph

Ralph P.

[Lights]

This is really great, man!

[Ralph P.]

Thank You Meelis. I’m glad you’re posting again. I’ve always liked your playing style.

Ralph

Ralph P.

[Author]

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