God doesn't need to know what time it is.

Three points:

1 - Eric Clapton is a great blues guitarist. He was on top a very long time for good reason

2 - Eric Clapton is also aging gracelessly and saying dumbass stuff about vaccines in particular. If you go back and look for it, he always said dumbass stuff, including racist and antisemetic stuff. Not entirely unprecedented for a mid-to-lower class Brit of his vintage, but still

3 - I have a longtime fascination with wristwatches. Collect American watches from the '30s-'80s for decades, still have ~175 or so. Later on got deep into larger/more expensive Swiss watches, though I'm not rich enough to totally plunge there. Timepieces are fascinating little machines that combine aesthetics and detailed engineering. I've pretty much stopped with watches, but every now and then that beast wants to get out again. I'm particularly drawn to the largest & most expensive vintage Panerai watches.

@stuartk +1 on James Burton.

Glen Campbell’s massive overall talent often overshadows the fact that , if he wants to, he can play as well as anybody.

Jerry Reed holds his own on a YouTube vid with Chet Atkins, which is a remarkable feat.

I abhor modern “country” music, but the average session player on these tracks could play circles around just about anybody.  Brad Paisley is a recording artist in this milieu who is an unbelievably great guitar player.

@desktopguy 

"1 - Eric Clapton is a great blues guitarist. He was on top a very long time for good reason

2 - Eric Clapton is also aging gracelessly and saying dumbass stuff about vaccines in particular. If you go back and look for it, he always said dumbass stuff, including racist and anti-Semitic stuff. Not entirely unprecedented for a mid-to-lower class Brit of his vintage, but still"

All true. Each listener must make up their own mind regarding how to regard these contradictions. Just because someone can wield a brush, pen, marble chisel or guitar pick doesn't mean they are also of the highest moral caliber. And let's recognize that as fans, we are complicit in placing our favorite artists on pedestals, whether or not they belong there. (Same applies to sports).

Perhaps one useful perspective is one expressed by Dylan, N. Young and Keith Richard-- that the artist is not so much a creator as a conduit. 

@tylermunns 

G. Campbell, Jerry Reed, Roy Clark, B. Paisley are indeed all fine pickers.

The ones actually doing the playing on "New Country" records are of course session greats like Brent Mason-- not the so-called artists. 

@stuartk Indeed, which is why I said, “the average session player on these tracks could play circles around just about anybody,” and then qualified Brad Paisley as a “recording artist,” as he is as good as the session players.