Celebrity Rides EXCLUSIVE: Eric Clapton Drives a 1947 Chevy Woody
Musician Eric Clapton with his 1947 Chevrolet Fleetmaster Wagon
It turns out King James isn’t the only superstar driving around Northern Ohio in style: guitar legend Eric Clapton was recently spotted in Lakeside, Ohio, alongside his vintage Chevy Woody.
The man who once sang “I get off on ’57 Chevys” now appears to prefer Chevys made a decade earlier – specifically, this gorgeous 1947 Chevrolet Fleetmaster. And while a station wagon isn’t the kind of car one would typically associate with the rock and roll lifestyle, it’s easy to see how anyone could fall head-over-heels in love with this retro beauty.
Eric Clapton’s 1947 Chevrolet Fleetmaster in Lakeside, Ohio
The photos come to us courtesy of Brenda Knipp, who spotted the classic car in Lakeside, a quaint vacation resort in Chautauqua, located on the shores of Lake Erie, about twenty minutes from the city of Sandusky. And no, Knipp is not one of those invasive paparazzos who are all over Ohio (you know the type). She was actually just trying to get some photos of the beautiful Fleetmaster, and was a bit annoyed when its owner kept coming out to load stuff into the car, ruining her shots of the station wagon. Later, someone pointed out to her that the man who was interrupting her photo shoot was none other than three-time Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Eric Clapton.
Eric Clapton’s Chevy Woody in profile
The car itself was restored by Hot Rod builder Roy Brizio and previously seen back in 2010, when it was showcased at the Wally Parks NHRA Motorsports Museum in Pomona, California. As part of the “Axes and Axles” exhibit which showcased cars and guitars owned by rock and rollers, Clapton’s Chevy Woody was displayed alongside Jeff Beck’s ’32 Highboy Ford Roadster, blues legend Jimmie Vaughan’s ’61 Caddy, and ZZ Top frontman Billy Gibbons’ famous CadZZilla.
Check out the whole photo gallery below to see more shots of Slowhand’s 1947 Chevy Fleetmaster.
Patrick Grieve was born in Southwestern Ohio and has lived there all of his life, with the exception of a few years spent getting a Creative Writing degree in Southeastern Ohio. He loves to take road trips, sometimes to places as distant as Northeastern or even Northwestern Ohio. Patrick also enjoys old movies, shopping at thrift stores, going to ballgames, writing about those things, and watching Law & Order reruns. He just watches the original series, though, none of the spin-offs. And also only the ones they made before Jerry Orbach died. Season five was really the peak, in his opinion. See more articles by Patrick.