A lot of us grew up hearing so many great guitarist's. For me its eons ago now, and in case anyone hasn't noticed those greats are disappearing pretty quickly now.
Yes there are a lot of fantastic new artists, some we'll never even know at all.
I try and play guitar myself, but it still amazes me the dedication to music Clapton must have had. He just oozes the blues.
I only wish modern music listeners could get into it the same way we did. There's no dedication, its all hit or miss, and it has to be quick.
I wish him all the best.