The line was popularised after being spray-painted on a wall in London during the mid-1960s, when Clapton was a member of the Yardbirds and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, creating the cult of the guitar hero.

[2] The earliest known use of the phrase appeared in the form of graffiti spray-painted by an unknown admirer on a wall in Islington, London.

[3] Soon after, the proclamation could be seen scrawled at numerous spots around London,[6] such as on club bathroom walls and construction sites.

[8][9] In 2016, Clapton speculated that the original graffiti was painted by Hamish Grimes, a promoter who worked for the Yardbirds' manager.

[10] Later, he said he had become embarrassed by it, saying in his The South Bank Show profile in 1987, "I never accepted that I was the greatest guitar player in the world.