What does BLACKIE stand for? 

Blackie

Blackie is the affectionate nickname given by Eric Clapton to his favorite Fender Stratocaster. Eric Clapton switched from using Gibson guitars and began to use Stratocasters in 1970, largely due to the influence of Jimi Hendrix and of Blind Faith bandmate Steve Winwood. His first, nicknamed "Brownie", due to its sunburst brown finish, was used on his albums Eric Clapton and Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. In the same year, Clapton found the Sho-Bud guitar shop in Nashville, Tennessee. He bought six 1950s Stratocasters for two or three hundred US dollars each. After giving one each to George Harrison, Pete Townshend and Steve Winwood, he took the best parts of the remaining three and assembled "Blackie", so named for its black finish. It was first played live January 13, 1973 at the Rainbow Concert. Clapton would play Blackie for many years on and off stage; finally, after a tour concert in Hartford in 1985, it was retired due to issues with the neck. In 1988 the Eric Clapton Stratocaster was released according to Clapton's specifications; he began playing his new signature model shortly after. One of the last known occasions when Blackie was seen by the public was for a 1990 television commercial for the Japanese automobile firm Honda when, at the specific request of the company, Clapton used Blackie to record a new guitar solo on "Bad Love" in New York and was filmed for the commercial doing so. Blackie was also brought out on stage for one number during the Royal Albert Hall shows in 1991.

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