This is the name of Eric Clapton's guitar. He built the guitar himself using the parts from several different Fender Stratocasters. Blackie's signature sound is typically associated with the wa-wa pedal that Clapton often used while playing. The lightning fast guitar solos are due to a combination of Clapton's raw talent, as well as Blackie's slender neck, which allowed for rapid finger movement. The guitar's unique tone can be heard on such Clapton classics as White Room, Layla, and Sunshine of Your Love.

Blackie is also a slur used in both the north and the south (of the USA) to describe black people-- most often men. Since it is like a name for a dog it is pejorative and pretty insulting.

There was a brand of shoe polish sold untill the 70s called "blackie" –this alone would not have been so bad if the tin did not depict a monkey-faced "negro" with pitch-black skin.