Layla

Welcome to this week’s Musical Tree! In honor of baseball season being underway I’m going to throw a curveball today and give a blow by blow account of one of rock’s all-time classic songs, Layla! But before we jump into it, first a little background information. 

In 1970 Eric Clapton formed a ‘supergroup’ called Derek and the Dominos, which consisted of himself, Bobby Whitlock on keyboards, Carl Radle on bass, and Jim Gordon on drums. Recording of an album commenced in Miami and early in the recording process Clapton went to see The Allman Brothers Band play at a Miami venue. Clapton was able to sit right in front of the stage and the story goes that Allman Brothers guitarist Duane Allman was in the middle of a solo, opened his eyes, looked down, saw Eric Clapton, and literally stopped playing. Clapton was already a huge fan of Duane Allman’s playing and after the concert asked Duane if he’d like to participate in the album. With a break in the Allman Brothers schedule coming up, Duane quickly agreed and this union resulted in one of rock’s greatest albums ever, ‘Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs’.

At the time Eric Clapton was in love with Pattie Boyd–the only problem being that she was married to his best friend, George Harrison. Clapton had recently read a book titled ‘The Story of Layla and Manjun’ by the 12^th century poet Nizami Ganjavi. This tale of unrequited love reminded him of his situation with Pattie, which resulted in Clapton writing the song Layla. (Boyd and Harrison would eventually divorce, and Clapton and Boyd would get married, with Harrison attending the wedding ceremony. You gotta love rock and roll!)

Clapton originally wrote Layla as a slow blues tune, clocking in at under four minutes. One day during the recording of the ‘Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs’ album, Clapton walked into the studio and heard Duane Allman playing a riff that would become the song’s signature melody. Suddenly Layla was no longer a slow blues tune but a full out rocker. Suddenly Layla was no longer a slow blues tune but a full out rocker. The song was recorded that way and, for all intents and purposes, the song was done.

Except it wasn’t. About a week later Clapton heard drummer Jim Gordon playing a chord pattern on the piano. Clapton loved it and said that they had to use it on the song. Clapton and Duane Allman added their parts, producer Tom Dowd spliced it to the first part of the song, and Layla was complete! Because of his contribution, Jim Gordon is listed as a co-writer on the song. However it appears that Gordon took that piano melody from his ex-girlfriend, Rita Coolidge, who had created it when they were dating. It is believed that Clapton was not aware that Gordon had lifted this from his ex-girlfriend. Eventually the piano riff appeared as the song ‘Time’ that Coolidge’s sister recorded with Booker T. Jones (from Booker T. and the M.G.’s and STAX fame). The song appears on the 1973 album ‘Chronicles’ by Booker T. and Priscilla Jones. Sadly Rita Coolidge was never given writing credit for the iconic piano melody that makes up the second part of Layla.

The song Layla was the 13^th track on the album. The recording personnel on the song were:

• Eric Clapton – lead vocals, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar
• Duane Allman – lead guitar, slide guitar
• Bobby Whitlock – organ, piano, background vocals
• Carl Radle – bass guitar
• Jim Gordon – drums, percussion, piano
• Tom Dowd – producer

Now that you have the background on the song, let’s get to it and take a spin through the classic rock song, Layla! Hop in the car, turn on the radio, cassette, CD, or your favorite streaming service and let’s go!

0:01 – And we begin with that iconic guitar riff!

0:08 – Now we get Duane Allman’s soaring slide guitar imitating Clapton’s guitar riff!

0:25 – Clapton sings the first verse: 

What’ll you do when you get lonely

And nobody’s waiting by your side?

You’ve been running and hiding much too long

You know it’s just your foolish pride

0:40 – And now the chorus, where Clapton’s voice is doubled and Eric and Duane continue to play off each other:

Layla, you’ve got me on my knees

Layla, I’m begging, darling please

Layla, darling won’t you ease my worried mind

0:58 – Now the second verse – Clapton spells it out for Pattie Boyd:

Tried to give you consolation

When your old man had let you down

Like a fool, I fell in love with you

You turned my whole world upside down

1:13 – Back to the chorus:

Layla, you’ve got me on my knees

Layla, I’m begging, darling please

Layla, darling won’t you ease my worried mind

1:30 – Now the final verse, Clapton starting to get desperate:

Make the best of the situation

Before I finally go insane

Please don’t say we’ll never find a way

And tell me all my love’s in vain

1:45 – The chorus:

Layla, you’ve got me on my knees

Layla, I’m begging, darling please

Layla, darling won’t you ease my worried mind

2:03 – And just for good measure, the chorus again:

Layla, you’ve got me on my knees

Layla, I’m begging, darling please

Layla, darling won’t you ease my worried mind

2:14 – The music just continues to soar, Eric and Duane taking it to new heights, stepping on the gas, we are flying down the road…

2:50 – Still soaring, how long can they continue playing like this? My heart is pounding…

3:11 – Suddenly, the music steps down a couple notches, and Jim Gordon’s piano kicks in. It’s as if we’ve left the highway and are starting to climb a winding road…

3:34 – Now the guitars kick in – Eric and Duane – and Duane is playing the most beautiful slide ever, soaring like an angel….

4:08 – Chord Shift! Drop it down – dum dum dum

4:22 – Now the music builds back up – dum dumdum dumdum dumdum dum

4:27 – And we are back to the melody, Duane’s soaring guitar, the road curving ahead, revealing just a breathtaking view…

4:52 – And just when this can’t possibly get any better, here comes Eric with some gorgeous acoustic guitar…

5:22 – Chord Shift! Drop it down – dum dum dum – only now the acoustic guitar is playing it along with the piano!…

5:36 – Now the music builds back up – dum dumdum dumdum dumdum dum

5:41 – And here we go again, over the hills! I don’t care if Jim Gordon stole this from his ex, this melody is just so beautiful!…

5:59 – Round the bend…

6:06 – Up the mountain…

6:25 – God please don’t ever let this stop. Seriously, wars and conflicts could be stopped just by playing the second part of this song…

6:46 – But like all good things, sadly it does, with Eric’s acoustic guitar wrapping things up…

6:58 – And fittingly, as we round the final bend and see our destination, we hear Duane’s slide imitating the sound of birds, welcoming us home, reminding us that it’s not the destination, but the journey that counts.

Well, if you’ve made it this far, then hit the link below and enjoy Layla by Derek and the Dominos. PLAY IT LOUD!!!!!

I hope you enjoyed this week’s Musical Tree. Feel free to leave suggestions for future articles in the comments. Don’t forget to subscribe to be notified via email when there is a new post. 

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