Top 10 Eric Clapton Songs Of All Time

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Okay, with this one, we’re going to make it really simple. Everything goes. In the past, we’ve written Eric Clapton Top 10 lists based on his solo career or with Cream or Derek and the Dominos or anybody else, separating them all. Not this time. This time, we’re going to pick our Top 10 favorite Eric Clapton songs, the songs that we think have made the most impact in classic rock history, the songs that we love the most. Simply, just the ten best pieces of music that Eric Clapton was a part of, either as a songwriter or as an interpreter, as a musician. It’s all about Clapton’s playing on this one, as well as the songs, the licks, the vocals, the solos, the feeling, and anything else that makes these songs so special and legendary. So, say what you want, complain, argue, we don’t care. This is what we think are the ten best Eric Clapton songs of all time.

# 10 – Presence Of The Lord

We open up our all time Eric Clapton songs list with an iconic track from a band that released only one studio album that would become one of the most loved records in classic rock history. “Presence of the Lord” was released on Blind Faith, the self-titled 1969 album recorded by Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech. Written by Clapton, “Presence of the Lord” marks one of his earliest ventures into personal and introspective songwriting. Perhaps not as deep and personal as he would get later on, sadly, with songs like “Tears in Heaven” but there is some heavy weight behind this one. We had to include at least one song from The Blind Faith album, and we thought this was the one to go with since Clapton wrote it.

# 9 – Tears In Heaven

It doesn’t get any more personal than this; it’s a sad, unfortunate tale that fueled the composition of this song. It’s a song that is hard for many people to listen to, of course, especially for those who have gone through something like the loss of a child. Does a song like this help heal the pain, or does it make it worse? One thing is sure: it had a profound impact on pop culture.

The song first appeared on the Rush film soundtrack and was recorded in 1991. “Tears in Heaven” became Clapton’s best-selling single in the United States, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

# 8 – Forever Man

With legendary producer Ted Templeman as well as Lenny Waronker on board, Eric Clapton released one of his most powerful solo albums Beyond the Sun. The album was released in 1984. On “Forever Man,” the recording featured a powerhouse lineup of musicians. Eric Clapton performed lead vocals, backing vocals, and guitar, joined by Steve Lukather on rhythm guitar and Nathan East on bass guitar. Michael Omartian contributed keyboards, while Jeff Porcaro handled the drums. Now that’s what you call a kicking rock band. I never get tired of listening to his solo on this track. It’s almost too perfect, which some would argue is one of Clapton’s faults. Not me, though.

# 7 – Wonderful Tonight

“Wonderful Tonight” is the second of three straight Eric Clapton songs from his solo years on this list For all of us, Clapton has achieved great success with hard rock and blues-related releases, and yet he has also had great success with ballads. As a working musician, I’ve lost count of how many times people have asked me to play this song at events. Everyone loves this one, everyone can relate to this one, well, maybe not everyone, those who are happy at least, for a while…..

# 6 – Cocaine

If there ever was a song from Eric Clapton’s solo career that sounded like it could have been recorded with Cream, it was this one. Cocaine showcases one of Clapton’s most iconic guitar riffs, the same style of riffs that he developed as a member of his powerhouse trio, Cream. Every young person learning how to play guitar in the 70s learned how to play this song. It’s just such an iconic riff. And of course, the topic of this song became really, really popular throughout the 1980s. Or at least I should say the excess of the 1980s……..

# 5 – Bell Bottom Blues

“Bell Bottom Blues” captures the raw ache at the heart of Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, Derek and the Dominos’ 1970 masterpiece recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami under producer Tom Dowd. Written by Eric Clapton and Bobby Whitlock, the song was cut early in the sessions, before Duane Allman joined the group. The song’s mix of quiet yearning and eruptive pain defined the emotional tone of the album and offered a window into Clapton’s inner turmoil. It was a window through which we all looked for many years.

# 4 – Badge

And of course, now we get to some of those iconic Cream classics. “Badge” was released by Cream on their final album, Goodbye, released in early 1969. It was recorded at IBC Studios in London and produced by Felix Pappalardi. The song is credited to Eric Clapton and George Harrison, though Harrison participated under the pseudonym “L’Angelo Misterioso.” On the record, Clapton handles vocals and lead guitar, while Jack Bruce plays bass and backing vocals, and Ginger Baker supplies the drums. Harrison adds rhythm guitar, and Pappalardi contributes piano and mellotron parts. Released as a single in March 1969 in the U.S. and April in the U.K., “Badge” reached No. 18 on the U.K. Singles Chart and No. 60 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

# 3 – White Room

These next two Cream songs are pretty much interchangeable as far as popularity goes, considering their iconic status as legendary classic rock songs. There aren’t many songs we’ve heard more than “White Room” and “Sunshine of Your Love.” Yes, of course, there’s “Stairway to Heaven” and “Free Bird,” but these two Cream tracks define so much of what classic rock is all about.

“White Room” was recorded across multiple sessions from July 1967 through April and June 1968 and produced by Felix Pappalardi. The track features Jack Bruce on lead vocals and bass, Eric Clapton on guitar and Ginger Baker on drums and timpani, with Pappalardi himself contributing viola. Jack Bruce composed the music while poet Pete Brown wrote the lyrics. When released on the Wheels of Fire album in 1968 (and as a single later that year in the U.S. and early 1969 in the U.K.), “White Room” reached No. 6 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

# 2 – Sunshine of Your Love

In the fall of 1967, he song “Sunshine of Your Love” would become one of the most recognizable in rock history, fueled by a riff that sounds like it was a gift from rock and roll heaven. Included on the Disraeli Gears album, the song also became Cream’s first major United States hit, reaching number five on the Billboard Hot 100. But of course, it will become so much more powerful than just a top 10 hit in the 60s. It doesn’t get much bigger than this one or does it? Hmmm……Let’s read on

# 1 – Layla

And at least in my book, and I guess the book of many other rock and roll fans, historians, critics, and planetary human beings, who love rock and roll music. “Layla” is probably the most defining song of Eric Clapton’s career. Recorded on September 9, 1970, at Criteria Studios in Miami under the production of Tom Dowd, the track brought together a lineup of musicians who understood emotion not as something to describe, but as something to play.

Eric Clapton delivered lead vocals and all the interwoven guitar parts, his sound crying with urgency and longing. The opening guitar riff, among the most electrifying ever recorded, was inspired by Clapton’s deep feelings for Pattie Boyd and by the Persian love story Layla and Majnun, a tale of impossible love and obsession that he had been given in book form by a friend. The riff’s fiery tension and its call-and-answer structure were born from the interplay between Clapton and Duane Allman, whose slide guitar weaves around Clapton’s leads like a second voice full of ache and fire.

Bobby Whitlock’s organ and harmony vocals add a spiritual depth, Carl Radle’s bass holds the ground with a steady pulse, and Jim Gordon’s drumming drives the track with the sense of a man racing his own heartbeat. Then comes the unforgettable shift in tone, the piano coda that dissolves the storm into reflection. Gordon played the piano part, a melody both tender and final, and Clapton layered his guitar gently over it as if whispering the last word in a long confession. Just how beautiful is that piano part? I’ve heard it thousands of times and it’s still gives me chills and fuels emotion.