Eric Clapton turns 75 today (March 30th) He had a song that was a hit twice, 20 years apart. Once with Derek and the Dominos the othe as solo and unplugged. The song: “Layla” It was on the albums Layla (and Other Assorted Love Songs) in 1971 and Unplugged in 1992. The Derek and the Dominos version peaked at number-51 on the Billboard Hot 100; Clapton’s Unplugged version peaked at number-12 on the Hot 100 and number-nine on Billboard‘s Mainstream Rock chart.
Here’s Eric Clapton on why “Layla” and the other Derek and Dominos songs hold up so well when played unplugged.
“It’s simple music. Those songs were written out of a desire to play live, and they stand the test of time. They always feel good to play and it’s like a small band dynamic, you know, so it can be elaborated on, but you can also strip it down and the songs hold up.”
