Eric Clapton has at all times been his personal man in the case of his extremely particular person expertise. However he’s at all times been completely happy to shine a lightweight on different nice musicians. Simply as J.J. Cale benefited vastly from having E.C. cowl his songs and discuss him up within the media, Eric’s cowl of Bob Marley & the Wailers’ “I Shot The Sheriff” was an enormous think about taking the Jamaican star from his reggae viewers to the world.
The US charts for the week of September 14, 1974 could have proven Clapton’s 461 Ocean Boulevard album ceding the No. 1 berth to Stevie Marvel’s Fulfillingness’ First Finale. However on the corresponding Scorching 100 singles chart, Eric’s cowl of “I Shot The Sheriff” was America’s new favourite.
Paul Anka, the long-running hitmaker and songwriter who fairly incongruously sang backing vocals on a observe on Stevie’s Fulfillingness, had been at No.1 together with his ballad “(You’re) Having My Baby.” That track was nudged down a spot as Clapton moved as much as the summit. Andy Kim climbed 4-3 with “Rock Me Gently,” Donny and Marie Osmond 5-4 with “I’m Leaving It All Up To You” and Barry White was additionally up a spot at No. 5 with “Can’t Get Enough Of Your Love.” Every week later, White took a flip at No.1, as did Kim per week on from that.
Clapton’s “Sheriff” cowl stays the one US No.1 single of his lengthy profession. Marley’s authentic had solely been launched a couple of months earlier than Eric coated it, showing on the Wailers’ 1973 album Burnin’. The Slowhand interpretation, that includes Yvonne Elliman on backing vocals, was an enormous single on pop radio each in America and all over the world. It additionally received fairly a little bit of airplay on soul stations within the US, rising to No.33 on the Billboard R&B chart.
The track continued to reverberate in additional than 100 different covers, together with these by reggae notables comparable to Ken Boothe and Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, and British soul outfit Gentle Of The World. In 1997, rapper Warren G delivered his tackle the track on his second album Take A Look Over Your Shoulder, touchdown a giant nationwide and worldwide hit and gold certification.
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