Layla

This article is about the 1970 song. For the album on which it appears, see Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. For the 2022 song, see Layla (DJ Robin & Schürze song). For other uses, see Layla (disambiguation).

"Layla"
Side A of the 1972 UK single release
Single by Derek and the Dominos
from the album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs
B-side"I Am Yours"
ReleasedMarch 1971 (1971-03)
  • May 1972 (1972-05) (Re-release)
Recorded9 September 1970
StudioCriteria, Miami
GenreRock
Length
  • 7:04 (album version)
  • 2:43 (single version)
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Derek and the Dominos singles chronology
"Bell Bottom Blues"
(1970) 		"Layla"
(1971) 		"Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad"
(1973)
Audio
"Layla" by Derek and the Dominos on YouTube

"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally recorded with their band Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their only studio album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970). Its contrasting movements were composed separately by Clapton and Gordon. The piano part has also been controversially credited to Rita Coolidge, Gordon's girlfriend at the time.

The song was inspired by a love story that originated in 7th-century Persian and later formed the basis of The Story of Layla and Majnun by the 12th-century Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi,[1] a copy of which Ian Dallas had given to Clapton. The book moved Clapton profoundly, because it was the tale of a young man who fell hopelessly in love with a beautiful young girl, went crazy and so could not marry her.[2][3][4] The song was further inspired by Clapton's secret love for Pattie Boyd, the wife of his friend and fellow musician George Harrison. After Harrison and Boyd divorced, Clapton and Boyd eventually married.

"Layla"[5] has, since its release, experienced great critical and popular acclaim, and is often hailed as being among the greatest rock songs of all time. Two versions have achieved chart success, the first in 1972 and the second 20 years later as an acoustic Unplugged performance by Clapton. In 2004, "Layla" was ranked number 27 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and the acoustic version won the 1993 Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. In 1998, the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.[6]

  1. ^ Seyed-Gohrab, A. A. (15 July 2009). "Leyli o Majnun". Encyclopædia Iranica. Retrieved 27 November 2016.
  2. ^ McKeen 2000, p. 127.
  3. ^ Santoro 1995, p. 62.
  4. ^ Clapton 2007, p. 107.
  5. ^ Gambaccini 1987, p. [page needed].
  6. ^ "GRAMMY Hall Of Fame | Hall of Fame Artists". www.grammy.com. Retrieved 23 August 2024.