Lay Down Sally - Eric Clapton (1977)
Another Friday another LCM Classic :) This time we travel back to 1977 and the wonderful track 'Lay Down Sally' from Mr 'Slowhand' himself Eric Clapton. "Lay Down Sally" was written by Eric Clapton, Marcella Detroit (as Marcy Levy) and George Terry. It appeared on his November 1977 aptly titled album 'Slowhand' and reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. https://youtu.be/9hQqP6RNnDE
"Lay Down Sally" is a country blues track performed in the style of J. J. Cale. Eric Clapton also attributed other members of his band – Carl Radle of Oklahoma, George Terry, Jamie Oldaker and others – as influencing the song. Eric explained, "It's as close as I can get, being English, but the band being a Tulsa band, they play like that naturally. You couldn't get them to do an English rock sound, no way. Their idea of a driving beat isn't being loud or anything. It's subtle."
The single was a crossover country music hit, reaching No. 26 in April 1978, Eric's best showing on that chart. "Lay Down Sally" was a significant part of the soundtrack of the 2013 film 'August: Osage County', in which the song was played as the intro music and twice more later on.