Derek and the Dominos, 'Layla'

 

 

Writers: Eric Clapton, Jim Gordon
Producers: Tom Dowd, the Dominos
Released: Nov. '70, Atco
15 weeks; No. 10 

Embroiled in a love triangle with George and Patti Boyd Harrison, Clapton took the title for his greatest song from the Persian love story "Layla and Majnoun." Recorded by the short-lived ensemble Derek and the Dominos, "Layla" storms with aching vocals and crosscutting riffs from Clapton and contributing guitarist Duane Allman, then dissolves into a serene, piano-based coda. "It was the heaviest thing going on at the time," Clapton told Rolling Stone in 1974. "That's what I wanted to write about most of all."