Lay Down Sally

"Lay Down Sally"
Single by Eric Clapton
from the album Slowhand
B-side "Cocaine"
Released November 1977
Recorded Olympic Studios in London
Genre Roots rock · country rock
Length 3:50
Label RSO
Writer(s) Eric Clapton · Marcy Levy · George Terry
Producer(s) Glyn Johns
Eric Clapton singles chronology
"Carnival"
(1977)		 "Lay Down Sally"
(1977)		 "Wonderful Tonight"
(1977)

"Lay Down Sally" is a song performed by Eric Clapton, and written by Clapton, Marcella Detroit (as Marcy Levy, the diminutive form of her birth name), and George Terry. It appeared on his November 1977 album Slowhand, and reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Background

"Lay Down Sally" is a country blues performed in the style of JJ Cale. Clapton also attributed other members of his band - Carl Radle of Oklahoma, George Terry, Jamie Oldaker and others - as influencing the song.[1] Clapton 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, Clapton'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.[2]

Personnel

  • Carl Radle – electric bass
  • Dick Sims – electric piano
  • Jamie Oldaker – drums
  • Glyn Johns – Producer

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (1977–78) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart[3] 57
Canadian Adult Contemporary[4] 1
Canadian CHUM Singles[5] 2
Canadian Country Singles[6] 49
Canadian Singles Chart[7] 3
French Singles Chart[8] 12
Hungarian Singles Chart[9] 2
Italian Singles Chart[10] 38
Japanese Singles Chart[11] 5
New Zealand Singles Chart[12] 16
Swedish Singles Chart[13] 8
UK Singles Chart[14] 39
US Billboard Adult Contemporary[15] 25
US Billboard Country Songs[16] 26
US Billboard Hot 100[17] 3
US Cashbox Singles[18] 3
US Record World Singles[19] 8

Year-end charts

Chart (1978) Rank
Canadian Singles Chart[20] 29
Japanese Singles Chart[11] 81
New Zealand Singles Chart[21] 47
US Billboard Hot 100[22] 15
US Cashbox Singles[23] 16

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[24] Gold 75,000^
Japan (RIAJ)[11] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[21] Gold 10,000*
Sweden (GLF)[13] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[25] Gold 500,000^
United States (RIAA)[26] Gold 1,000,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Covers

The Early Times Band (disbanded, 1979) often performed their version, titled, 'Lay Down Ole Sal Yule, I Wanna Mess Around With Yo Old Dusty Ass.'

Red Sovine, a country singer best known for his sentimental recitations and truck-driving songs, recorded a cover version that – save for the mid-song guitar bridge – closely resembled the Clapton original. Sovine's version reached No. 70 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in the summer of 1978, and was the last charting single released in his lifetime.

Melanie covered this song on her 1983 album Seventh Wave, which was released only in the United Kingdom and Germany.

The Seldom Scene, especially banjo player Ben Eldridge, are known for their cover of this song.

Jerry Garcia Band covered the song extensively from 1990 to 1995.[27]

Marcella Detroit, co-writer of the song, has covered the song twice, first as a B-side to her 1994 single "I'm No Angel", in which it is sung in a much slower tempo than the original, and secondly on her 2006 album The Upside of Being Down, in a version more similar to the original.

Don Williams covered the song on 1995's album of Borrowed Tales.

Asleep at the Wheel covered the song on their 1995 album The Wheel Keeps on Rollin'. Their version peaked at number 70 on the RPM Country Tracks chart in Canada in 1996.[28]

Rod Stewart recorded a cover version for his 2006's album Still the Same... Great Rock Classics of Our Time.

References

  1. ↑ Pidgeon, John (1985). Eric Clapton: A Biography. Vermillion & Company. p. 103. ISBN 0-09-160161-4.
  2. ↑ "Original Motion Picture Soundtrack Of 'August: Osage County' To Be Released On". PR Newswire.com. Retrieved 2015-08-04.
  3. ↑ Kent 1993.
  4. ↑ "RPM Adult Oriented Playlist". RPM Magazine. Canada: Library and Archives Canada. 29 (4). April 22, 1978. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  5. ↑ "1050 CHUM – CHUM Charts > Clapton, Eric". CHUM 1050 AM. Canada: CHUM Limited. 2005. Archived from the original on February 22, 2006. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  6. ↑ "RPM Country Playlist". RPM Magazine. Canada: Library and Archives Canada. 29 (8). May 20, 1978. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  7. ↑ "RPM 100 Top Singles". RPM Magazine. Canada: Library and Archives Canada. 29 (4). April 22, 1978. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  8. ↑ Zameczkowski 1978, p. 82.
  9. ↑ Wood 1978, p. 75–78.
  10. ↑ "M&D: Classifiche > Eric Clapton". Musica e dischi (in Italian). Italy: Musicaedischi.it. Look for Clapton releases. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  11. 1 2 3 Tatsaku 2011, p. 43–47.
  12. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Eric Clapton – Lay Down Sally". Recorded Music NZ. New Zealand: Steffen Hung – Hung Medien. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  13. 1 2 "Sverigetopplistan – Eric Clapton – Lay Down Sally". Sverigetopplistan (in Swedish). Sweden: Swedish Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on December 24, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 50 | Official Charts Company". Official Charts Company. United Kingdom: Officialcharts.com. January 15, 1978. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  15. ↑ "Eric Clapton – Chart history | Billboard > Adult Contemporary". Billboard Magazine. United States: Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Eric Clapton | Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. United States: Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Eric Clapton – Chart history | Billboard > Hot 100". Billboard Magazine. United States: Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles". Cash Box Magazine. United States: Cashboxmagazine.com. April 8, 1978. Archived from the original on October 4, 2012. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  19. ↑ "Record World 1978". Record World Music. United States: Geocities.com. Archived from the original on May 9, 2006. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  20. ↑ "Top 200 Singles of 1978". RPM Magazine. Canada: Library and Archives Canada. 30 (14). December 30, 1978. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  21. 1 2 Fuld 1998, p. 175.
  22. ↑ "Top Pop Singles" (PDF). Billboard Magazine. United States: Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 90 (51): 82. December 23, 1978. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  23. ↑ Hoffmann 1983, p. 135.
  24. ↑ "Canadian Music Market" (PDF). Billboard Magazine. United States: Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 90 (12): 73. March 25, 1978. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  25. ↑ "BPI Gold Sales Award". British Phonographic Industry. United Kingdom: O'Real Associates. December 13, 1981. Archived from the original on September 13, 2015. Retrieved December 24, 2015.
  26. ↑ "American single certifications – Eric Clapton – Lay Down Sally". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 24, 2015. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
  27. ↑
  28. ↑ "RPM Country Tracks". RPM. April 15, 1996. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
Preceded by
"The Circle Is Small" by Gordon Lightfoot		 Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary number-one single
April 22, 1978 – April 29, 1978 		Succeeded by
"Night Fever" by Bee Gees

Bibliography

External links

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