"Lay Down Sally" is a song performed by

Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton (born 1945) is an English Rock music, rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. Clapton ranked second in ''Rolling Stone''s l ...

, and written by Clapton, Marcy Levy, and George Terry. It appeared on his November 1977 album ''

Slowhand ''Slowhand'' is the fifth solo studio album by Eric Clapton. Released on 25 November 1977 by RSO Records, and titled after Clapton's nickname, it is one of his most commercially and critically successful studio albums. ''Slowhand'' produced th ...

'', and reached No. 3 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), o ...

chart.

Background

"Lay Down Sally" is a

country blues Country blues (also folk blues, rural blues, backwoods blues, or downhome blues) is one of the earliest forms of blues music. The mainly solo vocal with acoustic fingerstyle guitar accompaniment developed in the rural Southern United States in t ...

song performed in the style of

J. J. Cale John Weldon "J. J." Cale (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Though he avoided the limelight, his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Neil Young, Mark Knopf ...

. Clapton also attributed other members of his band – Carl Radle of Oklahoma, George Terry, Jamie Oldaker and others – as influencing the song. Clapton explained, "It's as close as I can get, being English, but the band being a

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

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." ''

'' magazine described Clapton's vocal as "low key but earthy" and also praised Marcy Levy's backing vocals. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' praised Clapton's "guitar finesse." The single was a crossover country music hit, reaching No. 26 in April 1978, Clapton's best showing on the

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

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 in the film.

Personnel

– lead vocals and lead guitar * George Terry – rhythm guitar * Dick Sims – fender rhodes * Carl Radle – bass guitar * Jamie Oldaker – drums * Marcy Levy and

Yvonne Elliman Yvonne Marianne Elliman (born December 29, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved ...

– harmony vocals

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Covers

Red Sovine Woodrow Wilson "Red" Sovine (July 7, 1917 – April 4, 1980) was an American country music singer and songwriter associated with truck-driving country songs, particularly those recited as narratives but set to music. His most noted examples ar ...

, 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 Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data along with digital sales and streaming. ...

chart in the summer of 1978, and was the last charting single released in his lifetime. *

Jerry Garcia Band The Jerry Garcia Band was a San Francisco Bay Area rock band led by Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead. Garcia founded the band in 1975; it remained the most important of his various side projects until his death in 1995. The band regularly tour ...

covered the song extensively from 1990 to 1995. *

Asleep at the Wheel Asleep at the Wheel is an American country music, Western swing music group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, in 1970, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards, released over 20 albums, and has charted more t ...

covered the song on their 1995 album ''The Wheel Keeps on Rollin. Their version peaked at number 70 on the ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines. One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...

'' Country Tracks chart in Canada in 1996.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * *

External links

* {{authority control 1977 songs 1977 singles Eric Clapton songs Songs written by Eric Clapton Asleep at the Wheel songs Song recordings produced by Glyn Johns RSO Records singles