"Lay Down Sally" is a song performed by Eric Clapton, and written by Clapton,

Marcy Levy Marcella Levy (born June 21, 1952), known professionally as Marcy Levy and (later in her career) Marcella Detroit, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-wrote the 1977 Eric Clapton hit " Lay Down Sally" and released her debut ...

, and George Terry. It appeared on his November 1977 album '' Slowhand'', 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 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 ...

song performed in the style of J. J. Cale. Clapton also attributed other members of his band – Carl Radle of Oklahoma, George Terry,

Jamie Oldaker James Oldaker (September 5, 1951 – July 16, 2020) was an American rock music, blues rock and country music drummer and percussionist. Biography James Oldaker was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. One of the first bands that he was a member of wa ...

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-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

band, they play like that naturally. You couldn't get them to do an

English rock British rock describes a wide variety of forms of music made in the United Kingdom. Since around 1964, with the "British Invasion" of the United States spearheaded by the Beatles, British rock music has had a considerable impact on the develop ...

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

's backing vocals. '' Cash Box'' praised Clapton's "guitar finesse." The single was a

crossover country Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers who appeal to different types of audience. This can be seen, for example, (especially in the United States) when a song appears on two or more of the record charts which track differi ...

music hit, reaching No. 26 in April 1978, Clapton's best showing on the Hot Country Songs 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

* Eric Clapton – electric guitars, vocals *

– vocals *

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 ...

– vocals * George Terry – electric guitar * Carl Radle – electric bass * – electric piano *

– drums *

Glyn Johns Glyn Thomas Johns (born 15 February 1942) is an English musician, recording engineer and record producer. Biography Early history Johns was born in Epsom, Surrey, England. He had three siblings, two older sisters and a younger brother, Andy ...

– Producer

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 songs, particularly those recited as narratives but set to music. His most noted examples are " Giddy ...

, 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 from Nielsen BDS along with digital sa ...

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 Western swing group that was formed in Paw Paw, West Virginia, and is based in Austin, Texas. The band has won nine Grammy Awards since their 1970 inception, released over twenty albums, and has charted mor ...

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.

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