"Tulsa Time" is a song written by
Danny Flowers, and recorded by American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
artist
Don Williams
Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing p ...
. It was released in October 1978 as the first single from the album ''Expressions''. It was Williams' eighth number one on the country chart, spending a single week at number one and eleven weeks in the top 40. It was also recorded 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 ...
for his 1978 album ''
Backless
''Backless'' is the sixth solo studio album by Eric Clapton, released in November 1978. Produced by Glyn Johns, and released by RSO Records, ''Backless'' reached no. 8 on the pop charts. While the single "Promises (Eric Clapton song), Promises ...
'' and a live version by Clapton from his album ''
Just One Night'' became a #30 ''Billboard'' hit in 1980.
Background and recording
In September 1978,
Flowers and the Don Williams band members were staying at a
Sheraton Hotel in
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa ( ) is the List of municipalities in Oklahoma, second-most-populous city in the U.S. state, state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the List of United States cities by population, 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The po ...
. A snowstorm had caused an interruption of their schedule. Flowers said, "We were all snowed in, and there was absolutely nothing to do. I was sitting there in my room, watching ''
The Rockford Files
''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner, aired on NBC from September 13, 1974, to January 10, 1980. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investigator Jim Rockford, with Noah Beery Jr. in th ...
'' with some hotel stationery beside me, just bored, and I started writing out some verses."
He spent only a half-hour on it and the song had only two chords. Flowers said he intended to add another chord later, "but Don heard it and liked it the way it was."
About two months later, Flowers was performing with Williams in Nashville as the opening act for an Eric Clapton concert.
After the performance, Flowers and Williams went to Clapton's hotel room where the three men took turns playing songs. Flowers sang and played guitar on his new song, "Tulsa Time" with Williams singing harmony and Clapton playing slide guitar on a dobro.
Clapton said, "I love that song and I want to record it right away".
Williams said, "You can't record it— ''I'm'' going to record it".
Both artists recorded the song, but Williams was first.
Williams' recording of "Tulsa Time" was the first song on his album ''Expressions'', released in August 1978. By October, the song was number one on the Country singles chart.
It became the number one ''Billboard'' country song of 1979.
The song was named "single record of the year" in 1979 by the
Academy of Country Music
The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...
and Williams won
CMA Male Vocalist of the Year.
Clapton initially released two versions of the song: first on his 1978 album ''Backless'' and second in 1980 on the live album ''
Just One Night''.
The latter version was more successful and reached number 30 on the U.S. ''Billboard''
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 ...
singles chart.
A live version from 1978 appears on Clapton's ''
Crossroads 2: Live in the Seventies'', a boxed set released in 1996. This is a different performance from the version featured on ''Just One Night''.
Critical reception
In 2024, ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' ranked the song at #132 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking.
Charts
Don Williams version
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Eric Clapton version
Weekly charts
See also
*
Don Mentony Band, Slovenian blues, boogie and rock and roll group; a remake of ''Tulsa Time''
Notes
References
{{Authority control
1978 songs
1978 singles
Don Williams songs
Eric Clapton songs
Songs written by Danny Flowers
Song recordings produced by Garth Fundis
ABC Records singles
Songs about Tulsa, Oklahoma