Uh Oh
Rita Coolidge Claims Uncredited Co-Write on Eric Clapton’s ‘Layla’
By Jeff Giles March 31, 2016 12:46 PM
The Derek and the Dominos hit “Layla†is a rock classic and one of the crown jewels of Eric Clapton‘s career — and there may be more to the story behind how it was written than the world was previously led to believe.
In her soon-to-be-published memoir Delta Lady, singer Rita Coolidge claims she had a significant hand in writing part of “Layla,†but was never credited for her work, even after confronting Clapton’s manager Robert Stigwood. Instead, she watched the song turn into a massive hit, missing out on publishing royalties that were instead split between Clapton and co-writer Jim Gordon.
In an excerpt published by the Miami Herald, Coolidge recounts how she and Gordon, who were dating at the time, collaborated on a song they called “Time (Don’t Let the World Get in Our Way),†which they later played for Clapton. “I remember clearly sitting at the piano at Olympic Studios while Eric listened to me play it all the way through,†she wrote. “Jim and I left a taped cassette of the demo with Eric, hoping of course, that he might cover it. Nothing came of it and I largely forgot about it.â€
As Coolidge tells it, she received a painful reminder of the experience the first time she listened to “Layla†on the radio — and heard her composition in the song’s piano coda. “I was infuriated,†she recalled. “What they had clearly done was take the song Jim and I had written, jettisoned the lyrics and tacked it to the end of Eric’s song. It was almost the same as the arrangement.â€
Rebuffed by Stigwood after demanding credit, Coolidge evidently felt she was out of options, and never ended up receiving a co-write — or the massive publishing windfall she would have been due as one third of the team behind a huge hit song. Admitting the experience has haunted her ever since, she wrote, “There was no way Jim could have forgotten we’d written the song together. And, frankly, I don’t think Eric could have either.â€
http://ultimateclassicrock.com/rita-coolidge-layla/
At least she left Jim Gordon in time
At least she left Jim Gordon in time
Since he is doing life for killing his mother with a hammer, I guess karma IS a beeyotch.
Id say she has a pretty good claim worth millions. I always wondered why the estate of Ronnie Van Zant and Ed King never sued Warren Zevon for ripping off [sweet home alabama] when he put out [warewolves of london] in 1978
Actually the tune was Play It All Night Long, on Excitable Boy, which the Drive By Truckers do in concert a lot as an encore.
He sings, "Sweet Home Alabam, Play That Dead Band's Song"...which I don't think qualifies as copyright infringement. Maybe that's why he wrote "Alabam" instead of "Alabama".
Any lawyers care to edify us?
You two are talking about two different things.
There are some that say Werewolves of London - sounds like - Sweet Home Alabama.
Play It All Night Long does indeed reference the song by name.
You two are talking about two different things.
There are some that say Werewolves of London - sounds like - Sweet Home Alabama.
Play It All Night Long does indeed reference the song by name.
Werewolves Of London sounds like SHA? Interesting....never caught that. Have to go back an listen to it - went right over my head all these years.
Id say she has a pretty good claim worth millions. I always wondered why the estate of Ronnie Van Zant and Ed King never sued Warren Zevon for ripping off [sweet home alabama] when he put out [warewolves of london] in 1978
Actually the tune was Play It All Night Long, on Excitable Boy, which the Drive By Truckers do in concert a lot as an encore.
He sings, "Sweet Home Alabam, Play That Dead Band's Song"...which I don't think qualifies as copyright infringement. Maybe that's why he wrote "Alabam" instead of "Alabama".
Any lawyers care to edify us?
well no, the rhythm and feel and chord structure of S.H.A. is very similar to W.W. of L
Not disagreeing at all - it just never occurred to me. Like I said, went right by me. Wouldn't be the first - or last - time that's happened. Thanks for cluing me in.
Yep and if you play Dark Side of the Moon while watching Wizard of Oz....
Since he is doing life for killing his mother with a hammer, I guess karma IS a beeyotch.
hammer? i may be mistaken but i believed it was a knife.
Since he is doing life for killing his mother with a hammer, I guess karma IS a beeyotch.
hammer? i may be mistaken but i believed it was a knife.
BOTH according to Wiki:
Gordon developed schizophrenia and began to hear voices, including those of his mother, which compelled him to starve himself and prevented him from sleeping, relaxing or playing drums.[7] His physicians misdiagnosed the problems and instead treated him for alcohol abuse.[citation needed]
In 1983, he attacked his 72-year-old mother, Osa Marie Gordon, with a hammer before fatally stabbing her with a butcher knife; he claimed that a voice told him to kill her.[6][8][9]
Only after his arrest for murder was Gordon properly diagnosed with schizophrenia. At his trial, the court accepted that he had acute schizophrenia, but he was not allowed to use an insanity defense because of changes to California law due to the Insanity Defense Reform Act,[7] dismissed by Lawrence Z. Freedman as "ineffective".[10]
On July 10, 1984, Gordon was sentenced to sixteen years to life in prison.[11] He was first eligible for parole in 1992, but parole has been denied several times. At a 2005 hearing he claimed his mother was still alive. In 2014 he declined to attend his hearing and was denied parole until at least 2018. A Los Angeles deputy district attorney stated at the hearing that he was still "seriously psychologically incapacitated" and "a danger when he is not taking his medication".[12] As of 2015 he is serving his sentence at the California Medical Facility, a medical and psychiatric prison in Vacaville, California.[13]
Since he is doing life for killing his mother with a hammer, I guess karma IS a beeyotch.
hammer? i may be mistaken but i believed it was a knife.
You are correct - just checked wiki. I had always heard he beat her head in with a hammer. My bad - or rather, HIS bad...
You two are talking about two different things.
There are some that say Werewolves of London - sounds like - Sweet Home Alabama.
Play It All Night Long does indeed reference the song by name.
Werewolves Of London sounds like SHA? Interesting....never caught that. Have to go back an listen to it - went right over my head all these years.
No one here has heard this Kid Rock song? 😮
[Edited on 4/1/2016 by porkchopbob]
Since he is doing life for killing his mother with a hammer, I guess karma IS a beeyotch.
hammer? i may be mistaken but i believed it was a knife.
BOTH according to Wiki:
Gordon developed schizophrenia and began to hear voices, including those of his mother, which compelled him to starve himself and prevented him from sleeping, relaxing or playing drums.[7] His physicians misdiagnosed the problems and instead treated him for alcohol abuse.[citation needed]
In 1983, he attacked his 72-year-old mother, Osa Marie Gordon, with a hammer before fatally stabbing her with a butcher knife; he claimed that a voice told him to kill her.[6][8][9]
Only after his arrest for murder was Gordon properly diagnosed with schizophrenia. At his trial, the court accepted that he had acute schizophrenia, but he was not allowed to use an insanity defense because of changes to California law due to the Insanity Defense Reform Act,[7] dismissed by Lawrence Z. Freedman as "ineffective".[10]
On July 10, 1984, Gordon was sentenced to sixteen years to life in prison.[11] He was first eligible for parole in 1992, but parole has been denied several times. At a 2005 hearing he claimed his mother was still alive. In 2014 he declined to attend his hearing and was denied parole until at least 2018. A Los Angeles deputy district attorney stated at the hearing that he was still "seriously psychologically incapacitated" and "a danger when he is not taking his medication".[12] As of 2015 he is serving his sentence at the California Medical Facility, a medical and psychiatric prison in Vacaville, California.[13]
Either way it is a tragedy. Man, he was one of my top 10 - maybe even top 5 drummers. What a waste.
And the bigger tragedy is that there is no way in hell he will ever get the help he needs in prison. Unfortunately the solution in this country now is to put the mentally ill - even if no crime has been committed
- in jail or prison since funding has been cut to just about zero for mental health care since the Reagan administration. Statistically most schizophrenics are non - violent. But of course it is much easier to ramp up the hysteria and paint them all as potential homicidal maniacs that are timebombs just waiting to explode. Simply not true. But there are always outliers, just like in the general population. Misinformation and propaganda is rampant.
Not trying to hijack this thread and make this a political issue, but I have firsthand experience with this, within my own family.
I never thought Gordon had the talent to writhe that ending. I hope Eric does the right thing instead of pushing it under the rug.
There are some that say Werewolves of London - sounds like - Sweet Home Alabama.
You could add Magic Carpet Ride to this. Lots of songs use the same 3-chord progression and will sound similar. When I saw Tom Constanten (Ex Grateful Dead keyboard player), he played the famous intro to Werewolves and sang Sweet Home Alabama. When I asked him about this, he said he does that with tons of songs, like playing All Along the Watchtower and singing Don't Fear the Reaper. Tons of songs do this, but aren't blatant rip-offs.
I never thought Gordon had the talent to writhe that ending. I hope Eric does the right thing instead of pushing it under the rug.
Clapton would have no control over Gordon's part of the songwriting credit of this song. That would be all up to publishing companies.
Here is a good recent sound alike with the opening riff...
Pearl Jam "Dissident"
Jackie Greene "Silver Lining"
[Edited on 4/1/2016 by WarEagleRK]
Id say she has a pretty good claim worth millions. I always wondered why the estate of Ronnie Van Zant and Ed King never sued Warren Zevon for ripping off [sweet home alabama] when he put out [warewolves of london] in 1978
Actually the tune was Play It All Night Long, on Excitable Boy, which the Drive By Truckers do in concert a lot as an encore.
He sings, "Sweet Home Alabam, Play That Dead Band's Song"...which I don't think qualifies as copyright infringement. Maybe that's why he wrote "Alabam" instead of "Alabama".
Any lawyers care to edify us?
Actually, "Zevon's Play It All Night Long" was on "Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School". I don't think you can sue because your band is mentioned in a song. I never heard the link between Werewolves and Alabama either.
You could be like Hootie & The Blowfish and just lift almost an entire verse from Dylan and try to get away with it by saying you were quoting the song.
Id say she has a pretty good claim worth millions. I always wondered why the estate of Ronnie Van Zant and Ed King never sued Warren Zevon for ripping off [sweet home alabama] when he put out [warewolves of london] in 1978
The basis and root melody for both songs is a D-C-G chord sequence and the rhythm definitely has a similar feel to it, but is it close enough to be considered a rip off, at least from a legal standpoint ?
Or could you say Warren merely used it as an influence?
Hard to say and it's really a moot point for me as I love both songs, and ....as Ronnie Van Zant and Ed King never mentioned it at the time, I'm assuming they were cool with it as well.
Id say she has a pretty good claim worth millions. I always wondered why the estate of Ronnie Van Zant and Ed King never sued Warren Zevon for ripping off [sweet home alabama] when he put out [warewolves of london] in 1978
The basis and root melody for both songs is a D-C-G chord sequence and the rhythm definitely has a similar feel to it, but is it close enough to be considered a rip off, at least from a legal standpoint ?
Or could you say Warren merely used it as an influence?
Hard to say and it's really a moot point for me as I love both songs, and ....as Ronnie Van Zant and Ed King never mentioned it at the time, I'm assuming they were cool with it as well.
Ronnie didn't have much to say about it, he was dead when the song was released in 1978.
Sorry. You're right of course. Definitely my bad memory there...:(
There are some that say Werewolves of London - sounds like - Sweet Home Alabama.
You could add Magic Carpet Ride to this. Lots of songs use the same 3-chord progression and will sound similar. When I saw Tom Constanten (Ex Grateful Dead keyboard player), he played the famous intro to Werewolves and sang Sweet Home Alabama. When I asked him about this, he said he does that with tons of songs, like playing All Along the Watchtower and singing Don't Fear the Reaper. Tons of songs do this, but aren't blatant rip-offs.
Toy Caldwell always said "I'll steal any lick I can".
Id say she has a pretty good claim worth millions. I always wondered why the estate of Ronnie Van Zant and Ed King never sued Warren Zevon for ripping off [sweet home alabama] when he put out [warewolves of london] in 1978
Actually the tune was Play It All Night Long, on Excitable Boy, which the Drive By Truckers do in concert a lot as an encore.
He sings, "Sweet Home Alabam, Play That Dead Band's Song"...which I don't think qualifies as copyright infringement. Maybe that's why he wrote "Alabam" instead of "Alabama".
Any lawyers care to edify us?
Actually, "Zevon's Play It All Night Long" was on "Bad Luck Streak In Dancing School". I don't think you can sue because your band is mentioned in a song. I never heard the link between Werewolves and Alabama either.
Oops. You are correct, sir.
I'm not doing too well factually in this thread - 0-2, i.e. .000.... 😮
Not surprising. Much as I love Clapton, he is a sponge.
