"Anyone for Tennis" is a song by the British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

. It was used as the theme song for the 1968 film ''

The Savage Seven ''The Savage Seven'' is a 1968 outlaw biker exploitation film directed by Richard Rush, who had directed the previous year's ''Hells Angels on Wheels''. Rush agreed to direct ''The Savage Seven'' in exchange for the opportunity to make the psych ...

'' and is titled "Anyone for Tennis (Theme from the Savage Seven)" for the soundtrack album. The subtitle was dropped for Cream's single releases. Guitarist

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

wrote the song for the 1968 film ''The Savage Seven''. It was his second collaboration with lyricist

Martin Sharp Martin Ritchie Sharp (21 January 1942 – 1 December 2013) was an Australian artist, cartoonist, songwriter and film-maker. Career Sharp was born in Bellevue Hill, New South Wales in 1942, and educated at Cranbrook private school, where one ...

(their first was "

Tales of Brave Ulysses "Tales of Brave Ulysses" is a song recorded in 1967 by British group Cream. It was released as the B-side to the "Strange Brew" single in June 1967. In November, the song was included on Cream's second album, ''Disraeli Gears''. The song featu ...

"). According to biographer Michael Schumacher, Clapton was unable to find a melody that suited him, despite expending considerable time. The song was recorded during the sessions for Cream's third album, ''

Wheels of Fire ''Wheels of Fire'' is the third album by the British rock band Cream. It was released in the US in June 1968 as a two-disc vinyl LP, with one disc recorded in the studio and the other recorded live. It was released in the UK on August 9. It re ...

''. However, it was released on ''The Savage Seven'' soundtrack album and as a single instead. Backed with "Pressed Rat and Warthog", it reached number 64 on the American ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in May 1968 and number 40 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in June 1968. ''

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 advertise ...

'' described the single as an "unusual piece of folk-rock material with a clever dance arrangement." Cream mimed the song during their promotional appearance on ''

The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ''The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' was an American comedy and variety show television series hosted by the Smothers Brothers and initially airing on CBS from 1967 to 1969. The series was a major success, especially considering it was sched ...

'' in May 1968 with a video middle section in which the band carry tennis rackets. "Anyone for Tennis" is included on several Cream compilation albums, including '' Superstarshine Vol. 6 / Cream'' (1972), '' Strange Brew: The Very Best of Cream'' (1983), ''

The Very Best of Cream ''The Very Best of Cream'' is a 1995 compilation album by the British rock band Cream. Track listing Personnel *Ginger Baker – drums, percussion, vocals *Jack Bruce – bass guitar, acoustic guitar, piano, organ, harmonica, cello, voc ...

'' (1995), and the boxed set ''

Those Were the Days Those Were the Days may refer to: Music Albums * ''Those Were the Days'' (Johnny Mathis album) (1968) * ''Those Were the Days'' (Cream album) (1997) * ''Those Were the Days'' (Dolly Parton album) (2005) * '' Those Were the Days – The Best of L ...

'' (1997). It is also included in the Clapton boxed set ''

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

'' (1988). The stereo recording of this song is encoded with the

Haeco-CSG The Haeco-CSG or ''Holzer Audio Engineering-Compatible Stereo Generator'' system was an analog electronic device developed by Howard Holzer, Chief Engineer at A&M Records in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, Hollywood, California. His compan ...

system. It has also been included as a bonus track on some CD releases of Wheels of Fire or Goodbye.

Personnel

– lead vocal, acoustic guitar, slide guitar *

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disbande ...

– bass guitar,

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

Ginger Baker Peter Edward "Ginger" Baker (19 August 1939 – 6 October 2019) was an English drummer. His work in the 1960s and 1970s earned him the reputation of "rock's first superstar drummer", for a style that melded jazz and Music of Africa, Africa ...

– drums, percussion *

Felix Pappalardi Felix A. Pappalardi Jr. (December 30, 1939 – April 17, 1983) was an American music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bassist. He is best known as the bassist and co-lead vocalist of the band Mountain, whose song "Mississippi Queen" peaked at ...

– viola

References

{{authority control Cream (band) songs Psychedelic songs Songs written by Eric Clapton Atco Records singles Polydor Records singles 1968 songs Psychedelic pop songs Tennis music Buddhism in music