"Bell Bottom Blues" is a song written by Eric Clapton and

Bobby Whitlock Robert Stanley Whitlock (born March 18, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as a member of the blues-rock band Derek and the Dominos, with Eric Clapton, in 1970–71. Whitlock's musical career began with Memp ...

,Bell Bottom Blues
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Derek and the Dominos Derek and the Dominos was an English–American blues rock band formed in the spring of 1970 by guitarist and singer Eric Clapton, keyboardist and singer Bobby Whitlock, bassist Carl Radle and drummer Jim Gordon. All four members had previous ...

. It deals with Clapton's

unrequited love Unrequited love or one-sided love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such by the beloved. The beloved may not be aware of the admirer's deep and pure affection, or may consciously reject it. The Merriam Webster Online Dict ...

for

Pattie Boyd Patricia Anne Boyd (born 17 March 1944) is an English model and photographer. She was one of the leading international models during the 1960s and, with Jean Shrimpton, epitomised the British female look of the era. Boyd married George Harri ...

, the wife of his friend George Harrison, and appears on the 1970 double album ''

Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs ''Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs'' is the only studio album by the English–American rock band Derek and the Dominos, released in November 1970 as a double album. It is best known for its title track, " Layla", and is often regarded as Eri ...

''. Issued as a single, backed with "Keep on Growing", the song reached number 91 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1971. A re-release backed with "

Little Wing "Little Wing" is a song written by Jimi Hendrix and recorded by the Jimi Hendrix Experience in 1967. It is a slower tempo, rhythm and blues-inspired ballad featuring Hendrix's vocal and guitar with recording studio effects accompanied by bass, ...

" peaked at number 78 on the same chart.

Background and recording

"Bell Bottom Blues" was recorded before

Duane Allman Howard Duane Allman (November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) was an American rock guitarist, session musician, and the founder and original leader of the Allman Brothers Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame i ...

joined the recording sessions for the ''Layla'' album, so Clapton is the only guitarist on the song. Clapton compensates for this by playing multiple guitar parts, including a sensitive, George Harrison-style guitar solo and chime-like harmonics. The other musicians on the recording are

on Hammond organ,

Carl Radle Carl Dean Radle (June 18, 1942 – May 30, 1980) was an American bassist who toured and recorded with many of the most influential recording artists of the late 1960s and 1970s. He was posthumously inducted to the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame i ...

on bass and percussion, and Jim Gordon on drums, including

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and backwards

snare SNARE proteins – " SNAP REceptor" – are a large protein family consisting of at least 24 members in yeasts, more than 60 members in mammalian cells, and some numbers in plants. The primary role of SNARE proteins is to mediate vesicle f ...

. Whitlock also sings occasional harmony vocals.

Composition

Bell-bottoms Bell-bottoms (or flares) are a style of trousers that become wider from the knees downward, forming a bell-like shape of the trouser leg. These are similar to flared jeans. History Naval origins In the early 19th century, when a standardized u ...

are a style of

trousers Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and ...

that were popular at the time. According to Clapton, the song was written for

after she asked him to get her a pair of bell-bottom blue jeans from the United States. Clapton wrote the song for her, along with many others on the album such as "I Looked Away" and "

Layla "Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally recorded by Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their only studio album, ''Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs'' (1970). Its contrasting movements were compos ...

". The lyrics describe a lovers' quarrel.

Bill Janovitz Bill Janovitz (born June 3, 1966) is an American musician and writer. He is the singer, guitarist, and songwriter of alternative rock band Buffalo Tom, and has also released three solo albums. Janovitz has written extensively for Allmusic, author ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

notes the raw anguish in Clapton's voice in the pre-chorus and chorus: contrasted with the somber longing expressed in Clapton's voice in the verses: Author Jan Reid also praises Clapton's singing on the song, noting that his phrasing manages to suggest that despite the pain he is feeling, the woman's antics remind him of the "joy of just being alive".

Songwriting credit

The writing of the song was originally credited to Eric Clapton alone, but is now jointly credited to Clapton and Bobby Whitlock. Whitlock stated in an interview in 2011 that "Eric started the song ... He played me the first two verses at his house and I helped with the last verse", and that it was credited to Clapton alone by a "clerical error". In 2015, in an interview by Mike Rossi for Facio Create, Whitlock stated that Clapton had now formally accepted that Whitlock had contributed, and in future the song would be jointly credited. The BMI website now credits both writers.

Reception

In a review upon the album's release, ''

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. It was first known for its ...

'' writer Ed Leimacher called "Bell Bottom Blues" (as well as "

Have You Ever Loved a Woman "Have You Ever Loved a Woman" is a blues song written by Billy Myles and first recorded by American blues artist Freddie King in 1960. The song is performed as a slow 12-bar blues with King's vocal and guitar accompanied by a small combo of pia ...

") filler. '' Cash Box'' described the song as "a progressive ballad that should see powerful top forty reception" and as being "instrumentally enticing and surprisingly melodic." '' Billboard'' chose the song as a "recommended" choice upon its release as a single. A retrospective of the album in ''Rolling Stone'' praised the song as an epic that "feels as if it's going to shatter from the heat of its romantic agony". AllMusic critic Bill Janovitz admires both Clapton's guitar playing and his anguished vocal performance. In ''

The New Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'', J. D. Considine cites the track as an example of how ''Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs'' is "about the transformation of the blues, a process Clapton and his band mates manage through a variety of means", adding that the song "distills the pop-blues approach of

Blind Faith Blind Faith were an English supergroup featuring Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, and Ric Grech. They were eagerly anticipated by the music press following on the success of each of the member's former bands, including Clapton a ...

and

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 ...

into a memorable chorus and exquisite metaphor".

Adaptations

Cher recorded "Bell Bottom Blues" on her 1975 album, ''

Stars A star is an astronomical object comprising a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by its gravity. The nearest star to Earth is the Sun. Many other stars are visible to the naked eye at night, but their immense distances from Earth ma ...

''.

Matthew Sweet Sidney Matthew Sweet (born October 6, 1964) is an American alternative rock/power pop singer-songwriter and musician who was part of the burgeoning music scene in Athens, Georgia, during the 1980s before gaining commercial success in the 1990 ...

and Susanna Hoffs covered the song on their 2009 album, '' Under the Covers, Vol. 2''. Bruce Springsteen borrowed the line "I don't wanna fade away" from "Bell Bottom Blues", for his 1980 song " Fade Away".

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

referenced the title in her song " Dope", where she sings "I'm sorry and I love you, sing with me, 'Bell Bottom Blue'."

References

{{Authority control 1971 songs Atco Records singles Derek and the Dominos songs Eric Clapton songs Matthew Sweet songs Songs written by Eric Clapton Song recordings produced by Tom Dowd