"Wonderful Tonight" is a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

written by Eric Clapton. It was included on Clapton's 1977 album '' Slowhand''. Clapton wrote the song about

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 Harris ...

. "the hard-rock pioneer and guitar god also become a soft-rock star in the mid-1970s. He celebrated his sobriety with (... ) the Top 5 hit "Lay Down Sally" and hit No. 16 with the ballad "Wonderful Tonight," both off his 1977 Slowhand album" The female vocal harmonies on the song are provided by

Marcella Detroit 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 al ...

(then Marcy Levy) and

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 ...

Background

On 7 September 1976, Clapton wrote "Wonderful Tonight" for Boyd while waiting for her to get ready to attend

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity * Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chr ...

and

Linda McCartney Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...

's annual

Buddy Holly Charles Hardin Holley (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959), known as Buddy Holly, was an American singer and songwriter who was a central and pioneering figure of mid-1950s rock and roll. He was born to a musical family in Lubbock, Texas ...

party. The song is mentioned in her autobiographical book '' Wonderful Today''.

Critical reception

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

'' described "Wonderful Tonight" as "perhaps Clapton's prettiest and mellowest love ballad in some time." ''Billboard'' particularly praised Clapton's guitar playing during the interludes. '' Cash Box'' said that "Eric’s singing is superbly understated; the guitar work is simple and evocative" and praised "the gentle beat and organ accompaniment."

Personnel

* Eric Clapton – lead vocals, guitar *

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 ...

– drums, percussion * Carl Radle – bass guitar * Dick Sims –

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs ...

* George Terry – guitar *

– harmony and backing vocals *

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 ...

–

harmony In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. Howev ...

and backing vocals

Performance

In 1988, Clapton appeared in the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert as a guest guitarist for

Dire Straits Dire Straits were a British rock band formed in London in 1977 by Mark Knopfler (lead vocals and lead guitar), David Knopfler (rhythm guitar and backing vocals), John Illsley (bass guitar and backing vocals) and Pick Withers (drums and pe ...

. The group became his backing musicians for a surprise performance of "Wonderful Tonight" during their set.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Cover versions

Damage version

British R&B group Damage covered "Wonderful Tonight" and released it as the fifth single from their debut studio album, '' Forever'' (1997), in April 1997. The single peaked at number three 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 ...

, becoming the band's highest-charting single. The song is prominently performed by Richards, with little vocal input from any other members of the band. The music video features the band performing the song in a recording studio with cut scenes of a girl preparing to go on a night out. The B-side, "I'm Ready", launched the career of

Craig David Craig Ashley David (born 5 May 1981) is a British singer and songwriter who rose to fame in 1999, featuring on the single " Re-Rewind" by Artful Dodger. David's debut studio album, ''Born to Do It'', was released in 2000, after which he has rel ...

, being the first song he had ever written to be released by himself or another artist.

Track listings

* UK CD1 # "Wonderful Tonight" # "I'm Ready" # "Wonderful Tonight" (Ethnic Boyz Mix) * UK CD2 # "Wonderful Tonight" (acoustic mix) # " Just My Imagination" # " Love II Love" (acoustic mix) * UK cassette single # "Wonderful Tonight" # "I'm Ready"

Charts

Weekly charts Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

David Kersh version

"Wonderful Tonight" was covered by country singer David Kersh in 1998. His version went to number 29 on the Hot Country Songs chart.

Charts

Butch Baker version

* The song was

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of ...

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

singer Butch Baker, whose rendition reached number 66 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 Country Songs chart in 1989.

Michael Bublé version

"Wonderful Tonight" was covered by singer

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songb ...

in 2007 on his album

Call Me Irresponsible "Call Me Irresponsible" is a 1962 song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics written by Sammy Cahn which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1963. According to the Mel Tormé book ''The Other Side of the Rainbow with Judy Garland o ...

. That album reached number one on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artist ...

charts on 26 May 2007."Buble Sidesteps Bone Thugs To Claim No. 1"
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References

External links

Allmusic review
{{Authority control 1970s ballads 1977 singles 1997 singles 1998 singles Afroman songs Butch Baker songs Curb Records singles Damage (British band) songs David Kersh songs Eric Clapton songs Oricon International Singles Chart number-one singles British soft rock songs Rock ballads RSO Records singles Big Life Records singles Song recordings produced by Glyn Johns Songs written by Eric Clapton 1977 songs Songs about nights