Unplugged (Eric Clapton album)
Encyclopedia
Unplugged is a live album
by Eric Clapton
released in 1992
. It was recorded live in England
for the MTV Unplugged
series and includes both the hit single "Tears in Heaven
" and a heavily reworked acoustic version of "Layla
".
Clapton performed the show in front of a small audience on 16 January 1992 at Bray Film Studios in Windsor, England
. In addition to the final album tracks, the performance included early versions of "My Father's Eyes
" and "Circus Left Town" along with "Worried Life Blues
." Clapton played a Martin 000-42 acoustic guitar
for much of this performance, and in 2004, the guitar sold for $791,500 (£
434,400) in auction.
s for the album including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Best Rock Male Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song. "Tears in Heaven" earned three of the six awards. The album reached number one on the Billboard 200
, and has been certified Diamond by the RIAA for shipping over 10 million copies in the United States. In 2000 Q magazine placed Unplugged at number 71 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums. In October 2011, the album was ranked number nine (between Iron Maiden
's Fear of the Dark and Stone Temple Pilots
' Core
) on Guitar World
magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1992.
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
by Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
released in 1992
1992 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1992.-January–February:*January 11**Nirvana's Nevermind album goes to #1 in the US Billboard 200 chart, establishing the widespread popularity of the Grunge movement of the 1990s....
. It was recorded live in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for the MTV Unplugged
MTV Unplugged
MTV Unplugged is a TV series showcasing many popular musical artists usually playing acoustic instruments. The show has received the George Foster Peabody Award and 3 Primetime Emmy nominations among many accolades.-Unplugged:...
series and includes both the hit single "Tears in Heaven
Tears in Heaven
"Tears in Heaven" is a ballad written by Eric Clapton and Will Jennings about the pain and loss Clapton felt following the death of his four-year-old son, Conor. Conor fell from a window of the 53rd-floor New York apartment of his mother's friend on March 20, 1991. Clapton, who arrived at the...
" and a heavily reworked acoustic version of "Layla
Layla
"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally released by their blues-rock band, Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs...
".
Clapton performed the show in front of a small audience on 16 January 1992 at Bray Film Studios in Windsor, England
Windsor, England
There are three places called Windsor in England:* Windsor, Berkshire, the primary use of the name and home to Windsor Castle* Windsor, Cornwall* Windsor, Lincolnshire...
. In addition to the final album tracks, the performance included early versions of "My Father's Eyes
My Father's Eyes (song)
"My Father's Eyes" is a song written and performed by Eric Clapton and produced by Clapton himself and Simon Climie. It was released as a single in 1998 and was featured on the album Pilgrim. The song reached the top 40 and won a Grammy award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The song is...
" and "Circus Left Town" along with "Worried Life Blues
Worried Life Blues
"Worried Life Blues" is a song that has become one of the most recorded blues songs of all time. Originally recorded by Major "Big Maceo" Merriweather in 1941, "Worried Life Blues" was an early blues hit and Maceo's most recognized song...
." Clapton played a Martin 000-42 acoustic guitar
C. F. Martin & Company
C.F. Martin & Company is a US guitar manufacturer established in 1833 by Christian Frederick Martin. Martin is highly regarded for its steel-string guitars, and is a leading mass manufacturer of flattop acoustics with models that retail for thousands of dollars and vintage instruments that often...
for much of this performance, and in 2004, the guitar sold for $791,500 (£
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
434,400) in auction.
Reception
Clapton earned six Grammy AwardGrammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s for the album including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Best Rock Male Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song. "Tears in Heaven" earned three of the six awards. The album reached number one on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, and has been certified Diamond by the RIAA for shipping over 10 million copies in the United States. In 2000 Q magazine placed Unplugged at number 71 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums. In October 2011, the album was ranked number nine (between Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
's Fear of the Dark and Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots
Stone Temple Pilots is an American rock band from San Diego, California that consists of Scott Weiland , brothers Robert DeLeo and Dean DeLeo , and Eric Kretz ....
' Core
Core (Stone Temple Pilots album)
The album was released on September 29, 1992 on Atlantic, the same day Alice in Chains released Dirt, another important album of the grunge era. Despite high sales, the album received mixed to negative reviews. Critics blasted the band as "rip-offs" of grunge bands such as Pearl Jam and Alice in...
) on Guitar World
Guitar World
Guitar World is a monthly music magazine devoted to guitarists. It contains original interviews, album and gear reviews and guitar and bass tablature of approximately five songs each month. The magazine is published 13 times per year...
magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1992.
Track listing (CD and DVD)
- "Signe" (Eric ClaptonEric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
) – 3:13 - "Before You Accuse MeBefore You Accuse Me"Before You Accuse Me" is a blues song written and recorded by rock and roll icon Bo Diddley in 1957. It was released as the B-side to Diddley's "Say Bossman" and was included on his self-titled debut album in 1958...
" (Ellas McDanielBo DiddleyEllas Otha Bates , known by his stage name Bo Diddley, was an American rhythm and blues vocalist, guitarist, songwriter , and inventor...
) – 3:36 - "Hey Hey" (Big Bill BroonzyBig Bill BroonzyBig Bill Broonzy was a prolific American blues singer, songwriter and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s when he played country blues to mostly black audiences. Through the ‘30s and ‘40s he successfully navigated a transition in style to a more urban blues sound popular with white audiences...
) – 3:24 - "Tears in HeavenTears in Heaven"Tears in Heaven" is a ballad written by Eric Clapton and Will Jennings about the pain and loss Clapton felt following the death of his four-year-old son, Conor. Conor fell from a window of the 53rd-floor New York apartment of his mother's friend on March 20, 1991. Clapton, who arrived at the...
" (Clapton, Will JenningsWill JenningsWilbur H. "Will" Jennings is an American songwriter who is popularly known for writing the lyrics for "My Heart Will Go On", the theme for the film Titanic .-Life and education:...
) – 4:34 - "Lonely Stranger" (Clapton) – 5:28
- "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and OutNobody Knows You When You're Down And Out"Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" is a blues standard, written by Jimmy Cox in 1923. Its lyric, told from the point of view of a one-time millionaire during the Prohibition era, reflects on the fleeting nature of material wealth and the friendships that come and go with it.-Recording...
" (Jimmy CoxJimmy CoxJimmy Cox was an American songwriter famous for his Depression-era hit "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out"....
) – 3:49 - "LaylaLayla"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally released by their blues-rock band, Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs...
" (Clapton, Jim GordonJim Gordon (musician)James Beck "Jim" Gordon is an American recording artist, musician and songwriter. The Grammy Award winner was one of the most requested session drummers in the late 1960s and 1970s, recording albums with many well-known musicians of the time, and was the drummer in the blues-rock supergroup Derek...
) – 4:46 - "Running on Faith" (Jerry Lynn Williams) – 6:35
- "Walkin' BluesWalkin' Blues"Walkin' Blues" is a song that was written by blues musician Robert Johnson in 1936.It has been later recorded by many artists, including Cee Lo Green, Muddy Waters, Colin James, Paul Butterfield, Johnny Cash, Hot Tuna, The Grateful Dead, Rory Gallagher, R.L. Burnside, Eric Clapton, Hindu Love...
" (Robert JohnsonRobert JohnsonRobert Leroy Johnson was an American blues singer and musician. His landmark recordings from 1936–37 display a combination of singing, guitar skills, and songwriting talent that have influenced later generations of musicians. Johnson's shadowy, poorly documented life and death at age 27 have given...
) – 3:37 - "Alberta" (Traditional) – 3:42
- "San Francisco Bay BluesSan Francisco Bay Blues"San Francisco Bay Blues" is an American folk song and is generally considered to be the most famous composition by Jesse Fuller. Fuller first recorded the song in 1954 for a small label called World Song. The song was brought into wider popularity in the early 1960s by club performances by...
" (Jesse FullerJesse FullerJesse Fuller was an American one-man band musician, best known for his song "San Francisco Bay Blues".-Early life:...
) – 3:23 - "Malted Milk" (Robert Johnson) – 3:36
- "Old Love" (Clapton, Robert CrayRobert CrayRobert Cray is an American blues guitarist and singer. A five-time Grammy Award winner, he has led his own band, as well as an acclaimed solo career.-Career:...
) – 7:53 - "Rollin' and Tumblin'Rollin' and Tumblin'"Rollin' and Tumblin" is a blues song that has been recorded hundreds of times by various artists. Considered as a traditional, it has been recorded with different lyrics and titles...
" (Muddy WatersMuddy WatersMcKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
) – 4:10
Personnel
- Eric ClaptonEric ClaptonEric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
- lead vocals, acoustic guitar - Andy Fairweather-LowAndy Fairweather-LowAndrew Fairweather Low is a Welsh guitarist, songwriter and vocalist. He was a founding member of 1960s British pop band, Amen Corner, and in recent years has toured extensively with Roger Waters, Eric Clapton and Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings.-Early career:Fairweather Low first found fame as a...
- acoustic guitar - Ray CooperRay CooperRay Cooper is an English musician. He is a session and road-tour percussionist, and occasional actor, who has worked with several musically diverse bands and artists including George Harrison, Billy Joel, Eric Clapton, and Elton John. Cooper is commonly regarded by music fans, critics and fellow...
- percussion - Nathan EastNathan EastNathan Harrell East is a jazz, R&B and rock bass player and vocalist. East holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from the University of California, San Diego...
- acoustic bass, backing vocals - Steve FerroneSteve FerroneSteven "Steve" Ferrone is a British drummer.He was a member of the Average White Band, and has recorded and performed with numerous other high-profile acts, including Slash, Chaka Khan, Eric Clapton, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and Scritti Politti...
- drums - Chuck LeavellChuck LeavellChuck Leavell is an American pianist and keyboardist, who was a member of The Allman Brothers Band throughout the height of their popularity, a founding member of the jazz-rock combo Sea Level, a frequently-employed session musician, and later, the keyboardist for Eric Clapton and The Rolling...
- keyboards - Katie KissoonMac and Katie KissoonMac and Katie Kissoon is a male / female vocal duo, consisting of brother and sister Mac Kissoon and Katie Kissoon...
- backing vocals - Tessa NilesTessa NilesTessa Niles is an English singer, best known as a backing singer for a wide variety of artists.-Early life and career:Born in Kent, Niles began her professional singing career, as both a lead and a backing vocalist, in 1979...
- backing vocals - James Barton - engineer
Hit singles
Chart positions courtesy of the Billboard (North America)| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | "Tears in Heaven" | Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| Adult Contemporary | 1 | ||
| "Layla" | Adult Contemporary | 8 | |
| Mainstream Rock Tracks | 9 | ||
| Billboard Hot 100 | 12 | ||
| Top 40 Mainstream | 4 | ||
| 1993 | "Running on Faith" | Adult Contemporary | 28 |
| Mainstream Rock Tracks | 15 |
Peak positions
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian ARIA Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
1 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 3 |
| Canadian Albums Chart RPM (magazine) RPM was a Canadian music industry publication that featured song and album charts for Canada. The publication was founded by Walt Grealis in February 1964, supported through its existence by record label owner Stan Klees. RPM ceased publication in November 2000.RPM stood for "Records, Promotion,... |
1 |
| Dutch Mega Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
1 |
| French SNEP Albums Chart | 1 |
| German Germany Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... Media Control Albums Chart |
3 |
| Italian Albums Chart | 13 |
| Japanese Oricon Albums Chart Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
5 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart | 1 |
| Norwegian VG-lista Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
6 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
3 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
3 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
2 |
| United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
1 |
End of the year charts
| Chart (1992) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart | 45 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 25 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 25 |
| UK Albums Chart | 69 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 36 |
| Chart (1993) | Position |
| Australian Albums Chart | 2 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 7 |
| Canadian Albums Chart RPM Year-End RPM Year-End charts are a cumulative measure of a single or album's performance in Canada, based upon the RPM magazine charts during any given chart year.-RPM year-end number ones:... |
1 |
| Italian Albums Chart | 39 |
| Japanese Albums Chart | 39 |
| Swiss Albums Chart | 7 |
| UK Albums Chart | 23 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 3 |
End of decade charts
| Chart (1990–1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 | 30 |
Album
}Video and DVD
| Region | Provider | Certification Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|---|
| United States | RIAA | Platinum |