Your Top 5 Eric Clapton's Original Songs

Eric Clapton is one of my favorite songwriters of all time. Not as great as Bob Dylan, Lennon/McCartney, Jagger/Richards, or even his buddy George Harrison, but still a good one. In alphabetical order, here's my top 5:

"Badge" (co-written by Harrison) - Cream's Goodbye
"Better Make It Through Today" - There's One in Every Crowd
"High" - There's One in Every Crowd
"Let It Grow" - 461 Ocean Boulevard
"Presence of the Lord" - Blind Faith's self-titled album

Feel free to post/comment/discuss

 

Layla
Badge
Bell Bottom Blues
I Looked Away
Strange Brew

 

The Core
Bell Bottom Blues
I Looked Away
She's Waiting
Holy Mother

 

Badge
Pretty Blue Eyes
She's Waiting
Layla
Lay Down Sally

 

Tales of Brave Ulysses
Got To Get Better In A Little While
Let It Rain
Tell The Truth
Why Does Love Have To Be So Sad

 

What he said

 

Cocaine
I Shot The Sheriff
Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Eyesight To The Blind
Over The Rainbow

 

I Don't Know Why
Let It Rain
Layla
Badge
Bell Bottom Blues

I guess all those are co-writes.

The earlier Cream stuff I consider from a different era.

 

Give Me Strength - Although I think Eric may have nicked the lyrics.
Better Make It Through Today
Opposites
Another Ticket
River of Tears

 

Without wracking my brain and struggling with close comparisons.
Also I'm discluding band songs he didn't sing lead on, or write the lyrics at least in part. Also 5 is impossible, and even including more I'll be remiss.

Let it rain
Easy now
Layla
Bell bottom blues
Motherless children
Wonderful tonight
Bad love
The core
Tears in heaven

Want to but can't include "Strange Brew"(don't think he actually wrote any of the lyrics) or "Presence of the lord"(Sung by Winwood) "Outside woman blues"/"Four until late"/"Crossroads" essential Clapton not meeting my criteria

 

Layla
Bell Bottom Blues
My Father's Eyes
Let It Rain
Strange Brew
(some may be co-writes)

 

Why does love ....
Let it rain
Bell bottom blues
Easy now
Badge

 

Isn't it a blues standard??

 

Actually, it doesn't matter who sang it hehe

 

Rita Mae
The Shape I'm In
Same Old Blues
Hello Old Friend
The Core

 

Good tunes, but Clapton didn't write a single one of them!

 

Hard to narrow it to five. He has written/co-written a number of first-rate songs. Here is an attempt at five, will probably be different if I attempt it tomorrow:

Bell Bottom Blues
Keep On Growing
Why Does Love Got To Be So Sad?
Better Make It Through Today
Let It Grow

 

LOL I gotta play by rules that make it interesting for me, but I certainly respect other people's choices.

I was guessing a joke?

I've long thought "Let it grow" needed more work to be a masterpiece. IMO It needs some lyrical adjustments in the verses for musical flow, and he mumbles some of the words with no authority. On the other hand a listener can interpret this as deep sincerity and emotion, which it is. Tom Dowd should of demanded better IMO.

"Motherless children" is this amazing upbeat shuffle with great guitar work, but addressing a deeply somber subject, only partially made up for by the melodic refrain "Sister/Father will do the best he/she can______" The performance is so good that I always include it as a favorite, in spite of the flaws. I have no particularly good suggestion for a fix on that, but I suspect my criticisms cited are why more people don't include it as a favorite.

 

The Core- never realized there is so much love for this song
Tales of Brave
Layla
Promises
Tears in Heven

 

Not looking at others and changing it up slightly to call out my 5 favorite Clapton tunes
1. Bell Bottom Blues
2. After Midnight
3. Motherless Child (From the Cradle)
4. Let it Rain
5. Tears in Heaven

 

1. Forever Man
2. Wonderful Tonight
3. Layla
4. After Midnight
5. Bell Bottom Blues

 

@peteham
It was a joke.

 

It was a joke.
I named all covers.

 

My list of all 5 being covers went over a lot of folks head's.
It was a joke.