Tears in Heaven
"Tears in Heaven" | |
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Song | |
B-side | "Tracks and Lines" – 3:00 |
"Tears in Heaven" is a song by Eric Clapton and Will Jennings from the soundtrack to the film Rush. The song was written about the pain and loss Clapton felt following the death of his four-year-old son,[1] Conor, on March 20, 1991. Conor fell from a window of the 53rd-floor New York apartment belonging to his mother's friend on March 20, 1991. Clapton arrived at the apartment shortly after the accident,[2] and was distraught over his son's death.[1] "Tears in Heaven" is one of Clapton's most successful songs, as it reached number two on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart in the U.S. The song also stayed three weeks as #1 on the American adult contemporary chart in 1992.
Jennings, who worked with Clapton on the song, was reluctant at first to help him write a personal song.[1] The song was initially featured on the soundtrack to the film Rush, followed by Unplugged, and it won three Grammy Awards—Song of the Year, Record of the Year and Male Pop Vocal Performance at the 1993 Grammy Awards.[3] It also won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video in 1992.[4]
Clapton stopped playing it in 2004, as well as the song "My Father's Eyes", with Clapton stating; "I didn't feel the loss anymore, which is so much a part of performing those songs. I really have to connect with the feelings that were there when I wrote them. They're kind of gone and I really don't want them to come back, particularly. My life is different now. They probably just need a rest and maybe I'll introduce them for a much more detached point of view."[5]
Shortly after his single was released, he went on to the MTV Unplugged series and recorded a new version of the song.[6]
Writing and inspiration
The years following 1990 were extremely turbulent for Clapton. In August 1990, his manager and two of his roadies (along with fellow musician Stevie Ray Vaughan) were killed in a helicopter accident. Seven months later, on March 20, 1991, Clapton's four-year-old son Conor died after falling from the 53rd-floor window of his mother's friend's New York City apartment. He landed on the roof of an adjacent four-story building.[7] After isolating himself for a period, Clapton began working again, writing music for a movie about drug addiction called Rush. Clapton dealt with the grief of his son's death by co-writing "Tears in Heaven" with Will Jennings. A live performance of the song appears on Clapton's 1992 Unplugged.[8] Unplugged topped charts and was nominated for nine Grammy Awards the year it was released. Clapton made multiple public service announcements to raise awareness for childproofing windows and staircases.[8]
In an interview with Daphne Barak, Clapton stated, "I almost subconsciously used music for myself as a healing agent, and lo and behold, it worked... I have got a great deal of happiness and a great deal of healing from music".[9]
In an interview, Will Jennings said:
"Eric and I were engaged to write a song for a movie called Rush. We wrote a song called 'Help Me Up' for the end of the movie... then Eric saw another place in the movie for a song and he said to me, 'I want to write a song about my boy.' Eric had the first verse of the song written, which, to me, is all the song, but he wanted me to write the rest of the verse lines and the release ('Time can bring you down, time can bend your knees...'), even though I told him that it was so personal he should write everything himself. He told me that he had admired the work I did with Steve Winwood and finally there was nothing else but to do as he requested, despite the sensitivity of the subject. This is a song so personal and so sad that it is unique in my experience of writing songs."[2]
Reception
In 2004, "Tears in Heaven" was ranked number 362 on Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".[10]
Charts and certifications
Chart positions
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Sales and certifications
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Other performances
In 2005, Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne assembled an all-star cast to collaborate on "Tears in Heaven". Sales from the recording benefited the Disasters Emergency Committee's Tsunami Earthquake appeal and the tsunami victims in Southeast Asia. The line up included; Gwen Stefani, Mary J. Blige, Pink, Slash, Steven Tyler, Elton John, Andrea Bocelli, Katie Melua, Josh Groban, Robbie Williams, and Rod Stewart. Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne also sang on the song.[25]
Other recordings of "Tears in Heaven" include:
- Joshua Redman on his 1993 album Wish.
- Warren Hill on his 1993 album Devotion.[26][27]
- James Galway on his 1994 album Wind of Change.
- Dušan Prelević on his 1996 album Ja, Prele.
- Jeff Berlin on his 1997 album Taking Notes.
- Gregorian on their 1997 album Masters of Chant.
- Coko of SWV and her mother Lady Tibba Gamble covered in 2001 on the album Rhythm & Spirit: Love Can Build A Bridge.
- Emmerson Nogueira on his 2001 album Versão Acústica.
- Adeaze on their 2004 album Always and for Real.
- Loona on her 2004 album Wind of Time.
- Paul Anka on his 2005 album Rock Swings.
- The Choirboys on their 2005 album The Choirboys.
- The Quireboys on their 2005 EP Tears In Heaven.
- Aaron Hall of Guy & K-Ci Hailey of Jodeci on Hall's 2005 album Adults Only.
- Declan Galbraith on his 2006 album Thank You.
- Andrew Johnston on his 2008 album One Voice.
- Ann Peebles on her 2006 album Brand New Classics.
- Ainhoa Arteta on her Vida Diva CD released in 2008 by Vale music.
- Sadiki on his 2010 album Lifeline.
- Keke Wyatt on her 2011 album Unbelievable.
- Kenny Werner on his 2006 album Form & Fantasy.
References
- ^ a b "Tears in Heaven" entry at Snopes
- ^ Interview with Lory del Santo
- ^ Billboard 6 Mar 1993 Billboard Retrieved January 28, 2011
- ^ 1992 MTV video music awards MTV Retrieved 21 April 2011
- ^ 2.Tears in Heaven - Eric Clapton: Everybody hurts: songs that make men cry MSN Retrieved 21 April 2011
- ^ Unplugged - Eric Clapton Allmusic Retrieved 21 April 2011
- ^ POP VIEW: Why Eric Clapton's Grief Touches His Generation New York Times
- ^ a b Eric Clapton: Biography- Rolling Stone
- ^ Exclusive: Mother of 'Tears in Heaven' Inspiration Shares Story ABC News
- ^ cite url:http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/eric-clapton-tears-in-heaven-19691231
- ^ "Eric Clapton – Tears in Heaven". ARIA Top 50 Singles.
- ^ "Eric Clapton – Tears in Heaven" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
- ^ "100 Hot Tracks" (PHP). RPM. 55 (16). 18 April 1992. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
- ^ "Adult Contemporary Tracks" (PHP). RPM. 55 (19). 9 May 1992. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
- ^ "Search the Charts". Irish Charts. Fireball Media. Type "Eric Clapton" under Search by Artist to see search results.
- ^ "Eric Clapton – Tears in Heaven" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
- ^ "Eric Clapton – Tears in Heaven". Top 40 Singles.
- ^ "Eric Clapton – Tears in Heaven". Singles Top 100.
- ^ "Eric Clapton – Tears in Heaven". Swiss Singles Chart.
- ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
- ^ "Eric Clapton Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
- ^ "Eric Clapton Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
- ^ "Accreditation Awards". Australian Fun Countdowns. 2011-04-07. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
- ^ "American single certifications – Eric Clapton – Tears in Heaven". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ Music stars record tsunami single BBC
- ^ Devotion - Warren Hill from Billboard.com
- ^ Devotion 1993 from Answers.com
- ^ "Tears in Heaven" entry at Songfacts
- ^ "Tears in Heaven" entry at Eric Clapton
- Single chart usages for German
- 1992 singles
- Eric Clapton songs
- Grammy Award for Record of the Year
- Grammy Award for Song of the Year
- Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one singles
- Number-one singles in New Zealand
- Oricon International Singles Chart number-one singles
- MTV Video Music Award for Best Male Video
- Songs in memory of deceased persons
- Songs inspired by deaths
- Rock ballads
- Songs with lyrics by Will Jennings
- RPM Top Singles number-one singles