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Wonderful Tonight

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"Wonderful Tonight"
Song
B-side"Peaches and Diesel"

"Wonderful Tonight" is a ballad written by Eric Clapton. It was included on Clapton's 1977 album Slowhand. Clapton wrote the song about Pattie Boyd.[1] The female vocal harmonies on the song are provided by Marcella Detroit (then Marcy Levy) and Yvonne Elliman.

Background

On 7 September 1976, Clapton wrote "Wonderful Tonight" for Boyd while waiting for her to get ready to attend Paul and Linda McCartney's annual Buddy Holly party. Of "Wonderful Tonight", Boyd would say: "For years it tore at me. To have inspired Eric, and George before him, to write such music was so flattering. 'Wonderful Tonight' was the most poignant reminder of all that was good in our relationship, and when things went wrong it was torture to hear it."[2] The song is mentioned in her autobiographical book Wonderful Tonight: George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Me.

Performance

In 1988, Clapton appeared in the Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute concert as a guest guitarist for Dire Straits. The group became his backing musicians for a surprise performance of "Wonderful Tonight" during their set. The song was featured in the film Captain Phillips and in the Friends season 6 episode "The One With the Proposal Part 2" (18 May 2000) where Monica and Chandler dance to it at the end of the episode after getting engaged. The song was also featured on Ricky Gervais's radio show, where producer Karl Pilkington argued that the lyrics suggested that it came from the point of view of a disabled man in a wheelchair. Both Gervais and co-host Stephen Merchant dismissed Pilkington's claims as conjecture. Clapton performed an extended version of "Wonderful Tonight" between 1987 and 2003, featuring Katie Kissoon and Tracy Ackerman on backing vocals and David Sancious on saxophone. Clapton and Steve Winwood performed an acoustic version of the song during their 2011 tour in Japan.

Chart performance

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Chile (IFPI Chile)[17] 2× Platinum 30,000* 
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[17] 2× Platinum 16,000^
France (SNEP)[7] Silver 250,000*
Greece (IFPI Greece)[17] 2× Platinum 40,000^
Iceland (IFPI Iceland)[17] 2× Platinum 12,000* 
Japan (RIAJ)[18] Million 1,000,000^
Macao (IFPI Macao)[19] Gold 15,000* 
Portugal (AFP)[17] 2× Platinum 100,000^
Russia (NFPF)[17] Gold 10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Silver 250,000^
United States (RIAA)[21] Gold 1,000,000^
Uruguay (CUD)[17] Gold 10,000^
Summaries
Worldwide (IFPI) — 4,000,000[17]

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Cover versions

Damage version

"Wonderful Tonight"
Song
B-side"I'm Ready"

"Wonderful Tonight" was covered by British R&B/pop group Damage in 1997, and was released as the fifth single from the band's debut studio album, Forever. The single peaked at #3 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the band's most successful single to date, also peaking high in several other territories, which was a first for the band. 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, being the first song he had ever written to be released by himself or another artist.

Track listing

  • CD1
  1. "Wonderful Tonight" – 4:01
  2. "I'm Ready" (Bromfield/Richards/Simpson/Jones/Harriott/Craig David, produced by Mark Lewis)
  3. "Wonderful Tonight" (Ethnic Boyz Mix)
  • CD2
  1. "Wonderful Tonight" (Acoustic Mix)
  2. "Just My Imagination" (Whitfield/Strong, produced by Howard Francis)
  3. "Love II Love" (Acoustic Mix)
  • Cassette
  1. "Wonderful Tonight" – 4:01
  2. "I'm Ready"
Chart performance
Chart (1997) Peak
position
Australia (ARIA)[22] 39
Ireland (IRMA)[23] 15
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[24] 26
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[25] 34
Scotland (OCC)[26] 12
UK Singles (OCC)[27] 3

David Kersh version

"Wonderful Tonight"
Song

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

Chart performance

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[28] 45
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[29] 29

Other cover versions

References

  1. ^ Chris Smith (2006). Greenwood Press (ed.). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History: From arenas to the underground, 1974–1980. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-313-33611-9. "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"
  2. ^ Pattie Boyd (11 August 2007). "I'd pray Eric would pass out and not touch me' - Part 2 of Pattie Boyd's sensational autobiography". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers Ltd. Retrieved 8 March 2008.
  3. ^ "Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  4. ^ "Radio2 Top 30 Artiest: Eric Clapton". VRT (in Dutch). Top30-2.radio2.be. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  5. ^ 1050 CHUM – CHUM Charts at the Wayback Machine (archived 22 February 2006). CHUM. Retrieved August 15, 2015.
  6. ^ "Top Singles – Volume 29, No. 18, July 29, 1978". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  7. ^ a b Gustave, Heidé. Le Singles Argent de la SNEP (1978) (in French) (43 ed.). Paris: Decovert. 'Wonderful Tonight' spent 17 weeks on the national french singles chart and peaked at number three. It was requested to be certified silver. The certification was awarded on the last week, 'Wonderful Tonight' charted in France.
  8. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Wonderful Tonight". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  9. ^ Oricon International Singles. "Eric Clapton" – Wonderful Tonight.
  10. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  11. ^ "Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  12. ^ "Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 2015-07-30.
  13. ^ "Slowhand – Eric Clapton – Awards – AllMusic". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
  14. ^ "Top Singles – Volume 30, No. 14, December 30, 1978". Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  15. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1988". Ultratop Charts. ultratop.be – Stefan Hung – Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  16. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1988". MegaCharts.nl. dutchcharts.nl – Stefan Hung – Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 August 2015.
  17. ^ a b c d e f g h Keil, Astrid (2014). Die Musikindustrie (Limitierte Auflage). p. 24.
  18. ^ Miyahara, Ayano (2003). 12月23日からエリック·クラプトンの最高のバラード！. Yomiuri Shimbun.
  19. ^ Macao Music Sales (2001-2009). Record Sales. 2015-02-08 (Former link: recordsales.2xik.com/The-first-blog-b1/Macao-Music-Sales-2001-2009-b1-p1.htm).
  20. ^ "British single certifications – Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 21 October 2015. Select singles in the Format field. Select Silver in the Certification field. Type Wonderful Tonight in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  21. ^ "American single certifications – Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 21 October 2015.
  22. ^ "Damage – Wonderful Tonight". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  23. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Damage". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  24. ^ "Damage – Wonderful Tonight" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  25. ^ "Damage – Wonderful Tonight". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  26. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  27. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  28. ^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 7891." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. 24 August 1998. Retrieved 3 September 2013.
  29. ^ "David Kersh Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 3 September 2013.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Wonderful_Tonight&oldid=788173844"