In 1978, Eric Clapton released “Wonderful Tonight”. One of the most successful singles of his career, the song is written by Clapton. It appears on his Slowhand record.
When Clapton wrote “Wonderful Tonight”, he was dating Pattie Boyd, whom he would marry in 1979. “Wonderful Tonight” begins with, “It’s late in the evening; she’s wondering what clothes to wear / She puts on her make-up and brushes her long blonde hair / And then she asks me, ‘Do I look all right?’ / And I say, ‘Yes, you look wonderful tonight‘ / We go to a party, and everyone turns to see / This beautiful lady that’s walking around with me / And then she asks me, ‘Do you feel all right?’ / And I say, ‘Yes, I feel wonderful tonight.’”
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Perhaps surprisingly, not only is “Wonderful Tonight” based on real-life events, but Clapton also wrote it in almost record time.
“I was taking so long, and I was panicking about my hair, my clothes, everything,” Boyd recalls. “And I came downstairs expecting him to really berate me. But he said, ‘Listen to this!’
The Ironic Twist in Eric Clapton’s Writing “You Look Wonderful Tonight”
The timing of Clapton’s writing “You Look Wonderful Tonight” is interesting. Boyd was previously married to Clapton’s good friend, The Beatles’ George Harrison. Clapton wrote “You Look Wonderful Tonight” in 1976. At the time, he was dating Boyd, who was still legally married to Harrison. Boyd and Harrison’s divorce became final in 1977.
Still, there were certainly no hard feelings between Clapton and Harrison. In fact, Harrison reportedly even played at Clapton’s 1979 wedding to Boyd.
Before Clapton had a hit with “You Look Wonderful Tonight”, he wrote “Layla”. Out in 1971 with his band, Derek and the Dominos. Clapton wrote “Layla” about his feelings for Boyd. The song says, “I tried to give you consolation / When your old man had let you down / Like a fool, I fell in love with you / You turned my whole world upside down.”
Sadly, the relationship between Clapton and Boyd didn’t last. Boyd later said it was Clapton’s heroin addiction that played a big role in the couple’s ultimate demise.
“When I married Eric, I was dealing with someone who was not well due to alcohol abuse,” Boyd later says. “So a lot of the time I had the upper hand, which I didn’t like. But it was a role that I became used to. And then I needed it. I needed him to be ill for me to feel in control. And that’s a sick relationship.”
In 2002, Clapton married Melia McEnery. The two remain married today.
Photo by Christian Rose/Roger Viollet via Getty Images
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