What are the 5 Biggest US Hits by Eric Clapton?

Eric Clapton doesn’t get enough credit for being a solo artist who displayed crossover appeal throughout his career. The guy was hitting the pop charts for a stretch of over two decades, which is no small feat.

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It’s fascinating to look back at his career and see which of his songs made the most impact on the mainstream. These five tracks charted the highest for Clapton in America,

5. “Promises” – No. 9 in 1978

The late 70s, early 80s version of Clapton mostly settled into midtempo grooves that were warm and cozy, if not all that invigorating. He also tended to sing these songs without much emoting, letting the melody and lyrics do the work. At times when he’s singing “Promises”, the hit off his 1978 album Backless, he seems to be doing little more than mumbling. His vocal seems to be way down in the mix. But that unorthodox approach works well for this song of relationship angst, one of the most low-key Top 10 hits you’ll ever hear.

4. “Change The World” – No. 5 in 1996

Clapton’s early 90s commercial rebound continued in earnest with this song, a single contributed to the soundtrack of the film Phenomenon. The trio of Wayne Kirkpatrick. Gordon Kennedy and Tommy Sims wrote the song over a stretch of about a year. When a committee approach takes over, a song can often come off feeling generic. Clapton helped avoid that by enlisting Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds to produce the track. The pair steered the song in a soulful direction to keep it from wandering into blander territory.

3. “Lay Down Sally” – No. 3 in 1977

You hear about the Memphis sound or the New Orleans sound influencing rock bands in the 70s. But Clapton honed in on the Tulsa sound for a while there. He fell in love with the music of J.J. Cale, Tulsa’s rock bard. And he also enlisted players who could bring about that feel naturally without needing direction. “Lay Down Sally” represents the culmination of this quest for Oklahoman authenticity by Clapton. The song chugs along in an easy-going fashion. Meanwhile, Slowhand adds emotional peaks via his impassioned vocals in the chorus.

2. “Tears In Heaven” – No. 2 in 1992

Many people forget that Clapton wrote this song, so closely associated with the tragic death of his young son Conor, for inclusion in the movie Rush. Clapton later said that the movie gave him an excuse to finish the song. He did so with the help of Will Jennings, an ace lyricist of that era known for his work with Steve Winwood. You have to credit the bravery of Clapton for bringing those raw feelings to the masses like that and then finding a way to finesse them so that they’d be relatable on a wide scale.

1. “I Shot The Sheriff” – No. 1 in 1974

It’s quite fitting that Clapton’s only solo No. 1 single came from his finest album as a solo artist. On 461 Ocean Boulevard, he returned from an extended absence caused by drug issues to remind everyone of his immense talent. And even though he shared the wealth with the fellow players helping him on the album, he settled into the role of solo star on that record more comfortably than ever before. You can hear all that on his effortless version of Bob Marley’s “I Shot The Sheriff”.

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