Bell Bottom Blues (Derek and the Dominos song)

"Bell Bottom Blues" is a song written by Eric Clapton and performed by Derek and the Dominos. It deals with unrequited love and appears on the album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. As a single, backed with "Keep on Growing," the song reached #91 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1971.^[1][2] A re-release backed with "Little Wing" reached #78.^[1]

"Bell Bottom Blues" was recorded before Duane Allman joined the recording sessions, so Clapton is the only guitarist on the song.^[3][4][5] Clapton compensates for this by playing multiple guitar parts, including a sensitive, George Harrison-style guitar solo and chime-like harmonics .^[3][6][7] The other musicians are Bobby Whitlock on Hammond organ, Carl Radle on bass and percussion and Jim Gordon on drums, including tabla and backwards snare.^[3][8] Whitlock also sings occasional harmony vocals.^[5][8]

Bell-bottoms are a style of trousers that were popular at the time. According to Clapton, the song was written for Pattie Boyd after she requested him to get her a pair of bell bottom blue jeans from the United States.^[9] Clapton wrote the song for her, along with many others on the album such as "I Looked Away" and "Layla".^[9] During some tours, he has played the song as part of an acoustic set, such as One More Car, One More Rider. He played the song along with Bobby Whitlock on Later with Jools Holland in April 2000.

The lyrics describe a lovers' quarrel.^[5] Bill Janovitz of Allmusic praises both Clapton's guitar playing and his vocal performance on this song, but particularly the latter.^[3] He particularly notes the raw anguish in Clapton's voice in the lines:

Do you want to see me crawl across the floor to you

Do you want to hear me beg you to take me back

I'd gladly do it because I don't want to fade away

contrasted with the somber longing expressed in the Clapton's voice for the refrain that immediately follows:

Bell bottom blues

You made me cry

I don't want to lose this feeling

If I could choose a place to die

It would be in your arms.^[3]

Author Jan Reid also praised Clapton's singing on the song, noting that his phrasing manages to suggest that despite the pain he is feeling, the woman's antics remind him of the "joy of just being alive."^[5]

The initial review of the Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs in Rolling Stone Magazine by Ed Leimacher called "Bell Bottom Blues" (as well as "Have You Ever Loved a Woman") filler.^[5] However, a later review of the album in Rolling Stone praised the song as an epic that "feels as if it's going to shatter from the heat of its romantic agony."^[10] The Rolling Stone Album Guide used the song as an example of how Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs transformed the blues, noting that this song in particular merges the styles of Blind Faith and Cream.^[11]

Matthew Sweet and Susanna Hoffs covered "Bell Bottom Blues" on their 2009 album Under the Covers, Vol. 2.^[12] Bruce Springsteen borrowed the line "I don't wanna fade away" for his 1980 song "Fade Away" from "Bell Bottom Blues."^[13]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Eric Clapton Charts and Awards". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/eric-clapton-p64692/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved 2011-08-24. 
2. ^ Jancik, W. (1998). The Billboard book of one-hit wonders. Billboard Books. p. 314. ISBN 9780823076222. 
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Janovitz, B.. "Bell Bottom Blues". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/song/bell-bottom-blues-t1448324. Retrieved 2011-08-24. 
4. ^ Schumacher, M. (2003). Crossroads: The Life and Music of Eric Clapton. Citadel Press. pp. 148–150. ISBN 9780806524665. 
5. ^ ^{a b c d e} Reid, J. (2006). Layla and other assorted love songs, Derek and the Dominos. Rodale. pp. 123–126. ISBN 9781594863691. 
6. ^ Shaprio, H. (1992). Eric Clapton: lost in the blues. Da Capo Press. p. 119. ISBN 9780306804809. 
7. ^ Roberty, M. (1995). The Complete Guide to the Music of Eric Clapton. Omnibus Press. p. 52. ISBN 0711943052. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Whitlock, B. & Roberty, M. (2010). Bobby Whitlock: A Rock 'n' Roll Autobiography. MaFarland. p. 94. ISBN 9780786458943. 
9. ^ ^{a b} Clapton, E. (2007). Eric Clapton: The Autobiography. Century. p. 127. ISBN 9781846051609. http://books.google.com/books?id=ZUIJAQAAMAAJ. 
10. ^ DeCurtis, A.. "Derek and the Dominos: Layla And Other Assorted Love Songs". rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/layla-and-other-assorted-love-songs-20050127. Retrieved 2011-08-25. 
11. ^ DeCurtis, A., Henke, J. & George-Warren, H., ed (1992). The Rolling Stone Album Guide (3rd ed.). Random House. p. 193. ISBN 9780679737292. 
12. ^ Erlewine, S.T.. "Under the Covers, Vol. 2". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/under-the-covers-vol-2-r1600176. Retrieved 2011-08-24. 
13. ^ Kirkpatrick, R. (2007). The Words and Music of Bruce Springsteen. Praeger. p. 75. ISBN 0-275-98938-0.