Forever Man
| "Forever Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Eric Clapton | ||||
| from the album Behind the Sun | ||||
| Released | 1985 | |||
| Format | CD | |||
| Recorded | 1984 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:14 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Writer(s) | Jerry Lynn Williams | |||
| Producer(s) | Lenny Waronker, Eric Clapton, Phil Collins | |||
| Eric Clapton singles chronology | ||||
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"Forever Man" is a song from Eric Clapton's 1985 album Behind the Sun, released as the first single of the album. It reached number one on the Billboard Top Rock Tracks chart, becoming his second single to do so.
Musical structure and lyrics
Clapton had just signed a contract with Warner Bros Records when he started recording Behind the Sun. When the album was completed, the record company rejected it because they felt it did not have enough singles. They commissioned three songs by Texas composer Jerry Lynn Williams, one of which was "Forever Man".
The song begins with a riff in which a bass, guitar and synth play. The song has an intro, verse, chorus, verse solo and final chorus structure.
Music video
The song produced Clapton's first music video, showing Clapton performing the song with Donald "Duck" Dunn, Jeff Porcaro, Michael Omartian, Tim Renwick (although Steve Lukather played on the album), Shaun Murphy, Yvonne Elliman and Marcella Detroit on a circular stage that in the center had a step where Clapton performs, the other members of the band being a step below.
This video was directed by Godley and Creme.
"Forever Man" was performed twice by Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood during their second US reunion tour at Madison Square Garden, NYC, February 25-28, 2008 and their 2009 US and 2010 European tours (featuring Sharon White and Michelle John on backing vocals).
Clapton also performed the song at the Royal Albert Hall on February 3, 1989 with Mark Knopfler on rhythm guitar.
Movie appearance
"Forever Man" is playing in the background of the movie SpaceCamp when Tate Donovan's character arrives in his Jeep.
Other appearances
This song was featured on the Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood 2 CD/2 DVD Live From Madison Square Garden and the 2 CD Twelfth Night albums.
Covers
The group Beatchuggers made a house mix of this song which was released in 2000 under the name "Beatchuggers feat. Eric Clapton - Forever Man (How many times?)"
Chart performance
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100 | 26 |
| Billboard Top Rock Tracks | 1 |
External links
| Preceded by "All She Wants to Do Is Dance" by Don Henley |
Billboard Top Rock Tracks number-one single 6 April 1985 - 20 April 1985 |
Succeeded by "Don't You (Forget About Me)" by Simple Minds |