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"Cocaine" is a song written and recorded in 1976 by singer-songwriter J. J. Cale. The song was popularized by Eric Clapton after his version was released on the 1977 album Slowhand. J. J. Cale's version of "Cocaine" was a number-one hit in New Zealand for a single week and became the seventh-best-selling single of 1977. Personnel
John Weldon "J. J." Cale [1] (December 5, 1938 – July 26, 2013) was an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Though he avoided the limelight, [2] his influence as a musical artist has been acknowledged by figures such as Neil Young, Mark Knopfler, Waylon Jennings, and Eric Clapton, who described him as one of the most important artists in rock history. [3]
[4] The song's meaning is ambiguous, although Eric Clapton describes it as an anti-drug song. He has called the song "quite cleverly anti-cocaine", noting: It's no good to write a deliberate anti-drug song and hope that it will catch. Because the general thing is that people will be upset by that.
The song was specially written as part of the film soundtrack for the movie The Color of Money, which was directed by Martin Scorsese and starred Paul Newman and Tom Cruise as pool sharks. The recording first appeared as part of the film soundtrack, before it was released as a single or on Eric Clapton's 1986 studio album release.
Cale recorded the song and then released it in 1966 as a single with its flipside track "Slow Motion". [3] [4] When Eric Clapton was working with Delaney & Bonnie Bramlett, Delaney Bramlett introduced Clapton to the music of J.J. Cale. [5] [6] "After Midnight" was the first of several Cale cover songs released by Clapton and appeared on his self-titled debut album.
[11] Clapton then recorded other Cale songs, such as the 1977 hit "Cocaine", and the songwriting royalties earned from artists like Clapton covering his songs enabled Cale to have a comfortable, if not commercially successful, recording career. In a 2014 interview with NPR, Clapton spoke about Cale's influence on his music:
461 Ocean Boulevard is the second solo studio album by English musician Eric Clapton.It was released in late July 1974 by RSO Records, after the record company released the hit single "I Shot the Sheriff" earlier in the month.
On March 13 2001 Eric Clapton released his version of the song on his studio album Reptile, which was produced by Clapton and Simon Climie. [6] AllMusic critic William Ruhlmann compared the Clapton cover with his 1977 version of another Cale tune, "Cocaine", noting fans will enjoy the 2001 cover as much as the 1977 hit single release. [7]