Posted on 09/06/2025 6:35:42 PM PDT by nickcarraway
As far as huge hits go, there’s none more colossal than ‘Layla’ by Derek and the Dominos. Perhaps more than any other song, it’s what cemented Eric Clapton well and truly as a guitar-playing god. But this isn’t entirely the full story.
The truth would have it that ‘Layla’ wasn’t completely all of Clapton’s own conception, and there is actually a pretty audacious theft which marred the legacy of the song quite majorly for a select group of people. One of them was Rita Coolidge, who, despite her own blazing career as a pop music machine, knew where her credit was due in places where it wasn’t being received.
It all boils down to the fact that the song is listed as having been co-written by Clapton and Jim Gordon, who was Coolidge’s boyfriend at the time. But according to her version of events, she and Gordon had written a song called ‘Time (Don’t Get in Our Way)’ in 1969, a year before ‘Layla’ made its way into the world and redefined the face of rock music forever.
Recalling how the scenario played out, Coolidge later said in her memoir Delta Lady: “We played the song for Eric Clapton in England. I remember sitting at the piano in Olympic Studios while Eric listened to me play it. Jim and I left a cassette of the demo, hoping of course that he might cover it.” Afterwards, she “largely forgot about it” as life got in the way – namely the fact that she and Gordon broke up. But hearing ‘Layla’ down the line, her ears were burning.
“I was infuriated,” she said, then adding: “What they had clearly done was take the song Jim and I had written, jettisoned the lyrics and tacked it to the end of Eric’s song. It was almost the same.” Understandably angry, Coolidge approached Clapton’s management to seek a credit, but was shockingly dismissed as she was told, “You’re a girl singer.” It was hardly as if this was going to calm her down, let alone justify the crime.
What makes this even worse is the fact that later down the line, Derek and the Dominios’ late keyboardist Bobby Whitlock confirmed Coolidge’s claims, as he said in 2011: “Jim took the melody from Rita’s song and didn’t give her credit for writing it. Her boyfriend ripped her off. I knew – but nobody would listen to or believe me.”
It’s fair to say that, regardless of being thrown under the bus in terms of credit and royalties, Coolidge dodged a bullet in terms of Gordon anyway. He has been in prison since 1983 for murdering his mother at the height of a psychotic episode, so it’s the epitome of a sliding doors moment in what the fates could have been.
However, this absolutely does not soften the blow of what ‘Layla’ became, and what Coolidge’s legacy could have transformed into. It’s also yet another case of songs that could have ended in the courtroom, with Coolidge receiving her dues. But as with many classic tiffs in the music industry, sexism and misogyny reared its ugly head again. It’s really quite ironic for a song dedicated to a woman of Clapton’s dreams.
Also, supposedly he was schizophrenic.
Clapton ripped off so many artists from Jimmy Cliff to JJ Cale. And Layla sucks, 4-5 minutes of wasted radio time, it sounds like two separate songs pasted together to glom air play.
So, by consequence, Eric Clapton is an asshole.
No surprise here.
Yeah, Duane Allman.
My paternal uncle was an aspiring songwriter in the 1940s. One of his songs was stolen by Tex Ritter and became a big hit. My uncle turned to alcohol and ended up leaving his wife and kids for a couple of yrs until he came to his senses. Those royalties would have changed his life for the better, which is why the theft was so painful, especially when Tex was already established in the music scene.
Well the good news is now with AI, anybody can write a song.
People asked Duane which guitar he played; how could they tell which was which.
He said his was the Gibson
They said- C’mon
He said his was the one that sounded sparkly.
I prefer Billy Ward & His Dominoes over Derek & the Dominoes.
I don’t hear much similarity between the songs. Maybe I’m listening to the wrong part, or maybe it’s really subtle.
Oh no. It’s a brutal business. I know a bunch of songs I heard where outright stolen in the 50s and 60s.
Yes, I see that now. Thanks!
Ha. I did not know that.
Quite possibly THE single most recognizable guitar opening riff ever…
…other than Smoke on the Water…
Rita Coolidge was married to drummer Jim Gordon (Jump Into the Fire) who was later convicted of murdering his mother. He died in prison in 2023.
From the Tom Dowd bio pic. He has the tracks of Duane And Eric isolated on the multitrack.
Summer of ‘72. Yep. Goodfellas. Long Island. I’m riding out to Fire Island Beach in. 1971 avocado Torino with my Irish American Catholic school summer boyfriend listening to long version 5 minute Layla on WPLR of WNEW and these non fictional goodfellas are a few miles away shooting each other.
Yep. Eric and Duane band the Dominoes never knew. But they’d get it if they did know.
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