Eric Clapton – “Cocaine” Live
Don’t Forget This Fact, You Can’t Get It Back!
“Cocaine” was written and originally recorded by JJ Cale, an Oklahoma blues guitarist. It was released on September 1976. When Eric Clapton covered the song, it propelled both the track and Cale to stardom. Clapton’s version was released on November 1977 for his album “Slowhand.”
- Number 30 in the US Billboard Hot 100
- Number 3 in the Canada Top Singles (RPM)
- Featured in the movie “Starsky & Hutch”
AllMusic calls the latter “among [Clapton’s] most enduringly popular hits” and notes that “even for an artist like Clapton with a huge body of high-quality work, ‘Cocaine’ ranks among his best.”
According to Clapton, contrary to what others believed, this is actually an anti-cocaine song. It was cleverly crafted to seem ambiguous. In fact, he didn’t perform this track during numerous live shows and concerts to avoid sending the wrong message. When he did include this is his repertoire, he added “that dirty cocaine” into the chorus.
It sends a powerful message against drug addiction!