“Push up the faders!” How the magic of the studio helped Eric Clapton capture lightning
Any lucky musician will likely understand the pull of serendipity in the studio. While it can be satisfying to stick to a rigid schedule for productivity, sometimes stumbling upon unexpected inspiration can make the whole process feel even more authentic and meaningful. For Eric Clapton, one of these moments occurred during the sessions for Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs.
While some prefer to know precisely what they will be doing and recording during this part of the process, others view the studio as another crucial part of the creative aspect. For some, it’s the space where improvisation and spontaneity thrive, a place where magic can appear from anywhere, at any time. There’s also often an element of intimacy where any sort of idea, good and bad, can be put forward without judgment.
Of course, there’s sometimes the added bonus of unexpected convergence when the space is being shared by someone else. For instance, there are countless anecdotes across history about artists who shared studio space with other musicians, and how, sometimes, these moments provide some of the greatest sparks of inspiration, whether from overheard material or direct collaboration.
While recording material for Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs, Pharaoh’s Sam the Sham was recording Sam, Hard and Heavy in the adjacent booth. At one point, Clapton and Duane Allman heard him recording the blues classic ‘Key to the Highway’, originally by Charlie Segar and Willie Broonzy. Without any real intention of taking it anywhere, the pair broke out into a spontaneous jam, spinning out a version of the song that ran for over nine minutes.
The recorded version actually started after they had already started playing, though they obscured this later on by applying a fade-in to make it seem like it was the start of the song. However, this only enhances the track further, as it proves that whatever energy they had going at that moment in time was captured on tape, despite their shared rule about the tapes recording at all times, just in case.
As keyboardist Bobby Whitlock later recalled, this meant that, no matter who was in the studio at any time, any good material would be captured. “We told Tom [Dowd] to leave the tape running at all times,” he told Stephen K. Peeples. “I didn’t care if Eric was in there by himself or it was me or me and Eric and Duane, whatever. Anytime a musician walked in there and started playing, it was to be recorded. It was just tape.”
Explaining the decision to add the fade-in, he added, “[The tapes are] supposed to be running at all times. And we’re out there, jammin’, and Tom had to excuse himself – he went to the bathroom down the hall. We started playing ‘Key to the Highway,’ and he came running in: ‘Push up the faders! Push up the faders!’ And that’s why we faded into it.”
Although the whole thing unfolded spontaneously, their version of ‘Key to the Highway’ made it onto the record, proving the significance of the organic approach in the studio. The elongated runtime makes it feel even more special, like accidentally listening in to a band warming up before making a start on the official material. There were no overriding expectations; just skilled players doing what they do best—making good music on a whim.
