The 1977 classic Eric Clapton wrote while sitting in a wheelbarrow
Geniuses can come up with great songs anywhere, but Eric Clapton really pushed the boat out when he penned a classic while sitting in a wheelbarrow.
Steven Van Zandt of the E Street Band is probably the biggest Clapton fan out there, but even he had to give in to the fact that at some point, the guitarist stopped being great and started simply being good. This came, he believes, in 1971, after Clapton wrote ‘Layla’. Despite putting together great songs after that, ‘Layla’ was the last time that he was perfect.
“He had seven years of the most extraordinary, historic guitar playing ever, and 40 years of doing good work,” said Van Zandt, “Being the best has got to wear you out. So he pulled back, like Dylan and Lennon did. The sprint is cool, the marathon is better. Clapton has followed in the footsteps of his mentors: He’s become a journeyman.”
A journeyman is certainly one way to describe him, as it was on a farm in Wales when Clapton wound up writing what many (not including Steve) would call a perfect song: ‘Wonderful Tonight’. In order to find himself in that wheelbarrow on that farm, a number of things had to happen, but very few of them actually involved Clapton himself.
Ronald Frederick Lane was an exceptional musician and one of the integral parts of The Faces and Small Faces. He could have gone on to become a huge rock ‘n’ roll star if he desired, but the lifestyle really didn’t appeal to him. He was always confused by his contemporaries’ decision to strive for the limelight, when doing so can often dilute the art that people create.
“As far as I’m concerned, if half of them had never been stars, they would have done something better; it’s totally stardom that’s fucked them up,” said Lane when discussing some of his ‘60s counterparts, “Or this illusion of stardom; it’s not even real. Alright, let the little girls’ magazines say it’s glamorous and all that, but Christ, we’re grown men, aren’t we? We should know better. But no. All the ‘stars’ think it’s glamorous too…”
When Lane eventually decided to call it a day, he moved completely off-grid. He didn’t want to be near the hustle and bustle of the city, or near any of the artists that he had grown to resent over time. As such, he and his wife, Kate, moved to a farm in Wales, and spent a lot of their time living life on the road, playing in small pubs and venues with their band Slim Chance.
“Ronnie followed me to Wales after we sold Wick Cottage [in Richmond] back to Ron Wood,” said Kate, “We did a runner because the shit hit the fan when he left The Faces. We wanted to live on the road, and we’d already travelled around Ireland in a Land Rover with [singer-songwriter] Billy Nicholls, singing in pubs. The farm was a different way of life.”
The band might not have ever been that successful, and the way of life may not have been profitable, but what they made both on the road and at their farm was somewhere where creativity was king. They were no longer blinded by the illusion of success and the need to be perfect, and could instead just sit back, make music, and enjoy life. It appealed to other artists as well, hence why Eric Clapton found himself on that farm one day, bum in a wheelbarrow and guitar across his lap, enjoying a slice of a wonderful life that allowed him to write ‘Wonderful Tonight’.
“Eric wrote ‘Wonderful Tonight’ at ours,” recalled Kate, “Sitting in a wheelbarrow”.
