Lay Down Sally

Marcy Levy, one of Clapton's backup singers, wrote this with him and sang on it. She toured with Bob Seger before joining Clapton's band in 1973. In 1988, Levy, using the name Marcella Detroit, joined former Bananarama singer Siobhan Fahey to form Shakespear's Sister.

In this song, Clapton tries to convince a girl to hang out in bed with him instead of leaving. The song is not typical of Clapton's work, which is often based on The Blues.

This is the first track on the album. "Slowhand" is a nickname given to Clapton by the group's manager when he was with The Yardbirds. He got it because of his laid-back guitar style.

"Lay Down Sally" is grammatically incorrect. The correct grammar would be "Lie Down Sally." (thanks, Bert - Pueblo, NM)

Eric Clapton once had his hand slammed in a car door by a member of the band The Blues Project. As told in Al Kooper's Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards, during the landmark 1967 concert "Murray the K's Easter Rock Extravaganza," Clapton, Steve Katz, and Kooper headed out to a local music store between sets and were a little late getting back. Hurrying out of the cab, "Steve was right behind me and as he left the cab he accidentally slammed the door right on Clapton's hand! Eric began to scream in pain, and Steve turned around, ran back, and opened the door. Miraculously, Eric hadn't broken any bones or even punctured his skin for that matter. Steve felt like a jerk, however. Can you imagine that kind of guilt?"