You know when you hear a song, and just think, this is a perfect wedding song? No? Me neither… Well, Clapton’s ‘Wonderful Tonight’ paints a picture of the perfect romance, one that almost everyone dreams of – almost fairy tale-like. However the cause of this song being written, although vaguely romantic, has a fairly dark underlying motive. It was later revealed by Clapton himself that the ballad was written as a cry of affection to Pattie Boyd, the wife of George Harrison, a close friend of his. However, this was not the first sign of Clapton’s love for her as it is conspired that ‘Layla’, a song previously covered on my blog, was also devoted to her around the same time as Harrison released ‘Something’, also dedicated to her, as he couldn’t contain their crazy love affair any longer. Shortly after ‘Wonderful Tonight’ was released Pattie and Clapton were wed, to the demise of Harrison, but the marriage ended ten years later in 1989.
‘Wonderful Tonight’ is something of a fond childhood memory to me. A song of the past that is still relevant to my life today. An all time favorite. Not only is the riff a classic, but Clapton’s voice is beautifully memorizing, yet rustic, perfectly complimenting and contrasting the ballad-like nature of the song. ‘Wonderful Tonight’ takes the top spot as my favorite song.
Jazzmin Fotherby's AS Media Studies Blog 