Tears in Heaven
"Tears in Heaven" | ||||
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Warner Bros. | ||||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Russ Titelman | |||
Eric Clapton singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Tears in Heaven" on YouTube |
"Tears in Heaven" is a song by English guitarist, singer, and songwriter
The song was Clapton's best-selling single in the United States and reached number two on the
Writing
On 20 March 1991, Clapton's four-year-old son Conor, whom he had with Lory Del Santo, died after falling from the 53rd-floor window of a New York City apartment belonging to a friend of Conor’s mother.[2][3] After isolating himself for a period, Clapton began working again, writing music for the film Rush (1991). He dealt with the grief of his son's death by cowriting "Tears in Heaven" for the soundtrack with Will Jennings.[4] Jennings said:
[Clapton] said to me, "I want to write a song about my boy." Eric had the first verse of the song written, which, to me, is all the song, but he wanted me to write the rest of the verse lines and the release ("Time can bring you down, time can bend your knees..."), even though I told him that it was so personal he should write everything himself. He told me that he had admired the work I did with Steve Winwood and finally there was nothing else but to do as he requested, despite the sensitivity of the subject. This is a song so personal and so sad that it is unique in my experience of writing songs.[2]
In an interview in 1992, Clapton said of the song: "It was in the back of my head but it didn't really have a reason for being until I was scoring this movie ... then it sort of had a reason to be. And it is a little ambiguous because it could be taken to be about Conor but it also is meant to be part of the film."[4] In an interview with Daphne Barak, he said: "I almost subconsciously used music for myself as a healing agent, and lo and behold, it worked... I have got a great deal of happiness and a great deal of healing from music."[5]
Release
Shortly after the single was released, Clapton recorded the song in front of an audience at
United States and Canada
"Tears in Heaven" is Clapton's best-selling single in the United States. With more than 2,800,000 copies sold – both physical and digital – it remains one of the best-selling pop singles of the 1990s and one of the best-selling singles released by any non-American artist. The Reprise Records single reached number two on the
In Canada, the Reprise Records single release topped all of the three pop single sales chart in the country and is therefore Clapton's most successful single in Canada to date. The song reached the number one top position on both the Canadian Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[18] and Top 100 Singles chart, compiled by the RPM magazine.[19] In addition to the already rare success, reaching number one on both of the charts, "Tears in Heaven" was The Record magazine's top retail selling single release.[20] Shortly after the single was released in Canada and topped all of these three record charts, it was certified with a double Platinum sales certification for physical sales exceeding 200,000 copies.[21] In 1992, "Tears in Heaven" was the 17th-best-selling single on RPM magazine's Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.[22]
Europe and Oceania
The pop single release was especially successful in Europe, reaching the Top 10 in 12 countries and the Top 20 in 15 of them. The single charted at number three on the
In 2010, when a remastered physical edition of the single was released in Belgium, it reached number 16 on the Back Catalogue chart.
In addition, the digital single was certified with a Platinum disc, for sales and streams exceeding 30,000 units. The single was a medium successful hit in the Netherlands. It reached position 17 on the Dutch Top 40 singles weekly chart, where it stayed for ten weeks,[37] and reached number 131 on the chart's year-end list in 1992.[38] It also reached the Dutch Single Top 100 chart, peaking at number 13 and staying for 21 weeks on chart,[39] before placing itself on position 87 on the year-end Single 100 chart.[40] In Norway, the single topped the VG-lista singles chart in 1992. In Spain, the single charted at number seven on the nation's singles chart, and was eventually certified with a Gold disc, commemorating the sale of more than 25,000 copies in the country by the Productores de Música de España (PROMUSICAE). In Sweden, "Tears in Heaven" reached number four on the Sverigetopplistan singles chart, where it spent a total of 30 weeks on chart.
In October 1992, it was presented with a Platinum sales award by the
In Australia, "Tears in Heaven" was a hit record despite charting in the lower positions of the
Asia and South America
In Asia, "Tears in Heaven" was mostly successful in Japan, where the Reprise Records single stayed for a total of thirty-seven weeks on the nation's Hot 100 single sales chart, compiled by Oricon.
"Tears in Heaven" is Clapton's commercially most successful single release in South America to date, as it reached the single sales charts of three countries. In Argentina, the Reprise Records release topped the country's single charts, compiled by the
Legacy
Clapton made numerous public service announcements to raise awareness for childproofing windows and staircases. Clapton stopped performing "Tears in Heaven" in 2004, as well as the song "My Father's Eyes", stating: "I didn't feel the loss anymore, which is so much a part of performing those songs. I really have to connect with the feelings that were there when I wrote them. They're kind of gone and I really don't want them to come back, particularly. My life is different now. They probably just need a rest and maybe I'll introduce them for a much more detached point of view."[61] Eventually, however, both songs would make it back into Clapton's regular setlists, with the latter being performed as recently as 2013, and the former in 2022.[62]
Genesis wrote and recorded the song "Since I Lost You" for the 1991 We Can't Dance album. Phil Collins, a longtime friend and collaborator of Clapton's, said in interviews the song was inspired by Clapton's loss of Conor.
Dana Key wrote a song in response to "Tears in Heaven" and Clapton's loss of Conor titled "Dear Mr. Clapton" The song appears on Key's 1995 solo album Part of the Mystery.
Awards and nominations
Year | Ceremony | Award | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
1992 | Billboard | Best-Selling Soundtrack Single | Won | [63] |
Golden Globe Awards
|
Best Original Song | Nominated | [64] | |
MTV Movie Awards
|
Best Song from a Movie
|
Nominated | [65] | |
MTV Video Music Awards
|
Best Cinematography | Nominated | [66] | |
Best Male Video | Won | [67] | ||
Best Video from a Film | Nominated | [68] | ||
1993 | Grammy Awards | Best Instrumental Composition | Nominated | [69] |
Best Pop Vocal Performance Male
|
Won | [70] | ||
Best Song Written Specifically for a Motion Picture or for Television
|
Nominated | [71] | ||
Record of the Year | Won | [72] | ||
Song of the Year | Won | [73] | ||
1994 | BMI | Most Performed Pop Songs | Won | [74] |
2004 | Rock and Roll Hall of Fame | Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll | Won | [75] |
Rolling Stone | The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time
|
#362 | [76] | |
2015 | About
|
Top 10 Best Songs of 1992 | #5 | [77] |
Top 100 90s Pop Songs | #81 | [78] |
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[83] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Italy (FIMI)[84] | Gold | 35,000‡ |
Japan (RIAJ)[85] Change the World / Tears in Heaven |
Platinum | 100,000^ |
Japan (RIAJ)[86] Digital single |
Gold | 100,000* |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[87] | Gold | 5,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI)[47] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[89] Physical single |
Platinum | 2,800,000[A][88] |
United States (RIAA)[90] | Gold | 500,000* |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
Other performances
In January 2005,
See also
- List of Hot Adult Contemporary number ones of 1992
Notes
- ^ Combined digital and physical sales
References
- ISBN 0-313-32937-0.
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- ^ "Exclusive: Mother of 'Tears in Heaven' Inspiration Shares Story". ABC News. 2006-09-07. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
- ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine (1992-08-18). "MTV Unplugged - Eric Clapton | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
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{{cite book}}
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- ^ a b "Clapton, Eric – {{{song}}}" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
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- ^ a b Martin, Fred (1994). Irish Top 50 Singles – 1993. Dublin, Ireland: Gallup Publishing Ireland.
- ^ a b "M&D: Classifiche" [M&D: Charts] (in Italian). Italy: Musica e dischi. Search for Eric Clapton as the artist, then select the song "Tears in Heaven" to see the highest chart position. Archived from the original on May 18, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
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ignored (help) - ^ Folha de S. Paulo (in Portuguese). Luis Frias. Translated quote: This week's sales topper is "Tears in Heaven" by Eric Clapton. With Platinum sales in only one week, the single went up to the top slot, where it will probably stay for the next couple of weeks. It could be an international best-seller this year. [...] Top Pop Single Award. (Reprise, Warner).
- ^ Gomes, Adelar (October 21, 1997). "Eric Clapton é o primeiro colocado e ouro ainda com eles" [Eric Claton takes the number one and a Gold record just as well]. O Globo (in Portuguese). Roberto Irineu Marinho.
- ^ ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved November 12, 2015.
- TODAY.com. Associated Press. March 11, 2004. Retrieved September 20, 2016.
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- ^ "1992 MTV Video Music Awards | Highlights, Winners, Performers and Photos from the 1992 MTV VMAs > Best Male Video". MTV Music. Viacom International, Inc. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
- ^ "1992 MTV Video Music Awards | Highlights, Winners, Performers and Photos from the 1992 MTV VMAs > Best Video from a Film". MTV Music. Viacom International, Inc. Retrieved November 6, 2015.
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- ^ "Italian single certifications – Eric Clapton – Tears in Heaven" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved October 13, 2021. Select "2021" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Select "Tears in Heaven" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
- ^ "Japanese single certifications – エリック・クラプトン – チェンジ・ザ・ワールド/ティアーズ・イン・ヘヴン" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 10 September 2021. Select 1998年6月 on the drop-down menu
- ^ "Japanese digital single certifications – エリック・クラプトン – ティアーズ・イン・ヘヴン" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved 14 January 2020. Select 2014年2月 on the drop-down menu
- ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Eric Clapton – Tears in Heaven". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- ^ "Eric Clapton Will Never Play "Tears in Heaven" Live Again, Here's Why". Archived from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "American single certifications – Eric Clapton – Tears in Heaven". Recording Industry Association of America.
- ^ "American single certifications – Eric Clapton – Tears in Heaven". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
- ^ "Music stars record tsunami single". BBC News. 20 January 2005. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- ^ "Tears In Heaven (2005) | Save the Children | MP3 Downloads 7digital United Kingdom". 7digital.com. 2005-10-18. Archived from the original on 2013-10-06. Retrieved 2013-10-03.