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My Father's Eyes (song)

For the Amy Grant song, see My Father's Eyes (album).

"My Father's Eyes"
Single by Eric Clapton
from the album Pilgrim
B-side"Theme from a Movie That Never Happened", "Inside of Me"
Released10 March 1998 (1998-03-10)
Length5:24
LabelReprise, Duck
Songwriter(s)Eric Clapton
Producer(s)Eric Clapton, Simon Climie
Eric Clapton singles chronology
"Change the World"
(1996) 		"My Father's Eyes"
(1998) 		"Circus"
(1998)

"My Father's Eyes" is a song written and performed by British musician Eric Clapton and produced by Clapton and Simon Climie. It was released as a single in 1998 and was featured on Clapton's thirteenth solo studio album, Pilgrim (1998). The song reached the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, peaking at number 16, which remains his last top-40 hit in said country as of 2024. It also spent five weeks at number two on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart. It became a top-five hit in Canada, where it peaked at number two, and reached the top 20 in Austria, Iceland, and Norway. In 1999, it won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

Clapton performed this track for the first time in 1992 and again in 1996, in both electric and unplugged versions. These versions of the song were completely different from the official single release in 1998. He would later retire the song in 2004, along with "Tears in Heaven", until the 50 Years Further On Up the Road world tour in 2013.

Inspiration and content

Clapton wrote "My Father's Eyes" whilst living in Antigua and Barbuda in 1991.[1] The song was inspired by the fact that Clapton never met his father, Edward Fryer, who died of leukemia in 1985.[2] Describing how he wishes he knew his father, the song also refers to his own son Conor, who died in 1991 at age four after falling from an apartment window. In Eric Clapton: The Autobiography (2010), Clapton wrote: "In [the song] I tried to describe the parallel between looking in the eyes of my son, and the eyes of the father that I never met, through the chain of our blood."[3]

Critical reception

British magazine Music Week named "My Father's Eyes" one of the album's "most satisfying moments" and "most radio-friendly offerings", "with Clapton's usual restrained vocalising given a strong lift on the memorable chorus by the more optimistically-sounding backing singers. This is unlikely to hang around the chart for long, but will serve its main purpose of lifting album sales."[4]

Accolades

Year Ceremony Award Result Ref.
1999 BMI Awards Song of the Year Won [5]
Grammy Awards Best Pop Vocal Performance Male Won [6]

Track listing

  1. "My Father's Eyes"
  2. "Change the World"
  3. "Theme from a Movie That Never Happened" (Orchestral)
  4. "Inside of Me"

Charts

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States 10 February 1998 Contemporary hit radio Reprise [31]
Japan 10 March 1998 CD
  • Reprise
  • Duck
 [32]
United Kingdom 23 March 1998 [33]

References

  1. ^ Clapton, Eric (2010). Eric Clapton: The Autobiography. Random House. p. 273. ISBN 978-1-4090-6039-0.
  2. ^ Rains, Olga; Rains, Lloyd; Jarratt, Melynda (2006). Voices of the Left Behind: Project Roots and the Canadian War Children of World War II. Dundurn. ISBN 978-1-4597-1247-8.
  3. ^ "7 emotional songs by musicians who miss their father". BBC Music. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  4. ^ "Single reviews" (PDF). Music Week. 14 March 1998. p. 24. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  5. ^ "This month at the BMI website". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 46. 13 November 1999. p. 1. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  6. ^ "1998 Grammy Winners". Grammy Awards. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  7. ^ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  8. ^ "Eric Clapton – My Father's Eyes" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  9. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3538." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 3522." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  11. ^ "Eric Clapton – My Father's Eyes" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  12. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (2.4. – 9.4. 1998)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 3 April 1998. p. 30. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Eric Clapton – My Father's Eyes" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  14. ^ "Eric Clapton – My Father's Eyes" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  15. ^ "Eric Clapton – My Father's Eyes". VG-lista. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  16. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  17. ^ "Eric Clapton – My Father's Eyes". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  18. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  19. ^ "Eric Clapton Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  20. ^ "Eric Clapton Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  21. ^ "Eric Clapton Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  22. ^ "Eric Clapton Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  23. ^ "Eric Clapton Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  24. ^ "Eric Clapton Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  25. ^ "RPM's Top 100 Hit Tracks of '98" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 63, no. 12. 14 December 1998. p. 20. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  26. ^ "RPM's Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of '98". RPM. Retrieved 23 March 2019 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  27. ^ "The Year in Music 1998: Hot Adult Contemporary Singles & Tracks". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 52. 26 December 1998. p. YE-95. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  28. ^ "Most Played Adult Top 40 Songs of 1998". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 6, no. 52. 25 December 1998. p. 55.
  29. ^ "Most Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs of 1998". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 6, no. 52. 25 December 1998. p. 45.
  30. ^ "Best of '98: Most Played Triple-A Songs". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 6, no. 52. 25 December 1998. p. 35.
  31. ^ "New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1234. 6 February 1998. p. 46.
  32. ^ "マイ・ファーザーズ・アイズ | エリック・クラプトン" [My Father's Eyes | Eric Clapton] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 30 September 2023.
  33. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 21 March 1998. p. 37. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
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