Eric Clapton’s “Lady in Red”

Despite the song’s relatively low sales, “Lady in Red” managed to achieve a wide variety of success. It peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts of both Adult Contemporary and Cash Box. It also reached the top ten of the Official Charts Company in the UK. The song has been covered by artists from amateurs to professionals.

The song is one of the most famous by Eric Clapton and was written in the early 1970s. It was inspired by the unrequited love that he had for George Harrison’s wife. Clapton had originally come up with the idea for the song while studying a poem written by Nizami Ganjavi in the 12th century. The song tells the story of a young man who is hopelessly in love with another woman.

Clapton’s early Gibson Les Pauls had a slim neck profile. He began using a 1964 Cherry-Red Gibson ES-335 after playing the Yardbirds. In late 1969, he switched to a Fender Stratocaster. Nowadays, he plays a custom 000-ECHF Martin guitar.