The Twelfth Son
Eric Clapton's first all-blues studio album, released 12 September 1994, and his only UK number-one album.
From the Cradle is the twelfth solo studio album by Eric Clapton, released on 12 September 1994 by Reprise Records. A blues cover album and Clapton's follow-up to his successful 1992 live album, Unplugged, it is his only UK number-one album to date. Although he had long been associated with the blues, From the Cradle was Clapton's first attempt at an all-blues album.
Lore & Background
The title comes from the last line of a four-line poem written by Clapton (which he never set to music) and printed in his own handwriting on the second page of the CD booklet: 'All along this path I tread / My heart betrays my weary head / with nothing but my love to save / from the cradle to the grave.' According to the liner notes, the album was almost entirely recorded live in the studio with no overdubs or edits, the only overdubs being featured on 'How Long Blues' (dobro) and 'Motherless Child' (drums). The album won Clapton the 1995 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album and he received a further nomination for Album of the Year. In July 2014, Guitar World placed From the Cradle on their list 'Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994'.
Reader's Guide
The album features 16 tracks, all blues covers. Notable tracks include 'Blues Before Sunrise' (Leroy Carr, also inspired by Elmore James's rendition), 'Third Degree' (Eddie Boyd, Willie Dixon), 'Reconsider Baby' (Lowell Fulson), 'Hoochie Coochie Man' (Dixon, originally performed by Muddy Waters), 'Five Long Years' (Boyd), 'I'm Tore Down' (Sonny Thompson, originally by Freddie King), 'How Long Blues' (Carr), 'Goin' Away Baby' (James A. Lane), 'Blues Leave Me Alone' (Lane), 'Sinner's Prayer' (Lloyd Glenn, Fulson), 'Motherless Child' (Robert Hicks), 'It Hurts Me Too' (Tampa Red, credited to Elmore James whose version was the blueprint), 'Someday After a While' (Freddy King, Thompson), 'Standin' Round Crying' (McKinley Morganfield), 'Driftin'' (Charles Brown, Johnny Moore, Eddie Williams), and 'Groaning the Blues' (Dixon, originally by Otis Rush). Personnel includes Eric Clapton (guitars, vocals), Andy Fairweather Low (guitars), Chris Stainton (keyboards), Dave Bronze (bass), Jim Keltner (drums), Richie Hayward (percussion on 'How Long Blues'), Jerry Portnoy (harmonica), and The Kick Horns (Simon Clarke, Tim Sanders, Roddy Lorimer). Producers were Eric Clapton and Russ Titelman.
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