| "Forever Man" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byEric Clapton | ||||
| from the albumBehind the Sun | ||||
| B-side | "Too Bad" | |||
| Released | 22 February 1985[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1984 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 3:10 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros. | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Jerry Lynn Williams | |||
| Producer(s) | Lenny Waronker &Ted Templeman | |||
| Eric Clapton singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Forever Man" is a song fromEric Clapton's 1985 albumBehind the Sun, released as the first single of the album. It reached number one on theBillboardTop Rock Tracks chart, becoming his second single to do so.[2] In total, the single release sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide.
Clapton had just signed a contract withWarner Bros. Records when he started recordingBehind the Sun. When the album was completed, the record company rejected it because they felt it did not have enough singles. They commissioned three songs by composerJerry Lynn Williams, one of which was "Forever Man". The song begins with ariff in which a bass, guitar and synth play. The song has an intro, verse, chorus, verse solo and final chorus structure and is in the key ofD Minor.[3]
The song produced Clapton's first music video, showing Clapton performing the song with his tour bandDonald "Duck" Dunn,Jamie Oldaker,Michael Omartian,Tim Renwick,Shaun Murphy, andMarcella Detroit on a circular stage that had a raised step in the center where Clapton performs, the other members of the band being a step below. At about 2:45 into the video, a camera rig falls over, which was not intentional, but was left in the video.[4] The video was directed byGodley and Creme.[5]
"Forever Man" was featured on theEric Clapton,Steve Winwood doubleCD andDVDLive From Madison Square Garden and many other compilation albums includingThe Cream of Eric Clapton (1987),Complete Clapton (2007) andForever Man (2015).[6] The original music video was released, as the sound recording, on theVHS, CD,download and DVD compilationClapton Chronicles: The Best of Eric Clapton in 1999.[5]
Cash Box described it as a "gutsy soul inspired work-out" with "one of Clapton’s most piercing leads in memory" and said it was "definitely Clapton’s strongest work in years."[7]Billboard described it as a "a reprise of his venerableblues-boogie style"[8]
In theUnited Kingdom, the single release entered the official music charts, compiled by theOfficial Charts Company at number 77 and peaked at position 51 the next week. In total, the "Forever Man" spent six weeks on the British single charts.[9] While on chart in the United Kingdom, the single sold a total of 19,934 copies in six weeks.[10] In theUnited States, "Forever Man" ranked at number 26 onBillboard magazine's Hot 100 singles chart and spent a total of twelve weeks on chart.[11] In North America, it also became second number hit on the Mainstream Rock airplay chart.[2] While charting on the single sales compilation, the single release sold a total of 193,932 records in the United States alone. InCanada, the single did not reach theRPM sales chart, but sold 3,382 copies in the country.[10] InAustralia, the single peaked at number 92, as the Kent Music Report published in 1993.[12] "Forever Man" did also reached various national single charts inBelgium and theNetherlands. InDenmark andJapan, the single was certified with agold disc to commemorate outstanding sales figures of the 1985 release. In total, the single sold more than 500,000 copies worldwide.[10]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
Certifications[edit]
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| "Forever Man (How Many Times)" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Single by Beatchuggers | |
| Released | October 23, 2000 (2000-10-23) |
| Recorded | October 2000 (2000-10) |
| Genre | Electronic ·House |
| Length | 3:48 |
| Label | Flex |
| Songwriter(s) | Jerry Lynn Williams |
| Producer(s) | Michael Linde |
In 2000, the then 23-year-oldDanishHouse producer Michael Linde – also known as Beatchuggers – "fooled around" with a sample of Clapton's original "Forever Man" recording, and decided to do ademo recording of the song in his style.[22] The track, originally titled "How Many Times", was produced as a white label release by the indie Bim Bam Recordings. The disc was sent toLondon, where Clapton listened to the Beatchuggers version and became interested in the project. Back in Denmark,EMI–Medley's dance subsidiary, Flex, signed Michael Linde and was then set to release the recording as "Forever Man (How Many Times)" under the act name "Beatchuggers Featuring Eric Clapton". EMI–Medley director of international exploitation Ole Mortensen said that the record will be released in late October 2000 and that Clapton will be featured in the promotional music video.[23]
The more dance-oriented version was released on October 23, 2000 as a digital download,[24] as a CD maxi single[25] and on 12 inch gramophone record with different B-sides of the same songs consisting of other mixes and lengths.[26] The single is accompanied by a music video.[27] Besides of Jacob Horney who played additional keyboards along with Nils Munk who played bass guitar on top of the original recording are no other musicians involved with the recording. Alan Mawdfley engineered the recording while the artists Fletch, Jan Eliasson and Lene Reidel remixed the B-sides for the single release. The cover artwork was created by Peter Stenbæk.[28]
Reviews from theSchweizer Hitparade had been positive,[29] where asAllMusic did not rate the single.[30]
| Chart (2000–01) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA Club Chart)[31] | 10 |
| Belgium (Ultratip 20 Flanders)[32] | 14 |
| Denmark (Tracklisten)[33] | 5 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[34] | 26 |
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