On This Day in 1974 – Slow Hand Goes Gold

On this day in 1974 Eric Clapton's album '461 Ocean Boulevard', with his cover of Bob Marley's classic 'I Shot The Sheriff', was certified Gold.

Here's Clapton performing an pretty incredible version of the song live on 'Crossroads' in 2010:

The first minute or so of this proves that Eric Clapton is a musical genius. He's just riffing a little bit before the intro and it's SPECTACULAR!

Here's the original version by Bob Marley:

I always appreciated how Clapton really stuck to the sound and feel of the original, but was still able to make it very much his own.

By the way, 'I Shot the Sheriff' wasn't the only cover song Clapton did on the album. He also did a version of 'Willie And The Hand Jive':

I was never a big fan of his version, although it DID fit well with the overall feel of the album. Here's the original version of the song by the late, great Johnny Otis:

Here's the original track listing for '461 Ocean Boulevard':

1. Motherless Children
2. Give Me Strength
3. Willie And The Hand Jive
4. Get Ready
5. I Shot The Sheriff
6. I Can't Hold Out
7. Please Be With Me
8. Let It Grow
9. Steady Rollin' Man
10. Mainline Florida