Change the world

Change the world
Eric Clapton
publication	July 7, 1996
length	3:57
Genre (s)	Soft rock , blue-eyed soul
Author (s)	* Tommy Sims Gordon Kennedy Wayne Kirkpatrick
Publisher (s)	Warner Chappell Music
Label	Reprise Records
Award (s)	3 Grammy Awards

Change the World is a soft rock song written by Tommy Sims , Gordon Kennedy and Wayne Kirkpatrick and initially released on the album Revelations by the American country singer Wynonna Judd . On July 7, 1996, the British rock musician Eric Clapton released the song as a single for the soundtrack of the film Phenomenon - The impossible comes true .

Emergence

Gordon Kennedy told American Songwriter magazine that he and Wayne Kirkpatrick recorded demos for well-known artists at Quad Studios in Nashville in the early 1990s . In one day in the studio, the Kennedy and Kirkpatrick recorded four tracks, three of which later appeared on Garth Brook's album Chris Gaines . Tommy Sims played bass guitar in the studio and had a chord progression and melody ready for a piece; did not work on it any further. A few months later, Kirkpatrick got Sims to tape the idea so that he could continue working on it. He wrote the lyrics and improved the musical structure of the piece. In Columbus , Sims recorded the play with Kirkpatrick. They sent this version to Eric Clapton, who used the finished demo for his interpretation. Kennedy notes that the three authors of the play never worked on this together.

publication

When Change the World appeared, Elton John's songwriter Bernie Taupin noted in an interview with Musician Magazine that “only the production and the good melody of the song made it successful. [...] The lyrics are bad. Some rhymes in the song are really awful [...] "(" What sold that song, I believe, is production. And it had a good melody. [...] It's a bad lyric. There are some rhymes in there that are really awful [ ...] "). Since Clapton wanted to make sure that his blues roots flow into the piece, he decided to have the recording produced by Babyface. In May 2013, Clapton told Mojo Magazine , “The first two parts I play on the acoustic guitar in the song are taken from Muddy Waters ' song ' Mannish Boy ' . […] I try to settle my debts on every recording. I think that I have found a good way to keep one foot in the blues, even if it seems hidden ”(“ The first two lines I play on that song on the acoustic guitar […] come from the beginning of 'Mannish Boy 'by Muddy Waters. On every record I make, […] I make sure I pay my dues […]. I think I've found a way to do it, but it has to have one foot in the blues, even if its subtly disguised ").

year	region	Formats	Label
1996	Australia	compact disc	Recapitulation
	Germany	compact disc	Recapitulation
	Japan	compact disc	Recapitulation
	Canada	compact disc	Recapitulation
	Taiwan	compact disc	Recapitulation
	United States	Compact disc compact cassette record	Recapitulation
	United Kingdom	compact disc	Recapitulation
2000	Spain	compact disc	Epic

The original version appears next to the single release also on the soundtrack album Phenomenon from 1996 and the Extended Play Pilgrim / Change the World from 1999. Clapton also published the title on the compilations Clapton Chronicles: The Best of Eric Clapton from 1999, Ballads from 2003, Complete Clapton from 2007 and Forever Man from 2015. A live interpretation can be found on the album and the concert film One More Car, One More Rider from 2001. In total, Change the World appears on more than 20 publications.

Appearance

Clapton first performed the song with Babyface on February 26, 1997 during the 1997 Grammy Awards . The appearance was broadcast on the US television station CBS . Clapton played the song on an acoustic guitar of the shape 038 made in 1996 by the manufacturer George Lowden, which he received as a gift from Paul Brady . On September 25 of the same year, Clapton played an electric version of the song for the 1997 Babyface album MTV Unplugged NYC . The song was part of Clapton's music tours in 1998 and 2003 and the Reptile World Tour in 2001.

reception

Criticism

Journalist Frank Merschmeier from the Swiss Hit Parade praised the Christian, religious background of the piece and describes Change the World as a love song . Allmusic critic Matthew Greenwald described the piece as "refreshing compared to some pop / blues / rock releases in recent years" and praised Clapton's musical work on the recording. He awarded 2.5 out of 5 possible stars for the single release.

Honourings and prices

The song won three awards at the 1997 Grammy Awards. Clapton received a Grammy for Single of the Year , Song of the Year, and Best Male Vocal Performance - Pop. The recording's producer, Babyface, was named “Producer of the Year” that evening. While the BMI Film & TV Awards 1997 was Change the World honored three times as "Most Performed Song from a Film." The song received an ASCAP Award in the “Most Performed Songs from Motion Pictures” category. Clapton was also nominated for Best Movie Song at the 1997 MTV Movie Awards and for the OFTA Film Award by the Online Film & Television Association. The RIAA listed Change the World at number 270 in Songs of the Century .

Chart successes

In Germany the song reached number 30 in the charts and stayed in the hit parade for 22 weeks. In Austria and Switzerland , the release was 10th and 21st, respectively. In the United Kingdom, the release was in 18th place in the single charts . In the United States, Change the World reached # 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 , # 54 on the R&B / Hip-Hop Songs chart, and # 1 and 2 on the Adult Top 40 and Pop Songs chart. The title also took number one placements on the Canadian single and adult contemporary charts and top 10 positions in New Zealand , France and Australia . In Norway , Sweden , Belgium and the Netherlands the song was in the top 30 of the country charts. In the US annual charts of 1996 and 1997, the single was at number 19 and 67.

Awards for music sales

Country / Region	Award	Sales
Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales)
Australia (ARIA)	gold	35,000
France (SNEP)	gold	250,000
Japan (RIAJ)	2 × platinum	248,000
New Zealand (RMNZ)	gold	7,500
United States (RIAA)	gold	1,000,000
All in all	4 × gold 2 × platinum	1,540,500

Main article: Eric Clapton / Music Sales Awards

Web links

• Lyrics on Golyr.de
• Official music video on Dailymotion.com

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} Change the World by Eric Clapton. Songfacts, accessed March 22, 2015 . 
2. ↑ Eric Clapton Change The World Australian CD single (CD5 / 5 ″). Express, accessed on 31 May 2015 . 
3. ↑ Eric Clapton Change The World German CD single (CD5 / 5 ″). Express, accessed on 31 May 2015 . 
4. ↑ Eric Clapton Change The World Japanese CD single (CD5 / 5 ″). Express, accessed on 31 May 2015 . 
5. ↑ Eric Clapton Change The World Canadian CD single (CD5 / 5 ″). Express, accessed on 31 May 2015 . 
6. ↑ Eric Clapton Change The World Taiwanese CD single (CD5 / 5 ″). Express, accessed on 31 May 2015 . 
7. ↑ Eric Clapton Change The World US CD single (CD5 / 5 ″). Express, accessed on 31 May 2015 . 
8. ↑ Eric Clapton Change The World US cassette single (CD5 / 5 ″). Express, accessed on 31 May 2015 . 
9. ↑ Eric Clapton - Change The World / Danny Boy - Reprise - USA. 45cat, accessed May 31, 2015 . 
10. ↑ Eric Clapton Change The World UK CD single (CD5 / 5 ″). Express, accessed on 31 May 2015 . 
11. ↑ Eric Clapton Change The World Spanish Promo CD single (CD5 / 5 ″). Express, accessed on 31 May 2015 . 
12. ↑ ^{a b} Change the World at Allmusic (English)
13. ↑ February 26, 1997 - Eric Clapton & Babyface. Where's Eric !, accessed March 22, 2015 . 
14. ↑ 1996 George Lowden 038. Equipboard , accessed March 22, 2015 . 
15. ↑ September 25, 1997 - Eric Clapton with Babyface. Where's Eric !, accessed March 22, 2015 . 
16. ↑ 1998 Eric Clapton Tour. Where's Eric !, accessed March 22, 2015 . 
17. ↑ 2003 Eric Clapton Tour. Where's Eric !, accessed March 22, 2015 . 
18. ^ Frank Merschmeier: Eric Clapton - Change the World. Swiss hit parade , accessed on March 22, 2015 . 
19. ↑ Change the World (US) at Allmusic (English)
20. ↑ Phenomenon - Awards in the Internet Movie Database (English)
21. ↑ Eric Clapton - Awards in the Internet Movie Database (English)
22. ↑ All the music on the internet. (No longer available online.) Musicline , archived from the original on April 2, 2015 ; accessed on March 22, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
23. ^ ^{A b} Eric Clapton - Change the World. Austriancharts, accessed on March 22, 2015 . 
24. ↑ ERIC CLAPTON. Official Charts Company , accessed March 22, 2015 . 
25. ^ Eric Clapton - Chart history (Billboard Hot 100). Billboard , accessed March 22, 2015 . 
26. ↑ Eric Clapton - Chart history (R & B / Hip-Hop Songs). Billboard , accessed March 22, 2015 . 
27. ↑ Eric Clapton - Chart history (Adult Pop Songs). Billboard , accessed March 22, 2015 . 
28. ↑ Eric Clapton - Chart history (Pop Songs). Billboard , accessed March 22, 2015 . 
29. ^ Library and Archives Canada. (No longer available online.) RPM, Aug 5, 1996, archived from the original on July 8, 2015 ; accessed on March 22, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
30. ^ Library and Archives Canada. (No longer available online.) RPM, July 29, 1996, archived from the original on April 6, 2016 ; accessed on March 22, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
31. ^ Billboard Top 100 - 1996. Longbored Surfer, accessed March 22, 2015 . 
32. ^ Billboard Top 100 - 1997. Longbored Surfer, accessed March 22, 2015 . 
33. ↑ Sales figures for Change the World in Japan ( Memento from July 11, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
34. ↑ Sales for Change the World in the United States