My Father's Eyes (song)

"My Father's Eyes" is a song written and performed by Eric Clapton and produced by Clapton and Simon Climie. It was released as a single in 1998 and was featured on the album Pilgrim. The song reached the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, peaking at number 16, and spent five weeks at number two on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart. It became a major hit in Canada, where it peaked at number two, and it reached the top 20 in Austria, Iceland, and Norway. It also won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.

For the Amy Grant song, see My Father's Eyes (album).

"My Father's Eyes"
Single by Eric Clapton
from the album Pilgrim
B-side"Theme from a Movie That Never Happened", "Inside of Me"
Released23 March 1998 (1998-03-23)
Length5:24
LabelReprise, Duck
Songwriter(s)Eric Clapton
Producer(s)Eric Clapton, Simon Climie
Eric Clapton singles chronology
"Change the World"
(1996)		 "My Father's Eyes"
(1998)		 "Circus"
(1998)

Clapton performed this track for the first time in 1992 and again in 1996, in both electric and unplugged versions. These versions of the song were completely different from the official single release in 1998. He would later retire the song in 2004, along with "Tears in Heaven", until the 50 Years Further On Up the Road world tour in 2013.

Inspiration and content

Clapton wrote "My Father's Eyes" whilst living in Antigua and Barbuda in 1991.[1] The song was inspired by the fact that Clapton never met his father, Edward Fryer, who died of leukemia in 1985.[2] Describing how he wishes he knew his father, the song also refers to his own son Conor, who died in 1991 at age four after falling from an apartment window. In Eric Clapton: The Autobiography (2010), Clapton wrote: "In [the song] I tried to describe the parallel between looking in the eyes of my son, and the eyes of the father that I never met, through the chain of our blood."[3]

Accolades
Year Ceremony Award Result Ref.
1999 BMI Awards Song of the Year Won [4]
Grammy Awards Best Pop Vocal Performance Male Won [5]

Track listing
  1. "My Father's Eyes"
  2. "Change the World"
  3. "Theme from a Movie That Never Happened" (Orchestral)
  4. "Inside of Me"

Charts

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United States 10 February 1998 (1998-02-10) Contemporary hit radio Reprise [28]
United Kingdom 23 March 1998 (1998-03-23) CD
  • Reprise
  • Duck
 [29]

References
  1. Clapton, Eric (2010). Eric Clapton: The Autobiography. Random House. p. 273. ISBN 978-1-4090-6039-0.
  2. Rains, Olga; Rains, Lloyd; Jarratt, Melynda (2006). Voices of the Left Behind: Project Roots and the Canadian War Children of World War II. Dundurn. ISBN 978-1-4597-1247-8.
  3. "7 emotional songs by musicians who miss their father". BBC Music. 15 June 2018. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
  4. "This month at the BMI website". Billboard. Vol. 111, no. 46. 13 November 1999. p. 1. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved 5 November 2015.
  5. "1998 Grammy Winners". Grammy Awards. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
  6. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  7. "Eric Clapton – My Father's Eyes" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  8. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 3538." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  9. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 3522." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  10. "Eric Clapton – My Father's Eyes" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  11. "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (2.4. – 9.4. 1998)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 3 April 1998. p. 30. Retrieved 3 October 2019.
  12. "Eric Clapton – My Father's Eyes" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  13. "Eric Clapton – My Father's Eyes" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  14. "Eric Clapton – My Father's Eyes". VG-lista. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  15. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  16. "Eric Clapton – My Father's Eyes". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  17. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  18. "Official Physical Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  19. "Eric Clapton Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  20. "Eric Clapton Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  21. "Eric Clapton Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  22. "Eric Clapton Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  23. "Eric Clapton Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  24. "Eric Clapton Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  25. "RPM's Top 100 Hit Tracks of '98" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 63, no. 12. 14 December 1998. p. 20. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  26. "RPM's Top 100 Adult Contemporary Tracks of '98". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
  27. "1998 The Year in Music". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 52. 26 December 1998. p. YE-95. Retrieved 21 September 2021.
  28. "New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1234. 6 February 1998. p. 46.
  29. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 21 March 1998. p. 37. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
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