"Tulsa Time" | ||||
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Single by Don Williams | ||||
from the album Expressions | ||||
B-side | "When I'm with You" | |||
Released | October 1978 | |||
Genre | Country, country rock | |||
Length | 3:10 | |||
Label | ABC | |||
Songwriter(s) | Danny Flowers | |||
Producer(s) | Don Williams Garth Fundis | |||
Don Williams singles chronology | ||||
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"Tulsa Time" is a song written by Danny Flowers, and recorded by American country music artist Don Williams. It was released in October 1978 as the first single from the album Expressions. It was Williams' eighth number one on the country chart, spending a single week at number one and eleven weeks in the top 40. [1] It was also recorded by Eric Clapton for his 1978 album Backless and a live version by Clapton from his album Just One Night became a #30 Billboard hit in 1980.
In September 1978, [2] Flowers and the Don Williams band members were staying at a Sheraton Hotel in Tulsa, Oklahoma. A snowstorm had caused an interruption of their schedule. [3] Flowers said, "We were all snowed in, and there was absolutely nothing to do. I was sitting there in my room, watching The Rockford Files with some hotel stationery beside me, just bored, and I started writing out some verses." [4] He spent only a half-hour on it and the song had only two chords. Flowers said he intended to add another chord later, "but Don heard it and liked it the way it was." [5]
About two months later, Flowers was performing with Williams in Nashville as the opening act for an Eric Clapton concert. [2] After the performance, Flowers and Williams went to Clapton's hotel room where the three men took turns playing songs. Flowers sang and played guitar on his new song, "Tulsa Time" with Williams singing harmony and Clapton playing slide guitar on a dobro. [2] Clapton said, "I love that song and I want to record it right away". [2] Williams said, "You can't record it— I'm going to record it". [2] Both artists recorded the song, but Williams was first.
Williams' recording of "Tulsa Time" was the first song on his album Expressions, released in August 1978. By October, the song was number one on the Country singles chart. [4] It became the number one Billboard country song of 1979. [6] The song was named "single record of the year" in 1979 by the Academy of Country Music [7] and Williams won CMA Male Vocalist of the Year.
Clapton initially released two versions of the song: first on his 1979 album Backless and second in 1980 on the live album Just One Night . [6] The latter version was more successful and reached number 30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. [4] [6] A live version from 1978 appears on Clapton's Crossroads 2: Live in the Seventies , a boxed set released in 1996. This is a different performance from the version featured on Just One Night.
In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the song at #132 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking. [8]
Chart (1978–1979) | Peak position |
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US Hot Country Songs ( Billboard ) [9] | 1 |
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles ( Billboard ) [10] | 106 |
Canadian RPM Country Tracks | 1 |
Chart (1979) | Position |
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US Hot Country Songs (Billboard) [11] | 25 |
Chart (1980) | Position |
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US Billboard Hot 100 [13] | 30 |
Backless is the sixth solo studio album by Eric Clapton, released in November 1978. Produced by Glyn Johns, and released by RSO Records, Backless reached no. 8 on the pop charts. While the single "Promises" only reached no. 37 on the UK Singles Chart, it was a much bigger success in the US, reaching no. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. The follow-up single, "Watch Out for Lucy", was the B-side of "Promises", but reached no. 40 on the Billboard 100 on its own merit. Later in 1980 "Tulsa Time" was #30 on the Billboard 100 with the 1977 song "Cocaine" as B-side. It was Clapton's last studio album to feature his longtime bassist Carl Radle, who died in 1980.
Just One Night is a 1980 double album by Eric Clapton, recorded live at the Budokan Theatre in Tokyo, Japan, in December 1979 when Clapton was touring to support Backless, his latest record at that time. The album reached No. 2 in the US and No. 3 in the UK, and was certified gold by RIAA.
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Marcella Levy, known professionally as Marcy Levy and Marcella Detroit, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. She co-wrote the 1977 Eric Clapton hit "Lay Down Sally" and released her debut studio album Marcella in 1982. She joined Shakespears Sister in 1988 with ex-Bananarama member Siobhan Fahey. Their first two studio albums, Sacred Heart (1989), and Hormonally Yours (1992), both reached the top 10 of the UK Albums Chart. Detroit sang the lead vocals on their biggest hit, "Stay", which spent eight consecutive weeks at number one on the UK Singles Chart in 1992. Detroit left the band in 1993 and had a UK top 20 hit with "I Believe" in 1994. She formed the Marcy Levy Band in 2002, and finished third in the 2010 ITV series Popstar to Operastar.
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