On September 7, 1976, Buddy Holly would have had 40 years old. Paul McCartney being a fan of the man, and owning his publishing rights, decided to organize a Buddy Holly Week (from September 7th to 14th) to remember and celebrate; this would become a yearly event, always starting on the September 7th, organized till 1999.
On the opening day of the Week, a luncheon was organized at the Orangery in Holland Park, London, with Norman Petty, Buddy Holly’s manager, co-writer and producer, as the guest of honor, and invitees such as Denny Laine, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Roger Daltrey, Queen, 10cc…
Eric Clapton wrote his classic hit “Wonderful Tonight” on this date while waiting for Pattie to get ready for the party. Clapton finished the song after the party and commented in an interview: “The songs you write very quickly are always the best… the ones that are written in the space of a day. It was just about taking the old woman out and getting too sloshed to drive home.”
Pattie Boyd recalled to The Guardian, December 13, 2008 that Clapton “was sitting round playing his guitar while I was trying on dresses upstairs. I was taking so long and I was panicking about my hair, my clothes, everything, and I came downstairs expecting him to really berate me but he said, ‘Listen to this!’” In the time she had taken to get ready Clapton had written “Wonderful Tonight.”
Leave a Reply