Cocaine (song)


"Cocaine" is a song written and recorded in 1976 by singer-songwriter J. J. Cale. The song was popularized by Eric Clapton after his cover version was released on the 1977 album Slowhand. J. J. Cale's version of "Cocaine" was a number one hit in New Zealand for a single week and became the seventh best-selling single of 1977.

Charts

Eric Clapton version

produced the Clapton recording, which was released on the 1977 album Slowhand. A live version of "Cocaine" from the album Just One Night charted on the Billboard Hot 100 as the B-side of "Tulsa Time", which was a No. 30 hit in 1980. "Cocaine" was one of several of Cale's songs recorded by Clapton, including "After Midnight" and "Travelin' Light". AllMusic critic Richard Gilliam called it "among most enduringly popular hits" and noted that "even for an artist like Clapton with a huge body of high-quality work, 'Cocaine' ranks among his best."
Clapton described "Cocaine" as an anti-drug song. He called the song "quite cleverly anti-cocaine", noting:
Because of its ambiguous message, Clapton did not perform the song in many of his concerts; over the years, he has added the lyrics 'that dirty cocaine' in live shows to underline the anti-drug message of the song.

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