. . . and sometimes, they\u2019re good things. Especially when they result in something special.<\/p>\n
DPAA had nothing new this week. So today, here’s a short “musical interlude” instead. <\/p>\n
. . .<\/b><\/p>\n
Accidents happen all the time in recording studios. Usually they are edited out during production, but some are deliberately left in place in the released product. There are numerous lists on the Internet detailing such accidents left in place on songs that later became hits.<\/p>\n
But sometimes recording studios also capture music that is sublime purely by accident. In rock & roll, that happened at least twice in the early 1970s. Both were unplanned, accidental single takes that captured \u201clightning in a bottle\u201d.<\/p>\n
. . . <\/b><\/p>\n
The first occurred during the 1970 recording sessions for the album \u201cLayla and Other Assorted Love Songs\u201d by Derek and the Dominos (Eric Clapton\u2019s new but short-lived band). There were two chance occurrences that came together here. <\/p>\n
The first was Eric Clapton being invited to an Allman Brothers Band concert. (Clapton was a fan of Duane Allman\u2019s guitar work.) Afterwards, he met Duane Allman \u2013 who he\u2019d previously only known by reputation. The two hit it off wonderfully; Allman was shortly invited to become a member of Clapton\u2019s new band. He accepted the invitation, and contributed to most of the songs on the album.<\/p>\n
The second chance occurrence occurred during the recording sessions for the \u201cLayla\u201d album. One day, Clapton and Allman were in the studio. Sam Samudio (AKA \u201cSam the Sham\u201d) was in a neighboring studio; he was recording the blues classic \u201cKey to the Highway.\u201d Clapton and Allman heard this, and started playing the song themselves in an impromptu jam session. Their album\u2019s producer, Tom Dowd, walked by and heard their jam; he quickly told the recording engineers to \u201cHit the goddamn machine!\u201d (e.g., start recording immediately). The result speaks for itself. <\/p>\n
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