10 Best Hard Rock Songs Of The '70s
7. Layla - Derek And The Dominos (1971)
Eric Clapton made some of his best music when he was with Cream, but sadly, that band was short lived.
The temperamental Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce never really got on; no doubt the animosity between them helped create some of the most exciting and frenzied sounds of the 60s, but like their music, the bands lifespan burned hard and fast.
In 1970 Clapton formed Derek and The Dominos and proved he wasn't done writing timeless guitar led songs. Layla was his contribution to the realm of instantly recognisable and ever enjoyable guitar riffs.
It was another somewhat indulgent track, with a seven minute run time, but that's what people wanted. Rock in the '70s was all about guitar solos that ran on for minutes at a time, with axmen doing their upmost to out do their contemporaries.
The origin story of Layla is one of those classic tales in rock legend. Clapton was a close friend of George Harrison, but in a Shakespearean twists, he fell in love with Harrison's wife Pattie Boyd. Clapton wrote and released Layla as a declaration of his love.
Not long after, Boyd ditched the former Beatle and married the guitar god.