In my opinion, Eric Clapton is one of the top five greatest guitarists in Rock ‘n Roll history. He’s been rocking since before I was born, but my first real exposure to his music was an acoustic ballad released in 1992 – “Tears in Heaven.”

“Tears in Heaven” was written about the pain and loss Eric Clapton felt after his four-year-old son Conor fell from the window of a 53rd floor apartment in New York City. His son’s death impacted Clapton greatly, and he took a 9-month hiatus from performing to grieve for his son. When he got back on stage, he was a softer and more reflective musician. “Tears in Heaven” was featured on the soundtrack for the movie “Rush,” a turbulent movie about drug addiction, but gained soaring popularity after Clapton performed it live for MTV’s Unplugged.

“Woud you know my name…if I saw you in heaven?”

“Tears in Heaven” was the #6 most popular song of 1992 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. It reached #2 on the Hot 100 Singles chart, and was #1 on the adult comtemporary charts for three weeks in 1992. The song won 3 Grammy Awards – Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Male Pop Vocal Performance. In 2004, Rolling Stone listed “Tears In Heaven” on their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list.

I have very dear memories of “Tears in Heaven.” It brings back a lot of memories of my youth. It reminds me of a boy I was in a band with (he played guitar, I played bass). It reminds me of my dad – we finally had a song on a contemporary radio that we could agree on. It reminds me of funerals I’ve attended. I’ve spent a lot of time pondering the lyrics and learning to play the bridge on acoustic guitar. I just really love this song.

“Beyond the door, there’s peace I’m sure. And I know there’ll be no more tears in heaven.”

Do you have memories of “Tears in Heaven”?