Three Hours of Waiting, One Perfect Compliment.
By Aaron Wulff
“Wonderful Tonight” is a staple of slow-dance playlists everywhere, thanks in no small part to Eric Clapton’s soulful guitar and heartfelt vocals. Every time I hear it I’m transported to the four minutes of forced romance at high school dances and the smell of fog machines.
Let’s be real, it has some built-in schmaltz.
However, after looking into the background and history of this battleship ballad, I developed a newfound respect for its meaning and existence. And after reading this, you will too.
Clapton wrote “Wonderful Tonight” about his then-girlfriend (and future wife) Pattie Boyd, while they were getting ready to attend a party hosted by Paul McCartney.
In her autobiography, “Wonderful Today,” Boyd says “The song was written in the throes of one of Eric’s moods. I was getting ready to go out, and he was getting increasingly irritated. Instead of yelling, he went and wrote this beautiful song. It was like a gift.”
As a kid I remember sitting with my grandfather in his driveway with the car running, waiting for my grandmother to get ready for what seemed like a comically long time. “What’s she doing?” I asked. “Heck if I know,” he replied. If we were smart, we would’ve written down some song lyrics.
That’s right – while most of us are frantically applying makeup and trying to find matching shoes, Clapton was struck by the sheer beauty of his partner as she got dressed up for a fancy soirée.
Boyd goes on to say, “When Eric first played it for me, I cried. It was the most powerful, moving song I had ever heard. It captured the essence of us, the good and the bad, the love and the fights. It was our story in music.”
If that’s not enough to clean the shmaltz from our palettes she also writes, “I’m so proud of the way ‘Wonderful Tonight’ has resonated with people. To hear couples choose it for their first dance, to see it become a symbol of love and hope… it’s humbling and beautiful. It’s like a continuation of our story, a testament to the power of love that endures.”
Ok, so can we dance to it?
The good news is the song has a lot going for it in the danceability category. Underneath the enchanting guitar lies a steady drum beat and a bass line that’s easy to follow. At 95 beats per minute it could feel a teensy bit too slow, but better too slow than too fast. The tempo and song structure remain consistent throughout the tune, so you won’t have to deal with any change-ups. Remember how we said it might feel slow? Well, the song clocks in at close to four minutes so you and your crowd will probably get bored if you don’t fade it early or figure out a way to shorten the experience. Don’t worry, there isn’t much of an outro, so you won’t be missing out if you decide to bail before the end.
Clapton used the song to reassure Boyd of his love and appreciation even when she didn’t feel her best, and there’s no denying its enduring appeal. Countless others have embraced “Wonderful Tonight” as a timeless expression of love, and schmaltz or not, it works really well as a first dance.
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