"Hello Old Friend"
Single by Eric Clapton
from the album No Reason to Cry
B-side"All Our Past Times"
ReleasedOctober 1976
GenreCountry rock
Length3:34
LabelRSO
Songwriter(s)Eric Clapton
Producer(s)Rob Fraboni
Eric Clapton singles chronology
"Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
(1975)		 "Hello Old Friend"
(1976)		 "Carnival"
(1977)

"Hello Old Friend" is a country rock song, written and recorded by the British rock musician Eric Clapton. The track was released in October 1976 as the first of two singles from Clapton's 1976 studio album entitled No Reason to Cry.[1]

Chart performance

The song reached position 54 on the ARIA Charts in Australia, compiled by the historian David Kent. In Canada, the released peaked on position 37, making it Clapton's fourth solo career single to reach the Top 40 in the country. Placing itself at number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States, the single was Clapton's third mid-successful single to reach the Top 40 in North America.

Critical reception

For his album review of No Reason to Cry, the AllMusic critic William Ruhlmann notes, "Hello Old Friend" is the best pop/rock song on the album. He goes on describe the title as a "identifiable" Clapton piece of music.[2] Rolling Stone journalist Dave Marsh called the song "a whimsical and silly slice of attempted innocence".[3] Billboard said that it has a reggae feel similar to that of "I Shot the Sheriff."[4] Record World called it "a midtempo number constructed around a network of acoustic and slide guitars."[5]

Chart positions

Weekly charts

Chart (1976–1977) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[6] 54
Canadian Top Singles (RPM)[7] 37
US Billboard Hot 100[8] 24

References

  1. ↑ "Eric Clapton – Hello Old Friend – austriancharts.at". Ö3 Austria Top 40 (in German). Stefan Hung – Hung Medien. Archived from the original on August 19, 2015. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  2. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "No Reason to Cry – Eric Clapton | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  3. ↑ Marsh, Dave (November 18, 1976). "Eric Clapton No Reason To Cry Album Review | Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  4. ↑ "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. October 9, 1976. p. 64. Retrieved 2020-07-13.
  5. ↑ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. October 2, 1976. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-03.
  6. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. Note: This reference gives Australian albums and singles information. It is used for chart peak positions as early materials were released before ARIA regulated the Australian charts itself (1989).
  7. ↑ "Canadian Top Singles – Volume 26, No. 13". RPM Magazine. Library and Archives Canada. December 25, 1976. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
  8. ↑ "No Reason to Cry – Eric Clapton | Awards | AllMusic". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 18, 2015.
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