There are few names as legendary as Eric Clapton in the music world. He’s been ranked as the fifth-greatest guitarist of all time by Time, Fourth by Gibson, and Second by Rolling Stone. He’s the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s only three-time inductee, he’s sold more than 100 million records across the globe, and he’s the recipient of 18 Grammy Awards.
Since he’s been a member of more beloved rock bands than you can shake a guitar at—Cream, the Yardbirds, Derek and the Dominos—Clapton’s music has been used to create a bunch of different movie moments.
“Loving Your Lovin’” In Wayne’s World
There are a bunch of memorable music moments in Wayne’s World, from the guys singing “Bohemian Rhapsody” in the Mirth-mobile to “Dream Weaver” playing over Wayne’s love-at-first-sight moment with Cassandra.
In addition to rock ‘n’ roll hits by such artists as Black Sabbath, Jimi Hendrix, Alice Cooper, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Wayne’s World features the Eric Clapton classic “Loving Your Lovin’.”
“Strange Brew” In A Bronx Tale
Robert De Niro made his directorial debut with A Bronx Tale, adapted from Chazz Palminteri’s play of the same name. De Niro and Palminteri both appear in the movie, but the star is Lillo Brancato, Jr., who plays Calogero, a young Italian-American kid who is taken under the wing of a mobster (Palminteri), much to the chagrin of his bus driver father (De Niro).
De Niro learned a lot from his frequent collaborator Martin Scorsese, like creating sympathetic gangster characters and using Eric Clapton on the soundtrack.
“Cocaine” In Starsky & Hutch
Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson led Todd Phillips’ film adaptation of Starsky & Hutch as a full-on action-comedy. A scene-stealing Snoop Dogg co-stars in the iconic role of Huggy Bear. The soundtrack for the movie, which acts as a kind of prequel to the original TV series, contains the Eric Clapton hit “Cocaine,” as well as songs by Johnny Cash, the Jackson 5, and KC & the Sunshine Band.
“Layla” In Goodfellas
While the opening guitar riff is arguably the most iconic part of Derek and the Dominos’ “Layla,” Martin Scorsese chose to use the quieter piano section from the middle of the song in Goodfellas.
After Jimmy has decided to kill off everyone else who helped out with the Lufthansa heist so he can keep the loot for himself, the piano section of “Layla” plays over a montage of the bodies being found.
“Corrine, Corrina” In A Star Is Born
Eric Clapton recorded his own version of the classic tune “Corrine, Corrina” with different names: “Alberta, Alberta.” This version of the song was used in the soundtrack of Bradley Cooper’s 2018 remake of A Star is Born.
The movie’s soundtrack also has some great original songs, like “Shallow” and “I’ll Never Love Again,” as well as renditions of classics like “La Vie en rose,” performed by Lady Gaga.
“Will Gaines” In Heat
Michael Mann paired up Robert De Niro and Al Pacino on-screen for the first time in his mid-90s crime epic Heat. The movie is a tense cat-and-mouse thriller in which a detective hunts for a bank robber. Elliot Goldenthal composed an original score for the movie, but Mann also included some licensed hits, including “New Dawn Fades” by Moby and “Will Gaines” by Eric Clapton.
“I Looked Away” In Mean Streets
Martin Scorsese reportedly blew half of Mean Streets’ $500,000 budget securing songs like the Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and the Ronettes’ “Be My Baby.”
One of the very expensive songs that Scorsese licensed for the movie—which was his third feature, technically, but his first movie to showcase his signature style—was Derek and the Dominos’ “I Looked Away.”
“Heaven Is One Step Away” In Back To The Future
The Four Aces’ rendition of “Mr. Sandman” plays in Back to the Future when Marty McFly wanders through an old-timey version of Hill Valley and realizes he’s gone back in time to 1955.
At the end of the movie, when Marty returns to 1985, before racing down to the mall to save Doc Brown from the Libyan terrorists who killed him, Eric Clapton’s “Heaven is One Step Away” plays on the soundtrack.
“Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door” In Lethal Weapon 2
The second Lethal Weapon movie is decidedly darker than the first one, although not quite as dark as Shane Black’s original script for the sequel, which ended with Riggs dying. In the final version of the movie’s ending, Riggs survives his near-death experience. Murtaugh comes to his side after killing the bad guy, and, as their backup finally arrives, Eric Clapton’s cover of “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” plays on the soundtrack.
“Sunshine Of Your Love” In Goodfellas
When Jimmy sees Morrie singing “Danny Boy,” he reaches his breaking point with the pushy, irritating wig shop owner and decides to murder him. Then, he realizes he could kill all his cohorts and keep their shares from the heist.
Clapton’s opening bars of electric guitar from Cream’s “Sunshine of Your Love” play when the camera slowly pushes in on Jimmy’s face as he smokes a cigarette at the bar and makes all these bold decisions.