Hello Old Friend
Eric Clapton
1976
Annual listening-list association, not an original-release-date field. Original release year reconciled with reviewed recording-specific Artist Essentials evidence in v3.6.
Release: 1976
Release: 1976Source checked
V3.6 reconciles the original release year with the reviewed Artist Essentials entry for this exact retained recording ID. Year precision is used; an album-first release is not silently replaced by a later single, reissue or annual-list year. Original 1976 recording on No Reason to Cry. Year precision is retained; the album association is not an assertion of an exact first-release day.
The large badge identifies this listening list, not a newly issued recording. Later reissues and renewed chart popularity do not replace an original release date. How years are assigned.
No Reason to Cry - label original album history
Explicit 1976 release and the Hello Old Friend album/single association. The separately described Bob Dylan duet Sign Language is not selected under an unqualified solo credit.
About Eric Clapton
Song-specific inspiration or recording background is not established for this entry. This sourced artist profile provides career context.
Eric Clapton emerged through British rhythm and blues groups including the Yardbirds and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, then developed a more expansive guitar role in Cream. His 1970 solo debut and Derek and the Dominos belonged to distinct recording projects. The solo albums that followed gave increasing weight to singing, ensemble interplay and compact songs, alongside electric blues. Unplugged offered an acoustic performance setting in 1992, while From the Cradle returned to blues repertoire in 1994. Collaborations and former bands remain separate parts of his career.
Artist background sources
Eric Clapton - official career biography
Stable career history: work with the Yardbirds, John Mayalls Bluesbreakers, Cream and Derek and the Dominos; the 1970 solo debut; the vocal-led 1974 direction; 1992 Unplugged and Tears in Heaven; the 1994 From the Cradle blues album. Later album dates and unspecific superlatives in this biography are not used as recording-release evidence. | Retrieved 2026-10-18
Eric Clapton - original 1970 album and separate mixes
Label history explicitly dates the solo debut to August 1970 and supplies the original Tom Dowd mix program, including After Midnight, Blues Power and Let It Rain. Separate Eric Clapton and Delaney Bramlett mixes, session outtakes and the She Rides alternate are identified by their later issue histories; those versions are not dated as original 1970 releases. | Retrieved 2026-10-18
Unplugged - original 1992 performance and later alternates
Label explicitly states that the original live album was released in 1992 and identifies its acoustic Layla performance, alongside distinct live Tears in Heaven, Running on Faith and Old Love. It separates the original album from 2013 outtakes and rehearsals, including early My Fathers Eyes performances. Only year precision is used; the stated broadcast day is not adopted as an earliest global day. | Retrieved 2026-10-18
Eric Clapton - original Reprise studio albums and programs
Label gives original years and complete original programs for Money and Cigarettes 1983, Behind the Sun 1985, Journeyman 1989, From the Cradle 1994 and Pilgrim 1998. It separates later live tracks, outtakes and a new Pilgrim remix from the original studio programs. The box publication year is not assigned to original recordings. | Retrieved 2026-10-18
Profile reviewed: 2026-10-18. Artist background does not establish a song's creative origin or release date.
Retained annual-list context
Hello Old Friend by Eric Clapton is included for 1976 on the basis of the cited chart-associated source. This establishes the annual connection, not the circumstances in which the song was written. No reliable song-specific account of its inspiration was established in this review.
Annual-list context only; songwriting inspiration remains unestablished
Hot 100 weekly data mirror, 1976-12-25
Secondary source reviewed for title, artist and annual chart association only. Supplemental selection, not an official annual rank.
Other appearances and versions
catalog version unspecified
Original release date and exact pressing/version are not independently established.
An annual chart year and an original release date are different. Similar titles may be covers or different masters; no audio fingerprint has been performed.
Sources and scope
Source-backed annual association (secondary source; not a complete discographic review)
Editorial artist-repertoire classification
Hot 100 weekly data mirror, 1976-12-25
Secondary source reviewed for title, artist and annual chart association only. Supplemental selection, not an official annual rank.
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