Song · Eric Clapton
“It's In The Way That You Use..” by Eric Clapton
“It's In The Way That You Use..” by Eric Clapton appears on 13 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1997 and 2025. Its best result is #201 on the 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #1,195 classic rock song of all time.
Eric Clapton wrote "It's in the Way That You Use It" with Robbie Robertson specifically for The Color of Money, Martin Scorsese's film with Paul Newman and Tom Cruise playing pool hustlers. It was the movie's theme and appeared on the soundtrack first, then came out as a single and on August, Clapton's tenth solo album, in 1986. Robertson ran the music for the film but couldn't sing on any of it, because his label wouldn't allow it until his first solo album was done.
Clapton produced it himself, with Tom Dowd as assistant producer, and it's sleek mid-'80s pop rock. There's a neat loop in the partnership: Robertson's 1960s work with the Band was what had pried Clapton loose from the long, heavy soloing of his Cream years. The single went on to sell more than 500,000 copies worldwide.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 386 | 104.5 KZEP | KZEP Memorial Weekend Top 500 (1997) | 500 |
| 2002 | 426 | 100.7 WZLX | WZLX Memorial 500 (2002) | 500 |
| 2011 | 357 | 97.9 The Loop | The Loop Rock N Roll 500 (2011) | 500 |
| 2013 | 201 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) | 500 |
| 2014 | 298 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) | 1000 |
| 2015 | 329 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2015) | 499 |
| 2015 | 479 | 102.9 The Whale | 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2015) | 500 |
| 2015 | 288 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) | 1007 |
| 2016 | 393 | 102.9 The Whale | 102.9 The Whale Hartford 500 (2016) | 500 |
| 2016 | 672 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 | 1007 |
| 2022 | 453 | 99.1 PLR | 99.1 PLR Big 500 (2022) | 500 |
| 2023 | 445 | 97.1 The Drive | 97.1 The Drive Memorial Day Weekend Rock N Roll 500 (2023) | 500 |
| 2025 | 303 | WMGK | WMGK Philly 500 (2025) | 500 |
Also listed as: It's in the Way That You......; It's In the Way that You Use It; It's in the Way That You Use It; It's In The Way That You Use It; It's In the Way That You Use It; Its In The Way That You Use It.
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