Song · Eric Clapton
“Knockin' on Heaven's Door” by Eric Clapton
From the album Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (2000)
“Knockin' on Heaven's Door” by Eric Clapton appears on 2 radio countdowns from 1 station between 2001 and 2004. It was first released in 2000 on the album Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door. Its best result is #107 on the Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #4,074 alternative song of all time.
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Bob Dylan wrote "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" to go with a 1973 film, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, and it's barely there on paper: two short verses that speak for a dying frontier lawman calling out to his wife. Dylan biographer Clinton Heylin called it "an exercise in splendid simplicity", and that bare-bones build is exactly why everybody wants a turn at it. It grew into one of the best-loved, most-played songs of Dylan's later career, and the cover versions kept coming.
Eric Clapton is among the players who took it on, with his own guitar carrying the tune, and his version turns up on Knockin' on Heaven's Door, a 2000 release named after the song itself. A tune this plain leaves a guitarist nowhere to hide, and plenty of room to stretch out.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 379 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 500 |
| 2004 | 107 | Virgin Radio | Virgin Radio Top 500 Songs of All-Time (December 2004) | 500 |
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