Song · Eric Clapton
“Pretending” by Eric Clapton
From the album Journeyman (1989)
“Pretending” by Eric Clapton appears on 13 radio countdowns from 6 stations between 1997 and 2022. It was first released in 1989 on the album Journeyman. Its best result is #184 on the WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997). In the combined RockLists rankings it is #7,794 indie & aaa song of all time.
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"Pretending" kicks off Journeyman, Eric Clapton's 1989 album for Reprise, and it went out as the lead single, though it isn't a Clapton song: Jerry Lynn Williams wrote it, and he plays guitar and sings on it too. Russ Titelman produced a glossy, high-sheen band around them, with Greg Phillinganes on piano, Nathan East on bass, Alan Clark on Hammond organ and synthesizer, and Chaka Khan singing backup alongside East.
It opens on piano, and Clapton leans on a wah-wah pedal for the solos, which author Marc Roberty rated superlative. AllMusic's Matthew Greenwald liked the hook and Clapton's singing but found the arrangement overdone, brassy synthesizers and all. Rock radio went all the way: it topped the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, stopped at 55 on the Hot 100 (the album's best-charting single) and became a fixture of his live shows.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 431 | 100.7 WZLX | WZLX Memorial 500 (1997) | 499 |
| 1997 | 184 | 102.3 WBAB | WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) | 1023 |
| 2001 | 1810 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2011 | 463 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1100 Countdown (2011) | 1100 |
| 2011 | 185 | 97.9 The Loop | The Loop Rock N Roll 500 (2011) | 500 |
| 2012 | 468 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1200 Countdown (2012) | 1200 |
| 2013 | 327 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Firecracker 500 (2013) | 500 |
| 2013 | 568 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Grand Jam 1000 (2013) | 1000 |
| 2014 | 402 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX 1K Countdown (2014) | 1000 |
| 2014 | 989 | Big 100 | BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) | 1000 |
| 2015 | 571 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Classic Rock Countdown (2015) | 1007 |
| 2016 | 896 | 100.7 WZLX | 100.7 WZLX Top 1007 Countdown for 2016 | 1007 |
| 2022 | 551 | Q104.3 | Q104.3 Top 1,043 Classic Rock Songs of All Time (2022) | 1043 |
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