This has got to be one of the most instantly recognisable guitar riffs in the history of rock.

This is THE version. However nice the acoustic one from MTV unplugged may be, there is only one Original. And may I say, one of my all-time favorites.

Two absolute guitar legends together - Eric Clapton and Duanne Allman. When he was asked who played which part Duanne said "If it sounds like a Stratocaster then it's Eric and if it sounds like a Les Paul then it's me." True guitar nerd comment.

Clapton and Allman. What a combination! The way they weave in and out of each other is amazing.

Duane’s “bird chirp” at the end is such a perfect end

Songfacts: This song is about George Harrison's wife, Pattie. She and Clapton began living together in 1974 and married in 1979. Clapton and Harrison remained good friends, with George playing at their wedding along with Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Clapton left her for actress Lory Del Santo (with whom he had his son, Conor) in 1985. In an article published in The Guardian December 13, 2008, Pattie said: "I wasn't so happy when Eric wrote 'Layla,' while I was still married to George. I felt I was being exposed. I was amazed and thrilled at the song - it was so passionate and devastatingly dramatic - but I wanted to hang on to my marriage. Eric made this public declaration of love. I resisted his attentions for a long time - I didn't want to leave my husband. But obviously when things got so excruciatingly bad for George and me it was the end of our relationship. We both had to move on. Layla was based on a book by a 12th-century Persian poet called Nizami about a man who is in love with an unobtainable woman. The song was fantastically painful and beautiful. After I married Eric we were invited out for an evening and he was sitting round playing his guitar while I was trying on dresses upstairs. I was taking so long and I was panicking about my hair, my clothes, everything, and I came downstairs expecting him to really berate me but he said, 'Listen to this!' In the time I had taken to get ready he had written "Wonderful Tonight."

No, this is THE version. Clapton did a live version for MTV or something, but this is the one that matters most.

This song is about George Harrison's wife,Pattie.Eric was in love with her.After George and Pattie divorced,Eric married her.

One of the greatest songs of all time

Still can't believe this is 50 years old.

"...the same song?" Yeah I've always loved that transition. One of my favourite in any song. It smooth and eases you down at just the right time for sure. Almost like an instrumental cover of itself.

This is the version I love because of the way Clapton absolutely puts it ALL out there, with every raw edge of emotion still fresh. It's clear he's exorcising his inner demons through this song and holding nothing back. By comparison the later versions were almost phoning it in.

The name Derek is because it's Eric + Duane. Duane Allman played the slide guitar on the outro, best slide guitarist of all time, died at 24 from a motorcycle accident. He was part of the group The Allman Brothers

This song came out before Goodfellas show.That wailing slide guitar in the background by the late Duane Allman was hypnotizing in my opinion.

Eric was Derek, as graffiti in London said at the time. Clapton was pulling back from his public image and so worked under an assumed band name. It's a - if not the - classic song of unrequited love. Clapton had fallen in love with his friend George Harrison's wife Patti Boyd and the pain and guilt he was feeling spilled out on this track. That's Duane Allman on slide guitar and the piano coda, recorded some time later, was played by the drummer on the session, Jim Gordon. This is the full album version and not the single edit without the piano part. Still a wonderful, emotional track after all this time.

Duane Allman died before I was born but I cannot help but to miss him. He was incredible on this song.

Derek and the Dominoes is Eric Clapton's band. It's his song. Eric was a member of both Derek & the Dominoes and Cream (Sunshine of your love)

This is Eric Clapton and Duane Allman. Eric fell in love with Duane’s guitar playing after hearing him on Wilson Pickett’s version of Hey Jude which has one of the most powerful guitar solos ever. Duane was a session player on a lot of soul records including Aretha!

Possibly the greatest opening guitar chords in rock history.

Eric Clapton is Derek and the Dominoes