Derek and The Dominos - Tell The Truth [1970 single version]

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"Tell the Truth" is a song by the English–American band Derek and the Dominos, released in 1970 as the eighth track on their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. The song was composed primarily by keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, with guitarist Eric Clapton adding the last verse. The band recorded the track at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida in August 1970, with Tom Dowd as their producer.

An earlier version of "Tell the Truth" was recorded in London during the sessions for George Harrison's 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. The session marked the first recordings by Derek and the Dominos. Produced by Phil Spector, this original, faster version of the song featured guitar contributions from Harrison and Dave Mason. It was issued as Derek and the Dominos' debut single, in September 1970, although the band had the release withdrawn.

As admirers of Sam and Dave, Clapton and Whitlock styled the song as a "call and response" with the pair singing alternating verses. "Tell the Truth" was recorded on 18 June 1970 as the first original song by what became Derek and the Dominos: Clapton, Whitlock, drummer Jim Gordon and bassist Carl Radle. The four musicians had just helped George Harrison record the majority of the basic tracks for his album All Things Must Pass, before which Harrison had agreed to Clapton's request that his co-producer on the album, Phil Spector, would help the Dominos make their first recording as a group.

The session for the song took place at Apple Studio in central London, with the intention being to issue the tracks as the A- and B-sides of the group's first single. In addition to the four band members, the line-up on "Tell the Truth" again featured Mason as second guitarist, as well as Harrison on electric guitar.

In August 1970, while recording their album Layla with producer Tom Dowd, the band decided to remake "Tell the Truth". Author Jan Reid writes of the London-recorded version: "the problem wasn't Spector's fabled Wall of Sound engineering control – rather, it sounded as though they sang and played the song about 20 percent too fast. In Spector's production, the lyrics and the voices of Clapton and Whitlock flew by in meaningless garble: the song lost its insight and sense of humor." Dowd and the members of the band struggled with the song until Duane Allman was added to the group, after Clapton and members of Derek and the Dominos met him in a concert. Following the concert, Allman joined the band at Criteria Studios in Miami, where they recorded "Tell the Truth" on 28 August.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml5K4BgrcaQ

With Allman's slide guitar providing a counterpoint to the melody played by Whitlock and Clapton, Dowd and the band were finally satisfied with the song. Clapton subsequently called Robert Stigwood, record executive of RSO, and told him not to issue the original version of "Tell the Truth" as a single. In the United States, Atco Records released the single on 14 September 1970, but the record was soon withdrawn. The Dowd production of the song then appeared as the opening song on side three of the Layla double album, issued in November 1970.

The single has since become a sought-after collector's item.

"Tell the Truth" is a song by the English–American band Derek and the Dominos, released in 1970 as the eighth track on their album Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs. The song was composed primarily by keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, with guitarist Eric Clapton adding the last verse. The band recorded the track at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida in August 1970, with Tom Dowd as their producer. An earlier version of "Tell the Truth" was recorded in London during the sessions for George Harrison's 1970 triple album All Things Must Pass. The session marked the first recordings by Derek and the Dominos. Produced by Phil Spector, this original, faster version of the song featured guitar contributions from Harrison and Dave Mason. It was issued as Derek and the Dominos' debut single, in September 1970, although the band had the release withdrawn. As admirers of Sam and Dave, Clapton and Whitlock styled the song as a "call and response" with the pair singing alternating verses. "Tell the Truth" was recorded on 18 June 1970 as the first original song by what became Derek and the Dominos: Clapton, Whitlock, drummer Jim Gordon and bassist Carl Radle. The four musicians had just helped George Harrison record the majority of the basic tracks for his album All Things Must Pass, before which Harrison had agreed to Clapton's request that his co-producer on the album, Phil Spector, would help the Dominos make their first recording as a group. The session for the song took place at Apple Studio in central London, with the intention being to issue the tracks as the A- and B-sides of the group's first single. In addition to the four band members, the line-up on "Tell the Truth" again featured Mason as second guitarist, as well as Harrison on electric guitar. In August 1970, while recording their album Layla with producer Tom Dowd, the band decided to remake "Tell the Truth". Author Jan Reid writes of the London-recorded version: "the problem wasn't Spector's fabled Wall of Sound engineering control – rather, it sounded as though they sang and played the song about 20 percent too fast. In Spector's production, the lyrics and the voices of Clapton and Whitlock flew by in meaningless garble: the song lost its insight and sense of humor." Dowd and the members of the band struggled with the song until Duane Allman was added to the group, after Clapton and members of Derek and the Dominos met him in a concert. Following the concert, Allman joined the band at Criteria Studios in Miami, where they recorded "Tell the Truth" on 28 August. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml5K4BgrcaQ With Allman's slide guitar providing a counterpoint to the melody played by Whitlock and Clapton, Dowd and the band were finally satisfied with the song. Clapton subsequently called Robert Stigwood, record executive of RSO, and told him not to issue the original version of "Tell the Truth" as a single. In the United States, Atco Records released the single on 14 September 1970, but the record was soon withdrawn. The Dowd production of the song then appeared as the opening song on side three of the Layla double album, issued in November 1970. The single has since become a sought-after collector's item.

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