“I said, ‘That’s my music.’ His manager said, ‘You’re a girl. You don’t have the money to fight this’”: Rita Coolidge alleges she helped write Eric Clapton’s Layla – but never got credit for it

Photo of Rita COOLIDGE AND Eric Clapton during Eric Clapton File Photos at The Forum in Los Angeles, California, United States.

While Derek and the Dominos’ Layla is heralded for its electric guitar riff, its cinematic piano outro is considered by many fans to be a classic contribution to the iconic rock song in its own right.

However, Rita Coolidge – who alleges she wrote that very coda, having played it to Clapton some time before it became part of Layla’s structure – never received credit for the role she says she played in bringing it to life.