1969 Hit, Written by Three Rock Legends, Became an Ultimate Road Trip Anthem

Beloved '60s supergroup Cream, consisting of Eric Clapton, Jack Bruce, and Ginger Baker, produced its fair share of hits, like "Sunshine of Your Love" and "White Room." In 2025, Rolling Stone magazine recognized the band's 1969 hit, "Badge," off the album Goodbye, as one of the best tunes to play during a long car ride. According to the publication, the song is the 49th "best road-trip song" ever recorded.

American Songwriter reported that Clapton's friend, former Beatle George Harrison, helped pen the tune. In an interview, Harrison explained how "Badge" was written.

"I helped Eric write 'Badge,' you know. Each of them had to come up with a song for that Goodbye Cream album, and Eric didn't have his written. We were working across from each other and I was writing the lyrics down and we came to the middle part so I wrote Bridge. Eric read it upside down and cracked up laughing, ‘What's BADGE?'" said Harrison, who died in 2001 at the age of 54, per American Songwriter.

Harrison then said that his Beatle bandmate, Ringo Starr, helped with the lyrics, while inebriated.

"After that, Ringo walked in drunk and gave us that line about the swans living in the park," said Harrison, as reported by American Songwriter.

Eric Clapton Was Present When George Harrison Wrote One of the Beatles' Most Beloved Songs

Far Out magazine reported that Clapton, now 81, was present when Harrison penned one of the Beatles' most enduring and beloved songs, 1969's "Here Comes the Sun." According to the publication, Clapton shared in the 2011 documentary George Harrison: Living in the Material World that Harrison created the tune, off Abbey Road, while sitting in his garden.

"He was just a magical guy, and he would show up, get out of the car with his guitar, and come in and start playing. I just watched this thing come to life. I felt very proud that it was my garden that was inspiring it," said Clapton, who was married to Harrison's ex-wife Pattie Boyd for 10 years until 1989. "It was a beautiful spring morning, and we were sitting at the top of a big field at the bottom of the garden. We had our guitars and were just strumming away when he started singing ‘it's been a long cold lonely winter,' and bit by bit, he fleshed it out."

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This story was originally published May 25, 2026 at 4:38 PM.