What is the best blues song Eric Clapton has ever recorded?

We all have an opinion, don't we?
(Ya gotta love him!!!)

bell bottom blues as derek and the dominoes...

Layla! A classic!

Layla is the best song ever.

no no no -- not the overplayed radio hits...go with actual blues stuff. i would start with crossroads 2 boxed set. its all live recordings and some of the songs blend into one another resulting in a few 10+ minutes tracks, but all good blues in addition to the classics like layla.
check claptons entire catalog for a full appreciation.
ps- i kinda like "got to get better in a little while" and "double trouble"
its difficult to pick a favourite.

Derek & The Dominoes - Have You Ever Loved A Woman
or
Eric Clapton - Further Down The Road
or ...
Its hard to decide. There are so many.

bell bottom blues with derek and the dominoes

Layla (Unplugged)

All of Claptons cd unplugged!!!!! His best ever to me. But I love all his stuff..and the old blues he did all was so great!
Oh it is to hard..I love him with B.B. King the cd riding with the king!!!
Also I have to say I love cocaine...still a great song...

The Sky is Crying

&

Everything on the "From the Cradle" album.

"The Sky Is Crying" from the album with his hound on it....People don't forget..Duane Allman played a big role in the making of "Layla and other assorted love stories"..it wasn't all Eric..

Going down to the Crossroads with his group Cream

if you want his actual blues songs listen to d & d and especially their best blues jam "nobody knows you when youre down and out." drink whiskey to this song.

Bell Bottom Blues

Teardrops in Heaven

I vote for Bell Bottom Blues.

I gotta go with Layla. I did like Born Under A Bad Sign also.

Please, for your listening pleasure, and EVERYONE'S
education, before you decide, get a listen to Eric's version
of "Hellhound On My Trail," off his "Sessions for Robert J." DVD/cd.

Note: It's on the DVD, not the CD.

What gives me chills JUST THINKING about,
another twenty-thousand haven't heard yet.

ABSOLUTELY get a listen!

On the dvd, Eric himself has snippets of interviews, ALONG WITH some of the most Torrid blues I've heard him play,
ever, and I've been checkin' him for roughly 3 decades.

If you can't get a viewing before choosing Best Answer,
consider:

Double Trouble and Worried Life Blues from his
Just One Night album from 1980.

Also, his entire effort with BBKing, "Riding with the King,"
from 2000.

Once you hear these tracks, you'll appreciate him
even more.

A toast to his "Sessions for Robert J." DVD&cd--
best d@mn $20 or so I ever spent!!

[credentials: Please have a look at my BestAnswer
concerning Best Blues Song from a week or so ago.
I love the stuff.]

Most of the songs mentioned in the other answers aren't even blues songs. I like "Worried Life Blues" the best.

I love Eric Clapton My opinion Layla was his best blues song ever and cocaine

I would say "Give Me Strength" is the best one he has actually written himself

"Mean Old World" with Duane Allman on slide is one of my favorite blues recordings that Clapton ever did, but it's hard to top "Crossroads" with Cream.

another ticket from the album of the same name .if you can find this rarity it is well worht it

i really luv and luv Eric Clapton..i think Layla is great,the same as ev'rybody says! but i think he has better songs,all songs r great,bcz he's great n plays his guitar so special!

my opinion is, Tears in heaven , n , wonderful tonight

I've always liked Have You Ever Loved A Woman, another is Nobody Knows You WHen You're Down And Out. There are alot to choose from, that's for sure!

All right people! First of all , every one of you who said Layla, Tears in Heaven , & Bell Bottom Blues , please leave the room , as these are NOT blues, but rock songs. Although Clapton has had a relationship with the blues for a long time , he has for the most part, not been a blues player, but a rock player. There is a difference, and though I could demonstrate it if we were sitting in front of a pair of speakers , it is nearly impossible to put into words. To quote an old Chicago bluesman " The Blues is a feeling." Though he at times approached it in his earlier years( see " Have You Ever Loved a Woman") , it is only more recently that he has really put out a lot of good blues. The writer who steered you toward " Sessions For Robert J" has got you on the right track, This and the " Me & Mr Johnson " records are the places to look for the best of Clapton's blues output.

Clapton does a lot of great blues covers.

One of my favorites is "I can't hold out" by Elmore James off of the "461 Ocean Blvd" album........great slide guitar!

People come on.
Can't you clearly see that crossroads is the best!

last fair deal gone down it is on the album eric clapton me and mr johnson

Too many to pick just one

Hard Times (Check out the '24 nights' version)
anything from "Riding with the King" (BB King)
just to name a few

From the Cradle album

Have You Ever Loved A Woman
Floating Bridge
Old Love - originally a Robert Cray tune
Early In the Morning

any of the stuff he's recorded with Jerry Portnoy (harmonica player) is some good blues

"Why does love have to be so Sad"

Bell Bottom Blues is just some wimp whining about a broad!!