"August" is the tenth solo studio album by English rock musician Eric Clapton, released in 1986 by Duck Records/Warner Bros. Records. The album is often described as a "hard R&B" record and was primarily produced by Phil Collins, in collaboration with Clapton's longtime associate Tom Dowd.
The album opens with "It's in the Way That You Use It," a track co-written with Robbie Robertson, formerly of The Band. This song was featured in the film The Color of Money, starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise, and was released a month before the album, reaching No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for one week. Other standout tracks include "Run" and "Hung Up On Your Love," both written by Motown composer Lamont Dozier, as well as the duet "Tearing Us Apart" with Tina Turner. "Bad Influence" is a cover of a song by blues musician Robert Cray, and "Holy Mother," co-written with Stephen Bishop, was dedicated to Richard Manuel of The Band, who tragically took his own life earlier that year.
The album's only UK top 20 hit, "Behind the Mask," was recorded at the suggestion of Greg Phillinganes. This track originally by Yellow Magic Orchestra was also famously covered by Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones during Jackson's Thriller sessions but was never included on the album. Phillinganes, who had worked with Jackson, released his own version in 1984, which closely resembles the Clapton version that became August's lead single in the UK. Jackson's version was later released posthumously in 2010.
Clapton's studio band for the album included Phil Collins on drums and backing vocals, Nathan East on bass, and Greg Phillinganes on keyboards. Additional musicians included saxophonist Michael Brecker, trumpeters Randy Brecker and Jon Faddis, and trombone player Dave Bargeron. Collins, East, and Phillinganes would continue their roles in Clapton's live band over the next two years.
Blending Collins' soul/pop with Clapton's blues/rock, August marked a successful comeback for Clapton, cementing his place in the 1980s music scene.
