Songfacts®:

• "Riding With the King" was originally written by singer-songwriter John Hiatt, released on his sixth album of the same name in 1983. This is the cover version done by Eric Clapton and B.B. King on an album which is also titled Riding With the King.
  
  Riding with the King, the King-Clapton album, was inspired by sessions during the recording of King's 1997 Deuces Wild album. Deuces Wild was an all-collaboration album, with tracks by King-Clapton as well as collaborations with Van Morrison, Tracy Chapman, Dionne Warwick, Joe Cocker, Willie Nelson.
• Riding with the King, the Hiatt album, was produced by different methods for each side. Side one was produced by musical-jack-of-all-trades Scott Mathews; Mathews plays all of the instruments except guitar and all of the backing vocals, all recorded at The Pen in San Francisco. Side two was produced by almost-as-prolific Nick Lowe, at Eden Studios in London with a full backing band. Scott Mathews had an odd dream, which he told to John Hiatt, who developed that story into the song "Riding with the King." As for Nick Lowe, his quirkiest accomplishment was when his 1979 hit single "Cruel To Be Kind" peaked at the same position, #12, on four charts at the same time - the US Billboard Hot 100, UK Singles, Australia, and Canada charts. Mathews, meanwhile, has produced, arranged, written songs for, recorded with a slew of artists, including Roy Orbison, Barbra Streisand and Mick Jagger.