[1] In its first recorded incarnation, the song was called "Groupie (Superstar)", and was released in December 1969 as the B-side of the Delaney & Bonnie single "Comin' Home".
(Taken from the liner notes of the 2006 Deluxe Edition of the Eric Clapton album): Produced by Delaney Bramlett, recorded at A&M Studios, Los Angeles, September 27 – October 10, 1969.
Richard Carpenter became aware of the song after watching Bette Midler sing it on the February 15, 1971 edition of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.
[1] Produced by Richard Carpenter with Jack Daugherty, it was recorded using members of the Wrecking Crew, a famed collection of Los Angeles-area session musicians.
In the early 1980s, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter Luther Vandross had "Superstar" in his stage act, sometimes in a rendition that stretched to 12 minutes, with vocal interpolations and an interpretive dancer.
Vandross then recorded "Superstar" in 1983 in a slower, more soulful fashion, as part of a medley with Stevie Wonder's "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" on his album Busy Body.
Charts American noise rock band Sonic Youth recorded "Superstar" for the 1994 tribute album If I Were a Carpenter, a version which reached No.
It was also featured in the film The Frighteners and in the theatrical trailer for High Tension, and in Bag of Suck during professional skateboarder Jerry Hsu's segment.