The song is Clapton's best-selling single in the United States, reaching number two on the Billboard Hot 100.

[3][4] After isolating himself for a period, Clapton began working again, writing music for the film Rush (1991).

Jennings urged Clapton to write the entire song due to the personal subject matter, but eventually agreed.

[6] In an interview in 1992, Clapton said the song "was in the back of my head but it didn't really have a reason for being until I was scoring this movie ... And it is a little ambiguous because it could be taken to be about Conor but it also is meant to be part of the film.

[8] The album topped numerous charts, including the US, Japan and Australia, reached number two in the UK, and was nominated for nine Grammy Awards the year it was released.

[10] On April 15, 1992, "Tears in Heaven" was certified with a Platinum certification award for sales of more than 1,000,000 copies in the United States.

[21] In addition to the already rare success, reaching number one on both of the charts, "Tears in Heaven" was The Record magazine's top retail selling single release.

[23] In 1992, "Tears in Heaven" was the 17th-best-selling single on RPM magazine's Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.

[26] It was eventually certified with a Gold disc by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) in Austria and reached number 61 on the country's year-end chart in 1992.

[29] In 2010, when a remastered physical edition of the single was released in Belgium, it reached number 16 on the Back Catalogue chart.

[28] The song was Belgium's 159th best-selling single in 1992,[25] and certified with a Platinum disc for sales over 50,000 copies by the Belgian Entertainment Association.

On chart week 28, it was certified with a Platinum award by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP) for sales of more than 500,000 copies in the country.

In addition, the digital single was certified with a Platinum disc, for sales and streams exceeding 30,000 units.

In October 1992, it was presented with a Platinum sales award by the Swedish Recording Industry Association (GLF), when it exceeded 50,000 sold units in the country.

[44] In Switzerland, the single was also a Top ten hit, peaking at number seven on the Schweizer Hitparade, where "Tears in Heaven" stayed for 15 weeks.

[45] Here too, the single was presented with a Gold certification by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, for sales exceeding 25,000 copies in Switzerland.

[48] Shortly after, the single was certified with a Gold disc by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), for sales more than 400,000 copies in the country.

[49] With total sales of more than 300,000 copies by the end of 1992,[50] "Tears in Heaven" reached number 56 on Great Britain's 1992 year-end chart.

By the end of 1992, "Tears in Heaven" sold more than 389,000 units in Japan,[58] however, not enough for a quadruple Platinum certification award.

[25] On the summary of 1992's most-purchased international singles in Japan, "Tears in Heaven" reached number sixty-three.

Clapton made numerous public service announcements to raise awareness for childproofing windows and staircases.

The line up included Gwen Stefani, Mary J. Blige, Pink, Slash, Duff "Rose" McKagan, Steven Tyler, Elton John, Phil Collins, Ringo Starr, Andrea Bocelli, Katie Melua, Josh Groban, Scott Weiland, Paul Santo, Robbie Williams, and Rod Stewart.