Eric Clapton's 1996 chart-topper "Change the World" is widely credited as one of his signature songs, but the track was actually first recorded by country star Wynonna Judd before Clapton ever touched it. Judd cut the song for her third studio album, Revelations, though it was never released as a single and passed largely unnoticed. The song's true origins highlight how a piece of music can languish for years before finding the artist and moment that turns it into a hit.

Written by Gordon Kennedy, Tommy Sims and Wayne Kirkpatrick, the song was penned five years before either Judd or Clapton recorded it, and the writers had originally hoped it would land them a record deal, which never materialised. After Judd's version failed to become a single despite years of expectation, Clapton recorded it for the 1996 film Phenomenon's soundtrack, and it became a chart phenomenon in its own right: 13 weeks at No. 1, a record 81 consecutive weeks in Billboard's Top 20 Adult Contemporary chart, and the Grammy for Song of the Year. Kennedy credits co-writer Kirkpatrick with reshaping the song from a more socially conscious idea into the love song that became so widely loved.