The concert took place during the two-year long "Doyle & Derek World Tour" Clapton held together with Doyle Bramhall II and Derek Trucks from 2006 to 2007 leading up to the Crossroads Guitar Festival 2007 at Chicago's Toyota Park. Both audio and video filming for the release began on 15 March 2007 during the concert at the Ipayone Center in San Diego, California. Before performing with Cale at the venue, Clapton said: "This is the realization of what may have been my last ambition: to work with the man whose music has inspired me for as long as I can remember."

Critic George Varga from the San Diego Union Tribune reviewed: "Thursday's show was the sole date to feature a cameo by Cale, who has long been one of Clapton's idols. Sitting side-by-side with Derek Trucks and Doyle Bramhall, Clapton and Cale amiably sang and played together on such Cale-penned gems as 'After Midnight' [and] 'Cocaine'. Clearly delighted, Clapton beamed and grinned throughout Cale's five-song guest spot."

The sell-out concert with 10,911 people in attendance grossed $837,570.

Rhythm guitarist Doyle Bramhall II told the online magazine The Wall Street Journal that "[we] were in the middle of a tour when Eric brought J. J. on for the show in San Diego, so it felt like we were a well-oiled band ready to support; Eric and J. J. could just let go and not think about anything other than the magic they were creating." When Bramhall II was asked about the performance, he described it as a "slide-guitar orchestra" and added: "It was a very high energy song and I remember feeling like we were holding on to it like a ride."

The album was announced on 5 August 2016. The album is available on compact disc (as a two-disc CD), as a 180 gram gramophone record (as a three-disc vinyl) as well as a digital album.

Clapton previously honoured Cale in 2006 with the release of the Platinum-selling collaborative studio album The Road to Escondido and in 2014 as "Eric Clapton and Friends" (with musicians like Tom Petty, Mark Knopfler, Willie Nelson, John Mayer and others) with the release of The Breeze: An Appreciation of JJ Cale, a tribute album to Cale after his death in 2013, another release which gained positive critical acclaim around the world and success on international album charts. The first single from the album entitled "They Call Me the Breeze", released on 30 June 2014 featured footage of the concert for the official music video.

On 25 August 2016 a performance of "Motherless Children" was released as a video single on YouTube and as an audio single on Spotify. On 23 September 2016 another video, "Tell the Truth", was released. The video of "Wonderful Tonight" from the concert was released through Clapton's official YouTube channel on 10 October 2016.

A 2-hour (limited edition) live DVD version was released on 10 March 2017 (on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the concert).

Taken from the press release.
• Eric Clapton – guitar · lead vocals · producer
• J. J. Cale – guitar · vocals (tracks 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
• Robert Cray – guitar · vocals (track 16)
• Doyle Bramhall II – guitar · backing vocals
• Derek Trucks – slide guitar
• Willie Weeks – bass guitar
• Steve Jordan – drums
• Chris Stainton – keyboards
• Tim Carmon – keyboards
• Michelle John – backing vocals
• Sharon White – backing vocals
• Simon Climie – producer · audio mixing
• Alan Douglas – record engineer