If you’re of a certain age, today’s classic song of the day means something special to you. The song is “You’ve Got a Friend” and it was written by songwriter extraordinaire Carole King and recorded both by herself and by her friend James Taylor.
Unlike many of Carole King’s tunes, Carole wrote both the words and the music for “You’ve Got a Friend.” Normally she just wrote the music and relied on lyricists like Gerry Goffin or Toni Stern to supply the words. This is that rare one that is all Carole King and it’s definitely one of her best.
“You’ve Got a Friend” is about friendship, about always being there for the ones you love. Ms. King said she wrote it in response to the line in James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” that went “I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend.” She said her song wasn’t about James, per se, but rather that universal concept of friendship. As the song’s lyrics put it:
You just call out my name
And you know, wherever I am
I’ll come runnin’
To see you again
Winter, spring, summer or fall
All you have to do is call
And I’ll be there
You’ve got a friend
Carole included “You’ve Got a Friend” on her groundbreaking 1971 album, Tapestry. She recorded it with her friend James Taylor playing acoustic guitar, her then-husband Charles Larkey on acoustic bass, fellow studio cat Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar (normally a guitarist) on congas, and a three-piece string section. Carole herself played piano, of course.
Note that James Taylor sat in on Carole’s recording; at the time, he was just down the hall, recording his own Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon album. Carole had played with James in concert and they’d become close friends. In Carole’s own words, “when James heard [“You’ve Got a Friend”] he really liked it and wanted to record it.” So he did, with Danny Kortchmar on acoustic guitar and congas (again), Leland Sklar on bass, Russ Kunkel on drums, and his then-girlfriend Joni Mitchell singing backup. James, of course, played acoustic guitar.
Even though it was a standout track on her Tapestry album, Carole King didn’t release “You’ve Got a Friend” as a single. James Taylor did, however, in May of 1971. James’ version was a huge hit, going all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Cash Box Top 100, and Billboard’s Adult Contemporary charts. “You’ve Got a Friend” went on to win a Best Male Pop Performance Grammy for Mr. Taylor and Song of the Year for Ms. King.
“You’ve Got a Friend” is just a damned fine song. It’s lyrics are both personal and universal, and the music is just what it needs to be, no less than one would expect from Ms. King. It’s truly one of her best and also one of the best songs in Mr. Taylor’s catalog. My wife and I had the good fortune to see Carole and James play this one together on their big 2010 Troubadour Reunion Tour. It was a special moment, one that that had the whole Xcel Energy Center singing along, everyone smiling with tears in their eyes. It was one of those things I’ll remember for the rest of my life.
Which leads us to today’s extra special daily bonus video of the day, James Taylor and Carole King performing “You’ve Got a Friend” together live at the Troubadour in 2010, with Kootch, Lee, and Russ backing them up. What more can I add? There was a lot of love on the stage that night.
