The Foundations’ “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You” is today’s classic song of the day. Released as a single in mid-1967, this one went to #11 on the Billboard Hot 100, #8 on the Cash Box Top 100, and #1 on the UK charts.
“Baby, Now That I’ve Found You” was written by Tony Macaulay and John Macleod, and produced by Macaulay. Macaulay was a prolific songwriter back in the late ’60s and early ’70s, penning such hits as Edison Lighthouse’s “Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes),” the Flying Machine’s “Smile a Little Smile for Me,” the Fortunes’ “Here Comes That Rainy Day Feeling Again,” the 5th Dimension’s “(Last Night) I Didn’t Get to Sleep at All,” David Soul’s “Don’t Give Up on Us,” and the Foundations’ later hit, “Build Me Up Buttercup.” Macleod was a former jingle writer who went on to write or co-write songs for Long John Baldry, Sandie Shaw, Paper Dolls, Pickettywitch, and Clem Curtis (former lead singer of the Foundations). Together, Macaulay and Macleod wrote the minor hit “Baby Take Me in Your Arms” for a guy named Jefferson.
The Foundations, a British soul band with a Trinidadian lead singer (Clem Curtis), first got together in 1967. They had a number of UK-only hits and two international hits (“Baby, Now That I’ve Found You” and “Build Me Up Buttercup”), but broke up in 1970.
Several artists have recorded “Baby, Now That I’ve Found You” over the years. My favorite cover was by bluegrass-country singer Alison Krauss, who released it as a single in 1995. Her version went to #49 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and won Ms. Krauss a Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Hers is the version I personally like best.
