You've Got a Friend [available 10/18/2023]
Written by Carole King (1971)
Originally recorded by Carole King (1971)
Famously covered by James Taylor (1971)
DID YOU KNOW?
Carole King said the song wrote itself and “was as close to pure inspiration as I've ever experienced.” She told James Taylor it was in response to a line “I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend,” from his song “Fire and Rain.”
The song was written while Carole King and James Taylor were working on albums that were released in 1971. When Taylor heard the song, he wanted to record it as well.
This song appears on Carole King’s “Tapestry” released in February 1971 and James Taylor’s “Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon” released in April 1971. It would become a number hit for James Taylor, so it is most associated with him.
Since they were in recording sessions for both albums, the personnel overlaps which included Danny Kortchmar (guitar) and Joni Mitchell (vocals).
The song has been covered over 465 times with great interpretations by Barbra Streisand (1971), Michael Jackson (1972), Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway (1972), Sam Harris (2006), and The Brand New Heavies (1997).