Sweet Baby James
Encyclopedia
Sweet Baby James is singer-songwriter
James Taylor
's second album, and his first release on Warner Bros. Records
. Released in February 1970, it showcased Taylor's talents and showed the direction he would take in the early 1970s with the expansion of his career. The album featured one of Taylor's earliest single successes: "Fire and Rain
", which reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100
. The album itself also managed to reach #3 on the Billboard Album Charts. Sweet Baby James made Taylor one of the main forces of the ascendent folk
movement. The album was nominated to a Grammy Award for Album of the Year
, in 1971. The album was listed at #103 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
The song "Suite for 20 G" was so named because Taylor was promised $20,000 once the album was delivered. With one more song needed, he strung together three unfinished songs into a "suite," and completed the album.
The horn players are uncredited.
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
James Taylor
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000....
's second album, and his first release on Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records
Warner Bros. Records Inc. is an American record label. It was the foundation label of the present-day Warner Music Group, and now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of that corporation. It maintains a close relationship with its former parent, Warner Bros. Pictures, although the two companies...
. Released in February 1970, it showcased Taylor's talents and showed the direction he would take in the early 1970s with the expansion of his career. The album featured one of Taylor's earliest single successes: "Fire and Rain
Fire and Rain
"Fire and Rain" is a folk/rock song written and performed by James Taylor. As a song on his second album, Sweet Baby James, the song engendered widespread attention for him. The album was released in February 1970, with the song being released as a single that month. "Fire and Rain" quickly rose to...
", which reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The album itself also managed to reach #3 on the Billboard Album Charts. Sweet Baby James made Taylor one of the main forces of the ascendent folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
movement. The album was nominated to a Grammy Award for Album of the Year
Grammy Award for Album of the Year
The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the engineer and/or mixer and the mastering engineer...
, in 1971. The album was listed at #103 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
The song "Suite for 20 G" was so named because Taylor was promised $20,000 once the album was delivered. With one more song needed, he strung together three unfinished songs into a "suite," and completed the album.
Awards and recognition
- In 2003 the TV network VH1VH1VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
named Sweet Baby James the 77th greatest album of all time. - In 2003, the album was ranked number 103 on Rolling StoneRolling StoneRolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all timeThe 500 Greatest Albums of All Time"The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time" is the title of a 2003 special issue of American magazine Rolling Stone, and a related book published in 2005.Related news articles:...
.
Side one
- "Sweet Baby JamesSweet Baby James (song)"Sweet Baby James" is a song written and recorded by James Taylor which serves as the opening and title track from his 1970 breakthrough album Sweet Baby James...
" – 2:54 - "Lo and Behold" – 2:37
- "Sunny Skies" – 2:21
- "SteamrollerSteamroller Blues"Steamroller Blues", often labelled just "Steamroller", is a song written by James Taylor, that first appeared on his 1970 breakthrough album Sweet Baby James. The song title comes from the first line: "I'm a steamroller baby, I'm bound to roll all over you..."...
" – 2:57 - "Country RoadCountry Road (song)"Country Road" is a song written and performed by James Taylor. It appears on his 1970 second album, Sweet Baby James. The song references Somerset Street in Belmont, Massachusetts, a wooded road running adjacent to the land owned by McLean Hospital, where Taylor had committed himself in 1965 to...
" – 3:22 - "Oh! SusannaOh! Susanna"Oh! Susanna" is a minstrel song by Stephen Foster . It was published by W. C. Peters & Co. in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1848. The song was introduced by a local quintette at a concert in Andrews' Eagle Ice Cream Saloon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on September 11, 1847. Foster was said to have written...
" (Stephen FosterStephen FosterStephen Collins Foster , known as the "father of American music", was the pre-eminent songwriter in the United States of the 19th century...
) – 1:58
Side two
- "Fire and RainFire and Rain"Fire and Rain" is a folk/rock song written and performed by James Taylor. As a song on his second album, Sweet Baby James, the song engendered widespread attention for him. The album was released in February 1970, with the song being released as a single that month. "Fire and Rain" quickly rose to...
" – 3:20 - "Blossom" – 2:14
- "Anywhere Like Heaven" – 3:23
- "Oh Baby, Don't You Loose Your Lip on Me" – 1:46
- "Suite for 20 G" – 4:41
Personnel
- James Taylor — guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
, vocals - Jack Bielan — brass
- Chris Darrow — fiddleFiddleThe term fiddle may refer to any bowed string musical instrument, most often the violin. It is also a colloquial term for the instrument used by players in all genres, including classical music...
, violinViolinThe violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello.... - Carole KingCarole KingCarole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
— pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, vocals - Danny KortchmarDanny KortchmarDanny "Kootch" Kortchmar is a guitarist, session musician, and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as David Crosby, Carole King, Graham Nash, Carly Simon and James Taylor helped define the signature sound of the singer-songwriter era of the 1970s...
— guitar - Russ KunkelRuss KunkelRussell Kunkel , also known as Russ Kunkel, is an American drummer and producer who has worked as a session musician with a number of well-known artists.Kunkel was born in Pittsburgh, PA...
— drumDrumThe drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s - John London — bass
- Randy MeisnerRandy MeisnerRandy Herman Meisner is an American musician and songwriter, best known as a founding member of Poco and the Eagles...
— bass - Red RhodesRed RhodesRhodes played pedal steel on many country rock, pop and rock albums with The Monkees, James Taylor, Seals and Crofts, The Byrds, The Carpenters and many other groups. He is most often remembered for his work with former Monkee Michael Nesmith on Nesmith's first solo albums in the early 1970s...
— steel guitar - Leland SklarLeland SklarLeland "Lee" Bruce Sklar is an American musician, singer-songwriter and film score composer. A prominent bass guitarist, Sklar has contributed to thousands of albums as a session musician...
— bass - Bobby West — double bass
The horn players are uncredited.