Song · James Taylor
“You've Got a Friend” by James Taylor
From the album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon (1971)
“You've Got a Friend” by James Taylor appears on 9 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1997 and 2026. It was first released in 1971 on the album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon. Its best result is #174 on the 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s. In the combined RockLists rankings it is #742 indie & aaa song of all time and #173 of the '70s.
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Carole King wrote "You've Got a Friend" and cut it for Tapestry, but James Taylor was recording it at the very same time, with some of the same players on hand, and his reading landed on Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon in 1971. Peter Asher produced it, with Danny Kortchmar on acoustic guitar and congas, Russ Kunkel on drums, Leland Sklar on bass, and Joni Mitchell singing behind him.
Taylor delivers it like a promise made on a back porch, unhurried and plain-spoken, and that gentle touch carried it to the top of the Billboard Hot 100. It won him the Grammy for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance while King took Song of the Year, and his version entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Indie & Adult Alternative
Classic Rock
All Rock Formats
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 781 | 102.3 WBAB | WBAB Top 1,023 Rock and Roll Songs of All Time (1997) | 1023 |
| 2001 | 644 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2004 | 323 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2004) | 885 |
| 2007 | 410 | WTMD | WTMD Top 897 Songs of All Time | 897 |
| 2014 | 754 | Big 100 | BIG 1000 New Year's Countdown (2014) | 1000 |
| 2014 | 501 | WXPN | WXPN 885 All-Time Greatest Songs (2014) | 885 |
| 2020 | 854 | WXPN | WXPN 2020 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2020 |
| 2022 | 174 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
| 2026 | 254 | WYEP | WYEP Greatest Songs of All Time | 1180 |
Also listed as: You've Got A Friend.
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