“You’ve Got a Friend” (38) is a 1971 song written by Carole King. It was first recorded by King and included in her album Tapestry. Another well-known version is by James Taylor from his album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon. His was released as a single in 1971, reaching number 1 on the Billboard and number 4 on the UK Singles Chart. The two versions were recorded simultaneously in 1971 with shared musicians.
King has stated that “the song was as close to pure inspiration as I’ve ever experienced. The song wrote itself. It was written by something outside myself, through me.” According to Taylor, King told him that the song was a response to a line in Taylor’s earlier song “Fire and Rain” that “I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend.” “You’ve Got a Friend” won Grammy Awards both for Taylor (Best Male Pop Vocal Performance) and King (Song of the Year).
James Taylor and Carole King performed “You’ve Got a Friend” together in 2010 during their Troubadour Reunion Tour. In 2015, Taylor performed an acoustic rendition of the song at Hotel de Ville, at the invitation of U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo in tribute to the victims of the January 2015 Ile-de-France attacks.
“You’ve Got a Friend” was recorded by British acid jazz and funk group the Brand New Heavies for their ‘Shelter’ album in 1997 and was the third single to be released from the album. It reached number 9 on the UK Singles Chart and number 13 in Scotland in October 1997. The song also peaked within the top 10 in Hungary. The group performed the song on the music chart television programme Top of the Pops.
