#182 James Taylor, 'Sweet Baby James' (1970)
Previously #104
This album bears a tragic story, but one of hope too. James Taylor was the first non-British act signed to The Beatles’ Apple Records. His debut album released on the label was a commercial failure. Taylor, a recovering heroin addict, had relapsed during the recording and wasn’t able to promote the record. Taylor had committed himself to a psychiatric hospital after recording and his hospitalisation had made it impossible to promote the record. He suffered a massive bout of depression and in 1969 broke both his hands and feet in a motorcycle accident. While recovering, he continued to write music and managed to sign a new record deal with Warner Brothers. Peter Asher (of Peter & Gordon), was the A&R Manager at Apple, and following the original signing, decided to manage Taylor. He continued following the new deal. During the recording of his second album, ‘Sweet Baby James,’ Taylor was homeless and was forced to hop between Asher’s home and guitarist, Danny Kortchmar’s couch. To add to his woes, his childhood friend, Suzanne Schnerr, had committed suicide.
That death, plus his own depression and hospitalisation are what inspired the hit single and breakthrough song for Taylor. ‘Fire and Rain’ begins “Just yesterday mornin', they let me know you were gone/Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you/I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song/I just can't remember who to send it to.” It’s a heartbreaking story of a broken man. The song would chart at #3 on the Billboard Charts in the US and singlehandedly turned his life around. The album also charted at #3. Carole King, who played piano on the record, would later write the song ‘You’ve Got A Friend,’ on which she duetted with Taylor. She’s stated that that song was a direct response to the lyric “I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend.” The album is a singer-songwriter masterpiece and really is a work of art, even 51 years later. It ends off with the song ‘Suite For 20 G,’ which was the last song needed to complete the album and get his advance from the label, which was, as the title suggests, $20k. Taylor managed to keep his sense of humour through it all. Great song too!
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