Â
We have talked about how popular singer-songwriter albums became in 1971 and today we look at one of those that exploded early in the year. James Taylor and Carole King were friends. They played together in the studio and in concert. And they both were at the forefront of the singer-songwriter movement of the early 70âs when more and more people craved the introspective music of a songwriter singing their own songs. We already visited Caroleâs classic âTapestryâ in one of these dispatches and today we look at an LP, released about the same time, Mud Slide Slim & The Blue Horizon, from James Taylor. Released in April of 1971, Taylorâs 3rd album will always be attached at the hip to Tapestry. Taylorâs LP reached #2 on the charts, kept from the top spot by Kingâs classic. It also produced his only #1 single, a cover of Kingâs tune âYouâve Got A Friendâ that also appears on Tapestry. Taylorâs version won a Grammy for best Pop Male Vocal Performance and Kingâs version won a Grammy for Song Of The Year. To further the connectionâ¦Taylor played on Tapestry and King played on Mud Slide Slim. Critics didnât really like this record. It was described as âwearyâ and âself-pityingâ. And yet music fans gobbled it up. With the exception of Machine Gun Kelly, a song written by guitarist Danny Kortchmar, the songs are slow and laden with Taylorâs fine acoustic guitar. His backing band is top-notch including Kortchmar, Russ Kunkel, Lee Sklar, John Hartford, the Memphis Horns, and, of course, King. It contains two of my favorite Taylor compositions, âHey Mister Thatâs Me Up On The Jukeboxâ and the beautiful âYou Can Close Your Eyesâ, both covered by another pal, Linda Ronstadt. You Can Close Your Eyes was written about his short-lived romance with Joni Mitchell (another singer-songwriter that we will hear from soon) (oh, and by the way, has anyone had more songs written about them than Joni Mitchell?)