Tuesday November 2, 2021 “You’ve Got A Friend” Carole King

As we continue with the 2021 inductees in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame we have Carole KIng, a previous inductee as a songwriter and this time around as an artist.

If I were putting together a list of my favorite songs it would include so many that were written by Carole King, a true genius in creating top forty pop hit songs and today’s “You’ve Got a Friend” is a classic example of that.

This 1971 song written by Carole King was first recorded and included in her album Tapestry which everyone over a certain age definitely owns. 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 one on the Billboard Hot 100 and an international top ten hit. 

"You've Got a Friend" won Grammy Awards both for Taylor (Best Male Pop Vocal Performance) and King (Song of the Year) and dozens of other artists have recorded the song over the years, including Dusty Springfield, Michael Jackson, Anne Murray and Donny Hathaway and probably every other singer you can think of.

Some quick stuff you might not know about Carole King:  in high school she dated future teen idol, singer/songwriter Neil Sedaka; she set a record in 1973 with over 100,000 people attending her Central Park, NY concert; her mother was a teacher in Brooklyn and her father was a NYC firefighter;  she wrote the song “Locomotion’ for her then babysitter Eva (Little Eva) Boyd.  It would be a number one hit and after that Eva would no longer babysit for her; maybe not the best choice for a spouse, she has been married four times.

Stay safe and well...and Carole King has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide and that does not include the hit songs she has written for other artists.  She is the most successful female songwriter of the latter half of the 20th century with 118 pop hits on the Billboard charts.

When you're down and troubled

And you need some lovin' care

And nothin', nothin' is goin' right

Close your eyes and think of me

And soon I will be there

To brighten up even your darkest night

You just call out my name

And you know, wherever I am

I'll come runnin'

To see you again

Winter, spring, summer or fall

All you have to do is call

And I'll be there

You've got a friend

If the sky above you

Grows dark and full of clouds

And that old north wind begins to blow

Keep your head together

And call my name out loud

Soon you'll hear me knockin' at your door

You just call out my name

And you know, wherever I am

I'll come runnin', runnin', yeah, yeah

To see you again

Winter, spring, summer or fall

All you have to do is call

And I'll be there, yes, I will

Now, ain't it good to know that you've got a friend

When people can be so cold?

They'll hurt you, yes, and desert you

And take your soul if you let them

Oh, but don't you let them

You just call out my name

And you know, wherever I am

I'll come runnin', runnin', yeah, yeah

To see you again

Winter, spring, summer or fall

All you have to do is call

And I'll be there, yes, I will

You've got a friend

You've got a friend

Ain't it good to know you've got a friend

Ain't it good to know, ain't it good to know

Ain't it good to know

You've got a friend

Oh, yeah, now, you've got a friend

Yeah baby, you've got a friend

Oh, yeah, you've got a friend