On this day (July 31) in 1971, James Taylor topped the Billboard Hot 100 with his rendition of “You’ve Got a Friend.” It was his first and only song to top the Hot 100 chart. Carole King wrote the song for her 1971 album, Tapestry, on which Taylor played acoustic guitar. The song earned both artists a Grammy Award.

Taylor’s folk-leaning singer/songwriter material didn’t do well on the Hot 100. Throughout his career, only 21 of his singles have made it to the chart. Five of those were top 10 hits, and only one, “You’ve Got a Friend,” made it to the chart’s summit. The “Fire and Rain” singer saw much more success on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, where he notched 5 No. 1 singles and 24 top 10 hits out of 40 total charted singles.

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The Success of “You’ve Got a Friend” and Tapestry

While King didn’t write “You’ve Got a Friend” for Taylor, it was reportedly a response to one of the lines from his 1970 hit, “Fire and Rain.” The song is about how friends can be as important as family, and was a response to the line I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend.

King didn’t release the song as a single. However, Tapestry, the album on which “You’ve Got a Friend” is featured, was a smash hit for her. The album spent 15 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for nearly six years, making it the longest-charting album by a female artist. When Taylor’s version of King’s song topped the Hot 100, Tapestry had already been at No. 1 for six weeks.

“You’ve Got a Friend” brought Taylor the Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance in 1972. The song also brought King the Song of the Year award. She also won Record of the Year for “It’s Too Late” and Album of the Year for Tapestry. The album’s title track also brought her the award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, making her the first female artist to get the Grammy “Grand Slam.”

James Taylor Knew He Had to Record the Song the First Time He Heard Carole King Play It

Carole King was recording Tapestry while James Taylor was working on Mudslide Slim and the Blue Horizon. Taylor played acoustic guitar on several songs on King’s album, including “You’ve Got a Friend.” He immediately fell in love with the song.

“I didn’t write it with James or anybody really specifically in mind. But when James heard it, he really liked it and wanted to record it,” King recalled. “I actually saw James hear it. I watched James hear the song, and his reaction to it. It then became special to me because of him and the relationship to him,” she added.

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