"You've Got a Friend" is a 1971 song and single by American singer-songwriter

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

. It was first recorded by King and included on her second studio album, '' Tapestry'' (1971). Another well-known version by James Taylor appears on his album '' Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon'' (1971). His version, which features backing vocals by

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

, was released as a single in 1971, reaching number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number four on the UK Singles Chart. The two versions were recorded simultaneously in 1971 with some shared musicians. "You've Got a Friend" won

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s for both Taylor ( Best Male Pop Vocal Performance) and King ( Song of the Year) at the 14th Annual Grammy Awards in 1972. Dozens of other artists have recorded the song over the years, including

Dusty Springfield Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'Brien (16 April 1939 – 2 March 1999), better known by her stage name Dusty Springfield, was a British singer. With her distinctive mezzo-soprano voice, she was a popular singer of blue-eyed soul, Pop mus ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

, Anne Murray, and

Donny Hathaway Donny Edward Hathaway (October 1, 1945 – January 13, 1979) was an American soul singer, keyboardist, songwriter, backing vocalist, and arranger who ''Rolling Stone'' described as a "soul legend". His most popular songs include " The Ghetto" ...

. In 2001, Taylor's version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. King's version was inducted in 2002.

History

wrote "You've Got a Friend" during the January 1971 recording sessions for her album '' Tapestry'', when James Taylor was also recording his album '' Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon''. She has said 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 his earlier song " Fire and Rain" ("I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend"). King said in a 1972 interview that she "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". Both King and Taylor recorded the song for their respective albums, and Taylor and Danny Kortchmar perform on both versions. Taylor's version was released as a single and reached number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (his only song to do so) and number 4 on the UK Singles Chart. Taylor's version also spent a week atop the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

charts. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' ranked it as the No. 16 song for 1971. Taylor's Apple Records labelmate Mary Hopkin has said that he gave her a chance to record the song, which she declined, a decision she later regretted. Taylor and 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

Hôtel de Ville, Paris The (, ''City hall (administration), City Hall'') is the city hall of Paris, France, standing on the in the 4th arrondissement of Paris, 4th arrondissement. The south wing was originally constructed by Francis I of France, Francis I beginning ...

, at the invitation of U.S. Secretary of State

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as the 68th United States secretary of state from 2013 to 2017 in the Presidency of Barack Obama#Administration, administration of Barac ...

and Paris mayor

Anne Hidalgo Ana María "Anne" Hidalgo Aleu (, ; born 19 June 1959) is a Spanish-French politician who has served as Mayor of Paris since 2014, the first woman to hold the office. She is a member of the Socialist Party (France), Socialist Party (PS). Hidalg ...

in tribute to the victims of the January 2015 Île-de-France attacks. King performed the song at the 2021

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...

Induction Ceremony.

Reception

According to author James D. Perone, the song's themes include an expression of "a universal, sisterly/brotherly,

agape (; ) is "the highest form of love, charity" and "the love of God for uman beingsand of uman beingsfor God". This is in contrast to , brotherly love, or , self-love, as it embraces a profound sacrificial love that transcends and persists rega ...

-type love of one human being for another, regardless of gender." The "reassuring" lyrics have long made the song popular with lonely people needing a boost of self-confidence. The song's messages of friendship having no boundaries and a friend being there when you are in need have universal appeal. The lyrics had particular resonance for Taylor due to the depression he had recovered from shortly before hearing King play the song. The music moves between a

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and minor key, which according to music critic Maury Dean gives it a "sympathetic mood". In his review of ''Tapestry'', ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' critic Jon Landau called "You've Got a Friend" King's "most perfect new song". He particularly praised how the melody and lyrics support each other and the "gorgeous, righteous rock melody" of the ending lyrics. '' Mojo'' called the song probably "the core of ''Tapestry''".

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

critic Stewart Mason noted the "plainspoken intimacy" of King's performance, writing that the "shyness" of her voice gives her recording a sincerity that he finds Taylor's to lack. Mason also praises the "depth and shading" the

string instruments In musical instrument classification, string instruments, or chordophones, are musical instruments that produce sound from vibrating strings when a performer strums, plucks, strikes or sounds the strings in varying manners. Musicians play some ...

provide on King's recording. In his review of ''Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon'', ''Rolling Stone'' critic Ben Gerson called "You've Got a Friend" an "affirmative song" but suggested that Taylor's version was too similar to King's to have been worth including on his album. Music critic Maury Dean called Taylor's performance style on the song minimalist and folkish and noted his "star-spangled sincerity." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' praised the "tasty material and Taylor's stunning interpretation". '' Record World'' said, "there's no way aylorcan miss with this gem."

Charts (James Taylor single)

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Carole King version

James Taylor version

Personnel

Carole King version

– piano, vocals * James Taylor – acoustic guitar * Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar – congas *Charles Larkey – string bass *Barry Socher – violin * David Campbell – viola *Terry King – cello

James Taylor version

* James Taylor – vocals, acoustic guitar *Danny Kortchmar – acoustic guitar, congas * Russ Kunkel – drums, congas, cabasa * Leland Sklar – bass guitar *

– backing vocals

Brand New Heavies version

"You've Got a Friend" was covered by British

acid jazz Acid jazz (also known as club jazz, psychedelic jazz, or groove jazz) is a music genre that combines elements of funk, soul music, soul, and hip hop music, hip hop, as well as jazz and disco. Acid jazz originated in clubs in London during the 1 ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African-American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African-Americans in the ...

group the Brand New Heavies for their fourth album, '' Shelter'' (1997), and released as the third single from the album in October 1997. It reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart and number 13 in Scotland in October 1997. The song also peaked within the top 10 in Hungary and was a top 30 hit on the

Irish Singles Chart The Irish Singles Chart is the Republic of Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA) and compiled on their behalf by the Official Charts Company. Chart rankings are ...

. The group performed the song on the music chart television program ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British record chart television programme, made by the BBC and broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show. For most of its histo ...

''.

Critical reception

Scottish '' Daily Record'' felt that here, " heLondon's

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

band are back on form". A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' gave it four out of five, declaring it as "a soulful cover", that "should have their usual specialist impact as well as crossover success." Alan Jones stated, "Recruiting Siedah Garrett has given the Brand New Heavies a new lease of life." Daisy & Havoc from the '' RM'' Dance Update named it "one of the best tracks on the recent BNH album (which either says something about their songwriting or our age), and now it appears with the compulsory remixes."

Track listings

* CD single, UK and Europe (1997) # "You've Got a Friend" (radio version) # " You Are the Universe" (recorded live at The Forum) # " Midnight at the Oasis" (recorded live at The Forum) # " Sometimes" (recorded live at The Forum) * CD single, UK and Europe (1997) # "You've Got a Friend" (radio version) – 3:27 # "You've Got a Friend" ( Brooklyn Funk R&B mix) – 4:58 # "You've Got a Friend" ( Ballistic Brothers mix) – 5:00 # "You've Got a Friend" (Brooklyn Funk club mix) – 4:54 # "You've Got a Friend" ( Tee's club mix) – 6:27 # "You've Got a Friend" (original mix) – 3:48

Charts

McFly version

In 2005, English

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

band McFly released their version of the song as a double A-side single along with their original song " All About You". The band's first double A-side single, it was released on March 7, 2005, as the lead single from their second studio album, '' Wonderland'' (2005). The single was the official ''

Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

'' charity single for 2005, with all royalties being donated to the charity. The single was also used to promote Make Poverty History. The single peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart as well as in Ireland. Having sold over 536,000 copies in the UK, "All About You"/"You've Got a Friend" is McFly's best-selling single and received a platinum sales status certification from the

British Phonographic Industry BPI (British Recorded Music Industry) Limited, trading as British Phonographic Industry (BPI), is the British recorded music industry's trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards; is home to the Mercury Prize; co-owns the Official Charts C ...

(BPI) for sales and streams exceeding 600,000 units.

Chart performance

The single debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, giving McFly their third UK number-one single, as well as their fifth top-five hit in less than a year. It debuted at number one, only to be knocked off the top spot the following week by the unofficial ''Comic Relief'' single " Is This the Way to Amarillo", by Tony Christie and (mimed by) Peter Kay.

Music video

The music video for "You've Got a Friend" was shot on location in Uganda. The band spent a week there in January 2005 for ''Comic Relief''. The video sees McFly with the children of Uganda, playing with them, performing for them, and teaching them to sing. Towards the end of the video, McFly's vocals are removed for a chorus sung by the children.

Track listing

UK CD single # " All About You" # "You've Got a Friend" # " Room on the 3rd Floor" # "All About You" (orchestral version) # "All About You" (video)

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other versions

recorded the song in early 1971 during the sessions for her third

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

album, '' Faithful''. Her recording predates James Taylor's, but was shelved until 1999, when it was included as a bonus track on the 1999 Deluxe Edition of her first Atlantic album, '' Dusty in Memphis'' (which contains four Carole King compositions). ''Faithful'' went unreleased due to disputes between Springfield and Atlantic, but the sessions were issued as a standalone album in 2015. The song (and two others from ''Tapestry'': " Beautiful" and " Where You Lead") appear on

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

's 1971 album '' Barbra Joan Streisand''. The song was recorded by

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

and

for their 1972 album '' Roberta Flack & Donny Hathaway'' and was released as the album's first single. The single was released a year before the album and, coincidentally, on the same date as Taylor's single: May 29, 1971. The Flack and Hathaway version reached No. 29 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 8 on the

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

recorded the song three times. The first and best-known was her 1972 live

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

performance '' Amazing Grace'', as part of a medley with " Precious Lord, Take My Hand". She then recorded the song on '' Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King'' in 1995 alongside BeBe & CeCe Winans, and in 2010 as a duet with Ronald Isley on his album '' Mr. I''. In 1973 or 1974, the Cambodian singer Pou Vannary covered the song with the lyrics translated into Khmer. Vannary's rendition is featured on the 2015 documentary film '' Don't Think I've Forgotten'' soundtrack. King,

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

, Shania Twain, and Gloria Estefan performed "You've Got a Friend" at the '' VH1 Divas Live'' concert at the Beacon Theatre, New York, in 1998. It was released as a promotional single in selected countries, reaching number 74 on the Belgian Flanders Airplay Chart on December 15, 1998. Lynn Anderson released a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

version of the song on her 1971 studio album ''How Can I Unlove You''.

References

{{Authority control 1971 songs 1971 singles 1997 singles 1998 singles 2005 singles Carole King songs James Taylor songs Dusty Springfield songs Donny Hathaway songs Roberta Flack songs Aretha Franklin songs The Brand New Heavies songs Celine Dion songs Gloria Estefan songs Shania Twain songs McFly songs Songs written by Carole King Grammy Award for Song of the Year Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Denmark Song recordings produced by Lou Adler Song recordings produced by Peter Asher Song recordings produced by Hugh Padgham A&M Records singles Ode Records singles Warner Records singles FFRR Records singles Island Records singles Universal Records singles Songs about friendship Charity singles Comic Relief singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Scotland UK singles chart number-one singles