Sweet Baby James

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work

Sweet Baby James is James Taylor's second studio album. Producer Peter Asher recorded it in December 1969 in ten days at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, for just 7,600 dollars. The singer was by then practically homeless and slept at Asher's or on the couch of the guitarist Danny Kortchmar. Suite for 20 G owes its name to the 20,000 dollars that had been promised to him once the album was finished. One more track was needed, so he stuck three unfinished songs together.

The sound is subdued: folk, country, gospel and blues, carefully understated. Fire and Rain reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100, Country Road number thirty-seven. The album was nominated for Album of the Year and entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. It made Taylor one of the best-known faces of the rising singer-songwriter wave.

Listening

Track list

1. 1Sweet Baby James2:54Apple Music ↗
2. 2Lo and Behold2:39Apple Music ↗
3. 3Sunny Skies2:21Apple Music ↗
4. 4Steamroller2:58Apple Music ↗
5. 5Country Road3:22Apple Music ↗
6. 6Oh, Susannah2:01Apple Music ↗
7. 7Fire and Rain3:24Apple Music ↗
8. 8Blossom2:13Apple Music ↗
9. 9Anywhere Like Heaven3:27Apple Music ↗
10. 10Oh Baby, Don't You Loose Your Lip On Me1:49Apple Music ↗
11. 11Suite for 20 G4:47Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗