{{About|the album|the song of the same title|Sweet Baby James (song)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2023}} {{Infobox album | name = Sweet Baby James | type = studio | artist = James Taylor | cover = James Taylor - Sweet Baby James.jpg | alt = | released = {{Start date|1970|02|01|}} | recorded = December 1969 | studio = Sunset Sound, Los Angeles | genre = * Folk rock<ref>{{cite book|title=Two-lane Blacktop|first1=Rudolph|last1=Wurlitzer|first2=Will|last2=Corry|date=1971|page=36|publisher=Award Books|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zYs-AAAAIAAJ|accessdate=October 11, 2022}}</ref> | length = 31:51 | label = Warner Bros. | prev_title = James Taylor | prev_year = 1968 | next_title = 1967 | next_year = 1971 | producer = Peter Asher | misc = {{Singles | name = Sweet Baby James | type = studio | single1 = Sweet Baby James | single1date = April 1970 | single2 = Fire and Rain | single2date = August 30, 1970 | single3 = Country Road | single3date = December 27, 1970 }} }}
'''''Sweet Baby James''''' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter James Taylor, released on February 1, 1970, by Warner Bros. Records. It reached number three on the ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape chart, and includes two of Taylor's earliest successful singles: "Fire and Rain" and "Country Road", which reached number three and number thirty-seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, respectively. This success made Taylor one of the most prominent figures in the emerging singer-songwriter movement.
At the 13th Annual Grammy Awards, ''Sweet Baby James'' was nominated for Album of the Year. It was listed at number 104 on ''Rolling Stone''{{'}}s list "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time",<ref name="RS500">{{cite book |chapter=103 | Sweet Baby James – James Taylor |chapter-url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/sweet-baby-james-james-taylor-19691231 |access-date=March 20, 2005 |last1=Levy |first1=Joe |first2= Steven| last2= Van Zandt |title=Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time |orig-year=2005 |edition=3rd |year=2006 |publisher=Turnaround |location=London |isbn=1-932958-61-4 |oclc=70672814 |ref=RS500}}</ref> and, in 2000, it was voted number 228 in Colin Larkin's ''All Time Top 1000 Albums''.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=All Time Top 1000 Albums|first= Colin|last= Larkin| author-link= Colin Larkin |publisher=Virgin Books| date=2000|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=107}}</ref> In 2002, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#s|title=GRAMMY Hall Of Fame | Hall of Fame Artists | GRAMMY.com|website=grammy.com}}</ref>
==Background== Produced by Peter Asher, ''Sweet Baby James'' was recorded at Sunset Sound in Los Angeles, California, between December 8 and 17, 1969, at a cost of only $7,600 (US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|7600|1969}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}) out of a budget of $20,000.<ref name= Browne>{{cite book| first= David |last= Browne| title= Fire and Rain: The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, James Taylor, CSNY and the Lost Story of 1970| url= https://archive.org/details/firerainbeatless00brow_0 | url-access= limited | place= Boston| publisher= Da Capo Press| year= 2011| page= [https://archive.org/details/firerainbeatless00brow_0/page/64 64]|isbn= 978-0-306-81850-9}}</ref> Taylor was "essentially homeless" at the time the album was recorded, either staying in Asher's home or sleeping on a couch at the house of guitarist Danny Kortchmar, or anyone else who would have him.<ref name= Browne />{{rp|66}}
The song "Suite for 20 G" was so named because Taylor was promised $20,000 (US${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|20000|1969}}}} in {{Inflation-year|US}} dollars{{inflation-fn|US}}) once the album was delivered. With one more song needed, he strung together three unfinished songs into a "suite" to complete the album.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.songfacts.com/detail.php?id=4609 |title= Suite For 20G by James Taylor| website= Songfacts.com}}</ref>
The album produced two charting singles: "Fire and Rain" (b/w "Anywhere Like Heaven"), which peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on October 31, 1970, and "Country Road" (b/w "Sunny Skies"), which peaked at number 37 on March 20, 1971. An additional single, "Sweet Baby James" (b/w "Suite for 20 G"), did not chart.<ref>{{cite web| url= http://www.billboard.com/artist/304129/James+Taylor/chart?f=379| title= James Taylor charts| website= Billboard.com}}</ref>
==Critical reception== {{Album ratings | rev1 = AllMusic | rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="AM">{{AllMusic |class=album |tab=review |id=r19697 |first=William |last=Ruhlmann |accessdate=October 2, 2004 }}</ref> | rev2 = ''Christgau's Record Guide'' | rev2score = B−<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: T|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=T&bk=70|access-date=March 15, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref> | rev3 = ''MusicHound Rock'' | rev3score = 4/5<ref name="MusicHound">{{cite book|editor-last1=Graff|editor-first1=Gary|editor-last2=Durchholz|editor-first2=Daniel|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|publisher=Visible Ink Press|location=Farmington Hills, MI|year=1999|isbn=1-57859-061-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/1124 1124–25]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/1124}}</ref> | rev4 = ''Rolling Stone Album Guide'' | rev4score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name=RSguide>{{Cite book |chapter=James Taylor |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/804 804–805] |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor2-last=Hoard |editor1-link=Nathan Brackett |editor2-first=Christian |first1=Mark |last1=Coleman |first2=Ben |last2=Edmonds |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |year=2004 |publisher=Fireside |location=London |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 }} Portions posted at {{Cite magazine |magazine=Rolling Stone |title=James Taylor > Album Guide |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/james-taylor/albumguide |access-date=November 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130105161220/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/james-taylor/albumguide |archive-date=January 5, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | rev5 = ''The Village Voice'' | rev5score = C+<ref name="VV"/> | rev6 = ''Encyclopedia of Popular Music'' | rev6score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|year=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|edition=4th|isbn=978-0195313734|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}</ref> }} Reviewing for ''Rolling Stone'' in 1970, Gary von Tersch observed in the music "echoes of the Band, the Byrds, country Dylan and folksified Dion", which Taylor manages to negotiate into a "very listenable record that is all his own".<ref>{{Cite news|newspaper=Rolling Stone |issue=57 |date=April 30, 1970 |first=Gary |last= von Tersch |title=James Taylor ''Sweet Baby James'' > Album Review |url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/sweet-baby-james-19700430 |access-date=June 15, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103164257/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/300988/sweet_baby_james |archive-date=November 3, 2007 }}</ref> ''Village Voice'' critic Robert Christgau was harsher in his appraisal of the album, saying that "Taylor's vehement following bewilders me; as near as I can discern, he is just another poetizing simp. Even the production is conventional. For true believers only."<ref name="VV">{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|date=April 23, 1970|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cg9.php|title=Consumer Guide (9)|newspaper=The Village Voice|access-date=March 15, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref> In a retrospective review, AllMusic's William Ruhlmann was more receptive to "Taylor's sense of wounded hopelessness", believing it reflected "the pessimism and desperation of the 1960s hangover that was the early '70s" and "struck a chord with music fans, especially because of its attractive mixture of folk, country, gospel, and blues elements, all of them carefully understated and distanced."<ref name="AM"/>
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==Accolades== * In 2001, the TV network VH1 named ''Sweet Baby James'' the 77th greatest album of all time.<ref>{{cite web|title=Rock On The Net: VH1: 100 Greatest Albums|url=http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2001/vh1albums.htm|website=www.rockonthenet.com|access-date=November 21, 2016}}</ref> * In 2003, the album was ranked number 104 on ''Rolling Stone'' magazine's list "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time",<ref name="RS500"/> maintaining the position in the 2012 update to the list,<ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/james-taylor-sweet-baby-james-172463/|year=2012| title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time| magazine= Rolling Stone | access-date= September 19, 2019}}</ref> and dropping to number 182 in the 2020 update.<ref>{{Cite magazine|date=September 22, 2020|title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/|access-date=2021-09-12|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}</ref>
==Track listing== All songs by James Taylor unless otherwise noted.
'''Side one''' #"Sweet Baby James" – 2:54 #"Lo and Behold" – 2:37 #"Sunny Skies" – 2:21 #"Steamroller" – 2:57 #"Country Road" – 3:22 #"Oh, Susannah" (Stephen Foster) – 1:58
'''Side two''' #"Fire and Rain" – 3:20 #"Blossom" – 2:14 #"Anywhere Like Heaven" – 3:23 #"Oh Baby, Don't You Loose Your Lip on Me" – 1:46 #"Suite for 20 G" – 4:41
==Personnel== '''Musicians''' *James Taylor – vocals, guitar *Danny Kortchmar – guitar *Red Rhodes – steel guitar *John London – bass guitar (except “Country Road”, “Fire and Rain”, and “Blossom”) *Randy Meisner – bass guitar on "Country Road" and "Blossom" *Bobby West – double bass on "Fire and Rain" *Carole King – backing vocals, piano *Russ Kunkel – drums *Chris Darrow – fiddle, violin<ref>{{cite web|title=Chris Darrow interview on Outsight Radio Hours| url= https://archive.org/details/ChrisDarrowOnOutsightRadioHours|work=Archive.org|access-date=August 25, 2013}}</ref>
The horn players are uncredited.
'''Technical''' *Jack Bielan – brass arrangements *Peter Asher – producer *Bill Lazerus – engineer *Darrell Johnson – mastering *Ed Thrasher – art direction *Henry Diltz – photography
==Charts== {{col-begin}} {{col-2}}
===Weekly charts=== {| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center" |- !Chart (1970–1971) !Peak<br />position |- !scope="row"|Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)<ref name=aus>{{cite book|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|edition=illustrated|publisher=Australian Chart Book|location=St Ives, N.S.W.|year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6|page=305}}</ref> | style="text-align:center;"|7 |- !scope="row"|Canadian ''RPM'' Albums Chart<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?&file_num=nlc008388.3724&type=1&interval=50&PHPSESSID=svcn9l0k61q3vjfucibefndnc0|title=Top Albums/CDs – Volume 14, No. 16|magazine=RPM|format=PHP|date=December 5, 1970|access-date=April 2, 2014}}</ref> |3 |- !scope="row"|UK Albums Chart<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/14197/james-taylor/| title= James Taylor {{!}} full Official Chart History| publisher=UK Albums Chart|access-date=March 6, 2022}}</ref> |6 |- !scope="row"|US ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape<ref>{{cite magazine|title=James Taylor Chart History: Billboard 200|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/james-taylor/chart-history/tlp/|magazine=Billboard|access-date=March 3, 2022}}</ref> |3 |} {{col-2}}
===Year-end charts=== {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" !Chart (1970) !Position |- !scope="row"|US ''Billboard'' Pop Albums<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121215204742/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/archivesearch/article_display/855911?imw=Y |url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/archivesearch/article_display/855911?imw=Y |title=Billboard.BIZ Top Pop Albums of 1970 |publisher=billboard.biz |archive-date=December 15, 2012 |access-date=March 27, 2014 |url-status=dead }} <!-- archive URL is the dead link --></ref> |15 |- !Chart (1971) !Position |- !scope="row"|US ''Billboard'' Pop Albums<ref>{{cite web |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121231073210/http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/archivesearch/article_display/855873?imw=Y |url=http://www.billboard.biz/bbbiz/charts/archivesearch/article_display/855873?imw=Y |title=Billboard.BIZ Top Pop Albums of 1971 |publisher=billboard.biz |archive-date=December 31, 2012 |access-date=April 17, 2014 |url-status=dead }} <!-- archive URL is the dead link --></ref> |7 |} {{col-end}}
==Certifications== {{Certification Table Top}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|title=Sweet Baby JAmes|artist=James Taylor|type=album|award=Silver|relyear=1984|certyear=2014|id=13083-2532-2|access-date=September 11, 2022}} {{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|title=Sweet Baby JAmes|artist=James Taylor|type=album|award=Platinum|number=3}} {{Certification Table Bottom}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120407005515/http://www.radio3net.ro/dbartists/supersearch/SmFtZXMgVGF5bG9y/James%20Taylor Album online] on Radio3Net a radio channel of Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company
{{James Taylor}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1970 albums Category:James Taylor albums Category:Albums produced by Peter Asher Category:Warner Records albums Category:Albums recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders