# Sweet Baby James

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Baby_James
> Source revision: 1345732942
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{{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](/source/James_Taylor)
| cover        = James Taylor - Sweet Baby James.jpg
| alt          = 
| released     = {{Start date|1970|02|01|}}
| recorded     = December 1969
| studio       = [Sunset Sound](/source/Sunset_Sound), Los Angeles
| genre        = * [Folk rock](/source/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.](/source/Warner_Bros._Records)
| prev_title   = [James Taylor](/source/James_Taylor_(album))
| prev_year    = 1968
| next_title   = [1967](/source/1967_(James_Taylor_album))
| next_year    = 1971
| producer     = [Peter Asher](/source/Peter_Asher)
| misc         = {{Singles
 | name        = Sweet Baby James
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [Sweet Baby James](/source/Sweet_Baby_James_(song))
 | single1date = April 1970
 | single2     = [Fire and Rain](/source/Fire_and_Rain_(song))
 | single2date = August 30, 1970
 | single3     = [Country Road](/source/Country_Road_(song))
 | single3date = December 27, 1970
}}
}}

'''''Sweet Baby James''''' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter [James Taylor](/source/James_Taylor), released on February 1, 1970, by [Warner Bros. Records](/source/Warner_Bros._Records). It reached number three on the ''[Billboard](/source/Billboard_200)'' [Top LPs & Tape chart](/source/Billboard_200), and includes two of Taylor's earliest successful singles: "[Fire and Rain](/source/Fire_and_Rain_(song))" and "[Country Road](/source/Country_Road_(song))", which reached number three and number thirty-seven on the [''Billboard'' Hot 100](/source/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](/source/13th_Annual_Grammy_Awards), ''Sweet Baby James'' was nominated for [Album of the Year](/source/Grammy_Award_for_Album_of_the_Year). It was listed at number 104 on ''[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone)''{{'}}s list "[The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time](/source/Rolling_Stone's_500_Greatest_Albums_of_All_Time)",<ref name="RS500">{{cite book |chapter=103 &#124; 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](/source/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](/source/Colin_Larkin)'s ''[All Time Top 1000 Albums](/source/All_Time_Top_1000_Albums)''.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=[All Time Top 1000 Albums](/source/All_Time_Top_1000_Albums)|first= Colin|last= Larkin| author-link= Colin Larkin |publisher=[Virgin Books](/source/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](/source/Grammy_Hall_of_Fame).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/awards/hall-of-fame-award#s|title=GRAMMY Hall Of Fame &#124; Hall of Fame Artists &#124; GRAMMY.com|website=grammy.com}}</ref>

==Background==
Produced by [Peter Asher](/source/Peter_Asher), ''Sweet Baby James'' was recorded at [Sunset Sound](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Suite_(music))" 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](/source/Fire_and_Rain_(song))" (b/w "Anywhere Like Heaven"), which peaked at number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 on October 31, 1970, and "[Country Road](/source/Country_Road_(song))" (b/w "[Sunny Skies](/source/Sunny_Skies_(song))"), which peaked at number 37 on March 20, 1971. An additional single, "[Sweet Baby James](/source/Sweet_Baby_James_(song))" (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](/source/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](/source/Christgau's_Record_Guide%3A_Rock_Albums_of_the_Seventies)''
| 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](/source/Christgau's_Record_Guide%3A_Rock_Albums_of_the_Seventies)|publisher=[Ticknor & Fields](/source/Ticknor_%26_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](/source/MusicHound)''
| 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](/source/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](/source/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](/source/The_Village_Voice)''
| rev5score = C+<ref name="VV"/>
| rev6 = ''[Encyclopedia of Popular Music](/source/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](/source/Oxford_University_Press)|edition=4th|isbn=978-0195313734|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}</ref>
}}
Reviewing for ''[Rolling Stone](/source/Rolling_Stone)'' in 1970, Gary von Tersch observed in the music "echoes of [the Band](/source/the_Band), [the Byrds](/source/the_Byrds), [country Dylan](/source/Nashville_Skyline) and folksified [Dion](/source/Dion_DiMucci)", which Taylor manages to negotiate into a "very listenable record that is all his own".<ref>{{Cite news|newspaper=[Rolling Stone](/source/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](/source/Village_Voice)'' critic [Robert Christgau](/source/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](/source/The_Village_Voice)|access-date=March 15, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref> In a retrospective review, [AllMusic](/source/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"/>

{{Clear}}

==Accolades==
* In 2001, the TV network [VH1](/source/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](/source/Rolling_Stone)'' magazine's list "[The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time](/source/Rolling_Stone's_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](/source/James_Taylor) unless otherwise noted.

'''Side one'''
#"[Sweet Baby James](/source/Sweet_Baby_James_(song))" – 2:54
#"Lo and Behold" – 2:37
#"[Sunny Skies](/source/Sunny_Skies_(song))" – 2:21
#"[Steamroller](/source/Steamroller_Blues)" – 2:57
#"[Country Road](/source/Country_Road_(song))" – 3:22
#"[Oh, Susannah](/source/Oh%2C_Susannah)" ([Stephen Foster](/source/Stephen_Foster)) – 1:58

'''Side two'''
#"[Fire and Rain](/source/Fire_and_Rain_(song))" – 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](/source/Danny_Kortchmar) – guitar
*[Red Rhodes](/source/Red_Rhodes) – [steel guitar](/source/steel_guitar)
*[John London](/source/John_London) – bass guitar (except “Country Road”, “Fire and Rain”, and “Blossom”)
*[Randy Meisner](/source/Randy_Meisner) – bass guitar on "Country Road" and "Blossom"
*Bobby West – [double bass](/source/double_bass) on "Fire and Rain"
*[Carole King](/source/Carole_King) – backing vocals, piano
*[Russ Kunkel](/source/Russ_Kunkel) – drums
*[Chris Darrow](/source/Chris_Darrow) – [fiddle](/source/fiddle), [violin](/source/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](/source/Horn_section) players are uncredited.

'''Technical'''
*Jack Bielan – [brass](/source/Brass_instrument) arrangements
*Peter Asher – producer
*Bill Lazerus – engineer
*Darrell Johnson – mastering
*[Ed Thrasher](/source/Ed_Thrasher) –  art direction 
*[Henry Diltz](/source/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](/source/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](/source/RPM_(magazine))<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](/source/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](/source/UK_Albums_Chart)|access-date=March 6, 2022}}</ref>
|6
|-
!scope="row"|US ''[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))'' 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](/source/Billboard_(magazine))|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](/source/Billboard_200)<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](/source/Radio3Net) a radio channel of [Romanian Radio Broadcasting Company](/source/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

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sweet Baby James](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Baby_James) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_Baby_James?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.