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Title: James Taylor - Sweet Baby James
Added: Mar 12, 2011
Author: thesixtiesarchive
Duration: 3:14
Description:
James Taylor music: http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FJames-Taylor%2Fe%2FB000APMHCE%3Fqid%3D1299904156%26sr%3D1-2-ent&tag=doc06-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325 Watch the full show: http://thesixtiesarchive.blogspot.com/2011/03/james-taylor-live-in-concert-1971.html"Sweet Baby James" is a song written and recorded by James Taylor which serves as the opening and title track from his 1970 breakthrough album Sweet Baby James. Although never released as a single, it is one of his best-known and most popular tunes, and arguably his signature song.The song was written by Taylor for the son of his older brother Alex, who was also named James (and indeed was named after him). Deliberately a cross between a cowboy song and a lullaby, it was first thought up by Taylor as he was driving through Carolina to meet his infant nephew for the first time.Taylor spent considerable effort on the lyrics, whose verses he later said used the most intricate rhyming pattern of his career. Now the First of December was covered with snow And so was the Turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston Lord, the Berkshires seemed dream-like on account of that frostin' With ten miles behind me and ten thousand more to goThe song is composed as a waltz, in 3/4 time. The chorus echoes the lullaby sentiment, with a reference to "Rock-a-bye Baby"."Sweet Baby James" was included on Taylor's diamond-selling Greatest Hits 1976 compilation."Sweet Baby James" has been played at virtually every Taylor concert since its release. It is often saved for near or at the end of shows, where it serves as the emotional climax with Taylor performing it as the last encore coming back on stage without his band, or perhaps with just a keyboard player accompanying his guitar.Invariably, the second verse mentions of the Massachusetts Turnpike, Stockbridge and The Berkshires, and Boston brings cheers from people in the audience who lived in Massachusetts, once lived there, once went to college there, etc. And if the concert is in Tanglewood or Great Woods, the commotion is enough to pause the song.A concert performance from 1992 was included on his 1993 album Live.Jay Leno requested Taylor's live performance of the song on his final The Tonight Show (first stint) on May 29, 2009. He said he had listened to it on the car radio as he left Boston for Los Angeles in the early 1970s and that the "ten miles behind, ten thousand more to go" line resonated deeply with him.Due to it being closely associated with Taylor, "Sweet Baby James" has not often been attempted by other artists. Tom Rush, who made a practice of recording material from the best new singer songwriters of the era, put it on his October 1970 album Wrong End of the Rainbow. The Seldom Scene added harmony on their bluegrass version, released on their debut album Act 1 in 1972. Highway 101 closed their 1989 album Paint the Town with it.Many listeners have thought the song was about, or additionally about, Taylor himself — a "self lullaby" being a reasonable interpretation given the name and "singing works just fine for me" lyric — and so Taylor is often referred to in the press by the nickname "Sweet Baby James". On ABC's "Good Morning America" on September 15, 2008, Taylor acknowledged "there was that element" about the song.This appellation has been used in other contexts as well. Celebrity chef James Martin has a BBC 2 show about desserts called Sweet Baby James, a 2005 episode of the Pokémon: Battle Frontier animated series is called "Sweet Baby James", and one of the producers of syndicated radio's The Sean Hannity Show is consistently referred to on-air as "Sweet Baby" James.
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Videos related to 'James Taylor - Sweet Baby James'
Channel: Music
Tags: james taylor road paul mccartney peter asher plays rainy day roof round the zoo self-titled september shed little shower shows single released sings duet smiling face something's wrong sony steamroller stop thinkin sweet baby born title track warner bros brothers york's new wave television singing competition italian big band music spirituality awards
james taylor road paul mccartney peter asher plays rainy day roof round the zoo self-titled september shed little shower shows single released sings duet smiling face something's wrong sony steamroller stop thinkin sweet baby born title track warner bros brothers york's new wave television singing competition italian big band music spirituality awards
Youtube Comments: 89
ferdzrines954 Says:
Mar 4, 2012 - man...another beautiful one.
krelbar Says:
Mar 4, 2012 - That guitar sounds so awesome, so full.
leftyspade Says:
Mar 10, 2012 - Words can't describe this gift. Saw JT is Germany in 1971, embedded.
spazmoto Says:
Mar 27, 2012 - There was a version similar to this that seems to have been deleted.James sings it so perfectly. Does anyone know the one I'm talking about? I think it was a BBC concert too, he's wearing a green sweater also. I need it. Please help.
terrho7 Says:
Mar 27, 2012 - A gift from God.
KrissyL4ag Says:
Apr 1, 2012 - I love that I'm not the only one who had such a wonderful father to show/sing their kids great music!! Our dads obviously rock!
Mitchell Calwell Says:
Apr 8, 2012 - I hum this as I feed the cows. Dad sag it to me and I sang it to my son, now he's working in other places and I miss working with him. The song makes me sad to not be working with him but it brings us together in my mind, John Denvers "lady's Chains" goes well with this to.
akateb71489 Says:
Apr 9, 2012 - You better believe it :)
TBW92 Says:
Apr 10, 2012 - my mom and dad used to sing this to me when I was tiny. I'm 20 now and I haven't listened to this years but for the first time in a long time I really need something to pick me back up
MegaEvoguy Says:
Apr 13, 2012 - So beautiful.
cwmak70 Says:
Apr 15, 2012 - I sang this to my dog and I haven't seen him since. Jokes aside, James Taylor forever!!!
michael beilke Says:
Apr 20, 2012 - to bad the op makes him sing, try a days work old jim taylor, once in your life, instead of songs about some old country dude that did, you've never worked a day in your carolina mind taylor , you might catch up some day
misslantana52 Says:
Apr 22, 2012 - This song melts my heart....so sweet! (*_*)
GaCountryGirl024 Says:
May 1, 2012 - So special to me this song is. So much love for you baby....Haley
MinatoNamekaze4 Says:
May 4, 2012 - My father used to sing this to me when i was a baby. Thats the only thing i remember as a baby. This song makes me cry every time i listen to it.
TheTootie897 Says:
May 10, 2012 - my father sang this to me as a child this was my song but i went through a phase listening to only scremo and old rock i still am but this song is still known as my song cause i still listen to it
czemoorsi Says:
May 10, 2012 - I love this song so much, it made quite an impression on me. You can see that here:yellowcricketsharmonies (dot) blogspot (dot) com / 2012 / 04 / when-youtube-is-useful (dot) html
zackeryborash Says:
May 13, 2012 - My girlfriends sisters sons name is James. He won't live past 20 and he is the coolest kid ever. This song makes me almost cry.
suthentalk Says:
May 18, 2012 - This is the song that inspired me to name my youngest son James the day he was born...I love my son and this song so very much...
MegaTechnology2012 Says:
May 20, 2012 - one of my all time favorites.
steben53 Says:
May 21, 2012 - Whoa! Another truly disturbed person loose on the internet!! Everybody, run, run!!
steben53 Says:
May 21, 2012 - Oh, ye, wonderer amongst the truly twisted.
Nordmann61 Says:
May 23, 2012 - They do not make them like this anymore...
thesupervanh Says:
Mar 3, 2012 - deep greens and blues, the colors i chose....<3\