You’ve Got a Friend” is a song from 1971, written by Carole King, and included in her album Tapestry and James Taylor’s album Mud Slide Slim, which were recorded simultaneously in 1971 with shared musicians.

Taylor’s version was released as a single, and reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 4 on the UK Singles Chart.

“You’ve Got a Friend” won Grammy Awards both for Taylor (Best Male Pop Vocal Performance) and King (Song of the Year). Various artists have recorded the song over the years, including Dusty Springfield, Michael Jackson, and Donny Hathaway. Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Gloria Estefan, and Carole King performed the song at the VH1 Divas Live concert in 1998.

“You’ve Got a Friend” was written by Carole King during the January 1971 recording sessions for her own album Tapestry, and James Taylor’s album Mud Slide Slim. King’s album was recorded in an overlap with Taylor’s, and King, Danny Kortchmar, and Joni Mitchell perform on both. The song is included on both albums; 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”.

Taylor’s version was released as a single, and reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 4 on the UK Singles Chart. The James Taylor version also spent one week at the top of the Easy Listening charts.

James Taylor and Carole King performed “You’ve Got a Friend” together in 2010 during their Troubadour Reunion Tour, as video screens show the two as they looked when the song was first written and recorded. (source Wikipedia)