Carole King/James Taylor: You’ve Got a Friend

Carole wrote this in 1971 as a response to Taylor’s song Fire and Rain, which includes the line: ‘I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend.’ She and James were recording at the same time at A & M studios in Hollywood, and agreed they would each use the song, on her Tapestry album and his Mud Slide Slim, sharing the same backing personnel including Joni Mitchell. Taylor’s version was released as a single and became a No 1 hit. I leave you to choose which you prefer.