''Gorilla'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

. Released in May 1975, it was more successful than ''

Walking Man ''Walking Man'' is the fifth studio album by singer-songwriter James Taylor. Released in June 1974, it was not as successful as his previous efforts, reaching only No. 13 on the Billboard Album Chart and selling 300,000 copies in the United State ...

'', his previous release. Two album tracks released as singles, "

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

" and "

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" is a song recorded by American soul singer Marvin Gaye from his fifth studio album of the same name (1965). It was written in 1964 by the Motown songwriting team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, and produce ...

", rose to the top five on the '' Billboard'' charts. This would be Taylor's second-to-last album of new material for

Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (formerly Warner Bros. Records Inc.) is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the ...

, his last being '' In the Pocket''. In many ways, ''Gorilla'' showcased Taylor's electric, lighter side that became evident on ''Walking Man''. The song "Sarah Maria" is about his daughter

Sally Sally may refer to: People *Sally (name), a list of notable people with the name Military * Sally (military), an attack by the defenders of a town or fortress under siege against a besieging force; see sally port *Sally, the Allied reporting na ...

(born Sarah Maria Taylor on January 7, 1974). His then-wife Carly Simon was featured on "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", originally recorded by Marvin Gaye. Jimmy Buffett recorded "Mexico" on his 1995 album '' Barometer Soup'' and performed "Lighthouse" during his Salty Piece of Land tour of 2005.Song & Lyrics Database – BuffettNews.com
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Track listing

All songs by

unless otherwise noted. ;Side one #"

" – 2:57 #"Music" – 3:46 #"

How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" is a song recorded by American soul singer Marvin Gaye from his fifth studio album of the same name (1965). It was written in 1964 by the Motown songwriting team of Holland–Dozier–Holland, and produce ...

" ( Holland-Dozier-Holland) – 3:33 #"Wandering" (Traditional; arrangement and additional lyrics: James Taylor) – 2:40 #"Gorilla" – 3:10 #"You Make It Easy" – 4:10 ;Side two #” I Was a Fool to Care" – 3:19 #"Lighthouse" – 3:15 #"Angry Blues" – 3:25 #"Love Songs" – 5:45 #"Sarah Maria" – 2:46

Personnel

* James Taylor – lead vocals, acoustic guitar (1, 2, 4, 5, 7-11), electric guitar (1), harmony vocals (2, 4, 5, 10, 11), arrangements (4),

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

(5), high-string acoustic guitar (10) *

Clarence McDonald Clarence "Mac" McDonald (1944 or 1945 – July 21, 2021) was a Los Angeles-based American pianist, composer, arranger, and producer. McDonald was known for his musical diversity, enduring melodies and signature groove. His most famous composition ...

– Fender Rhodes (2, 3, 6, 7), acoustic piano (3, 6) * Nick DeCaro – accordion (4, 7, 11), string arrangements * Randy Newman – hornorgan (8) *

Danny Kortchmar Daniel "Danny Kootch" Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946) is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassidy, Gr ...

– electric guitar (1, 3, 6) *

Al Perkins Al Perkins (born January 18, 1944) is an American guitarist known primarily for his steel guitar work. The Gibson guitar company called Perkins "the world's most influential dobro player" and began producing an "Al Perkins Signature" Dobro in 2 ...

– pedal steel guitar (2, 10) * David Grisman – mandolin (5, 11) * Arthur Adams – electric guitar (7) *

Lowell George Lowell Thomas George (April 13, 1945 – June 29, 1979) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer, who was the primary guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and founder/leader for the rock band Little Feat. Ear ...

– electric guitar (9), harmony vocals (9) *

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so frequ ...

– bass (1, 3, 7, 8, 11) *

Willie Weeks Willie Weeks (born August 5, 1947) is an American bass guitarist. He has gained fame performing with famous musicians in a wide variety of genres. He has been one of the most in-demand session musicians throughout his career. Weeks has also ...

– bass (2, 5, 6, 9) *

Russ Kunkel Russell Kunkel (born September 27, 1948) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician with many popular artists, including Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Rita Coolidge, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Dan F ...

– drums (1, 3, 7, 8, 10), shaker (1),

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

(3), percussion (7), congas (10) * Andy Newmark – drums (2, 5, 6, 9) *

Jim Keltner James Lee Keltner (born April 27, 1942) is an American drummer and percussionist known primarily for his session work. He was characterized by Bob Dylan biographer Howard Sounes as "the leading session drummer in America". Howard Sounes. ''Dow ...

– drums (3) *

Milt Holland Milton Holland (born Milton Olshansky; February 7, 1917 – November 4, 2005) was an American drummer, percussionist, ethnomusicologist, and writer in the Los Angeles music scene. He pioneered the use of African, South American, and Indian percus ...

– percussion (1, 2, 9),

wind chime Wind chimes are a type of percussion instrument constructed from suspended tubes, rods, bells or other objects that are often made of metal or wood. The tubes or rods are suspended along with some type of weight or surface which the tubes or rod ...

s (10) *

Victor Feldman Victor Stanley Feldman (7 April 1934 – 12 May 1987) was an English jazz musician who played mainly piano, vibraphone, and percussion. He began performing professionally during childhood, eventually earning acclaim in the UK jazz scene as ...

– percussion (9, 10),

marimba The marimba () is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars that are struck by mallets. Below each bar is a resonator pipe that amplifies particular harmonics of its sound. Compared to the xylophone, the timbre ...

(11) * Gayle Levant – harp (1, 2, 10) *

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 19 ...

– saxophone (3, 6) * Jules Jacob – clarinet (5, 10),

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

(10) *

George Bohanon George Roland Bohanon, Jr. (born August 7, 1937) is a jazz trombonist and session musician from Detroit, Michigan. In the early 1960s, he participated in Detroit's Workshop Jazz ensemble, with Johnny Griffith, Paula Greer, David Hamilton, Lefty ...

– trombone (7) * Chuck Findley – trumpet (7) *

David Crosby David Van Cortlandt Crosby (born August 14, 1941) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In addition to his solo career, he was a founding member of both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills & Nash. Crosby joined the Byrds in 1964. They got ...

– harmony vocals (1, 8) *

Graham Nash Graham William Nash (born 2 February 1942) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, photographer, and activist. He is known for his light tenor voice and for his contributions as a member of the Hollies and the supergroups Crosby, Stills ...

– harmony vocals (1, 8) * Carly Simon – harmony vocals (3) * Valerie Carter – harmony vocals (9)

Production

* Producers – Russ Titelman and Lenny Waronker * Engineered, Mixed and Mastered by Lee Herschberg * Additional Engineer – Donn Landee * Assistant Engineer – Loyd Clifft * Recorded at

The Burbank Studios The Burbank Studios (formerly known as NBC Studios) is a television production facility located in Burbank, California. The studio is home to '' Days of Our Lives'', ''Extra'', the '' IHeartRadio Theater'', and was formerly home to the Blizza ...

(Burbank, CA). * Mixed and Mastered at Warner Bros. Recording Studios (Hollywood, CA). * Cover and Design – Mike Salisbury * Photography –

Norman Seeff Norman Seeff (born March 5, 1939, in Johannesburg, South Africa) is a photographer and filmmaker. Since moving to the United States in 1969, his work has been focused on the exploration of human creativity and the inner dynamics of the creative ...

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorilla 1975 albums James Taylor albums Albums produced by Lenny Waronker Albums produced by Russ Titelman Warner Records albums