''Walking Man'' is the fifth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by 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 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 States. Until 2008's '' Covers'', it was Taylor's only studio album not to receive a gold or platinum certification from the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. The title track reached number 26 on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart in October 1974. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' said of the single "Let It All Fall Down" that it's a "tender, highly lyrical tune, very reminiscent of the artist's powerful beginning.." "Hello Old Friend" was used in the intro for ABC's Game 3 coverage of the

1989 World Series The 1989 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1989 season. The 86th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Oakland Athletics and the Nat ...

, just before the pre-game broadcast was interrupted by a 6.9 magnitude earthquake.

Track listing

All tracks are written by

except where noted. ;Side one #"Walking Man" – 3:30 #"Rock 'n' Roll Is Music Now" – 3:25 #"Let It All Fall Down" – 3:30 #"Me and My Guitar" – 3:30 #"Daddy's Baby" – 2:37 ;Side two #"Ain't No Song" (

Joey Levine Joey Levine (born May 29, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer of pop music, who has been active since 1966. Career Levine sang lead vocals on several Top 40 singles including "Run Run Run" by The Third Rail (1966), "Y ...

, David Spinozza) – 3:28 #"Hello Old Friend" – 2:45 #"Migration" – 3:14 #" The Promised Land" ( Chuck Berry) – 4:03 #"Fading Away" – 3:32

Personnel

* James Taylor – lead vocals, backing vocals (1-4, 6), acoustic guitar (1-8, 10), arrangements * David Spinozza – electric guitar (1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10), acoustic electric guitar (1), electric piano (2), acoustic guitar (4), organ (8), arrangements * Hugh McCracken – electric guitar (2, 3, 6, 9, 10), harmonica (4), acoustic guitar (8) *

Kenny Ascher Kenneth Lee Ascher (born October 26, 1944 in Washington, D.C.) is an American jazz pianist, composer, and arranger who is active in jazz, rock, classical, and musical theater genres — in live venues, recording studios, and cinema production ...

– electric piano (1, 3, 6), acoustic piano (2, 7, 8, 10), organ (9) * Don Grolnick – acoustic piano (4, 9), organ (4, 10), Vox humana (5, 8) *

Ralph Schuckett Ralph Schuckett (March 2, 1948 – April 4, 2021) was an American keyboardist, composer and songwriter known as one of the founding members of Todd Rundgren's band Utopia. He composed for film and television, including Pokémon, Sonic X, and A ...

–

clavinet The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...

(6), electric piano (7) * Andy Muson– bass guitar (1-4, 6-10) * Rick Marotta – drums (1-4, 6-10), backing vocals (2) * Ralph MacDonald – percussion (1, 3, 4, 6, 8) * Gene Orloff – strings (1, 4, 7), concertmaster (1, 4, 7) * George Young – alto saxophone (2, 6, 7, 9) * Kenny Berger – baritone saxophone (2, 6, 9) * Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone (2, 6, 9) *

Barry Rogers Barron W. "Barry" Rogers (May 22, 1935 – April 18, 1991) was an American jazz and salsa trombonist. Career Born in The Bronx, he descended from Polish Jews and was raised in Spanish Harlem. His family (original name: Rogenstein) possessed a ...

– trombone (2, 6, 9) * Randy Brecker – trumpet (2, 7) * Alan Rubin – trumpet (2, 4, 6, 7, 9) * Howard Johnson – tuba (2, 6, 9) * Peter Gordon –

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

(4, 7) * George Marge –

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. A ...

(4, 7) *

Linda McCartney Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, animal rights activist, vegetarian cookbook author and advocate, and entrepreneur. She was the keyboardist in th ...

– backing vocals (2, 3) *

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

– backing vocals (2, 3) *

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thin ...

– backing vocals (2-6) * Peter Asher – backing vocals (4, 6)

Production

* Producer – David Spinozza * Engineered and Mixed by

Harry Maslin Harry Maslin is an American record producer, recording/mixing engineer, and studio owner/designer. In the mid-1970s, he engineered No. 1 hits for Barry Manilow ("Mandy"), and Dionne Warwick & The Spinners (" Then Came You"). As a producer, his ch ...

* Assistant Engineers – Blaise Castellano and David Henson * Design – Rod Dyer * Photography – Richard Avedon

Charts

References

{{Authority control 1974 albums Albums produced by David Spinozza James Taylor albums Warner Records albums