''Walking Man'' is the fifth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

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. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

. 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 the 1970s. It is related to middle of the road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit s ...

chart in October 1974. ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' called the title track a "tall, proud mansong" that could be Taylor's biggest hit since " Fire and Rain." ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is 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.." ''

'' called it a "nihilistic hymn of anarchy

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

gets the hauntingly up musical treatment." "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 ...

, 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), " ...

David Spinozza David Spinozza (born August 8, 1949) is an American guitarist and producer. He worked with former Beatles Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and John Lennon during the 1970s, and had a long collaboration with singer-songwriter James Taylor, producing T ...

) – 3:28 #"Hello Old Friend" – 2:45 #"Migration" – 3:14 #" The Promised Land" (

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and de ...

) – 4:03 #"Fading Away" – 3:32

Personnel

* James Taylor – lead vocals, backing vocals (1–4, 6), acoustic guitar (1–8, 10), arrangements *

– electric guitar (1, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10), acoustic electric guitar (1), electric piano (2), acoustic guitar (4), organ (8), arrangements *

Hugh McCracken Hugh Carmine McCracken (March 31, 1942 – March 28, 2013) was an American rock guitarist and session musician based in New York City, primarily known for his performance on guitar and also as a harmonica player. McCracken was additionally ...

– 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 productio ...

– electric piano (1, 3, 6), acoustic piano (2, 7, 8, 10), organ (9) *

Don Grolnick Don Grolnick (September 23, 1947 – June 1, 1996) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and record producer. He was a member of the groups Steps Ahead and Dreams, both with Michael Brecker, and played often with the Brecker Brothers. As a sess ...

– acoustic piano (4, 9), organ (4, 10),

Vox humana The vox humana (; Spanish and ; ; , also a term for a ''celeste'' stop, q.v.) is a short-resonator reed stop on the pipe organ, so named because of its supposed resemblance to the human voice. As a rule, the stop is used with a tremulant, whi ...

(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'', ...

–

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

(6), electric piano (7) * Andy Muson – bass guitar (1–4, 6–10) *

Rick Marotta Richard Thomas Marotta (born January 7, 1948) is an American drummer and percussionist. He has appeared on recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, Ste ...

– drums (1–4, 6–10), backing vocals (2) *

Ralph MacDonald Ralph Anthony MacDonald (March 15, 1944 – December 18, 2011) was an American percussionist, steelpan virtuoso, songwriter, musical arranger, and record producer. His compositions include " Where Is the Love", a Grammy Award winner for the due ...

– percussion (1, 3, 4, 6, 8) *

Gene Orloff Gene Orloff (June 14, 1921 – March 23, 2009) was an American violinist, concertmaster, arranger, contractor and session musician. Background The son of a Russian immigrant violin maker, Orloff would try and get his father's violin down from th ...

– strings (1, 4, 7), concertmaster (1, 4, 7) *

George Young George Young may refer to: Arts and entertainment * George Young (filmmaker), Australian stage manager and film director in the silent era * George Young (rock musician) (1946–2017), Australian musician, songwriter, and record producer * G ...

– alto saxophone (2, 6, 7, 9) * Kenny Berger – baritone saxophone (2, 6, 9) *

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as a performer and composer, received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in ...

– 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 Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock music, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was ...

– trumpet (2, 7) *

Alan Rubin Alan Rubin (February 11, 1943 – June 8, 2011), also known as Mr. Fabulous, was an American musician. He played trumpet, flugelhorn, and piccolo trumpet. Early life and education Rubin was born in Brooklyn. He began attending Juilliard ...

– 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 o ...

(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 type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

(4, 7) *

Linda McCartney Linda Louise, Lady McCartney ( Eastman; September 24, 1941 – April 17, 1998) was an American photographer, musician, cookbook author, and activist. She was the keyboardist and harmony vocalist in the band Paul McCartney and Wings, Wings tha ...

– backing vocals (2, 3) *

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

– backing vocals (2, 3) *

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Billboard Hot 100, top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation (song), Anticipatio ...

– backing vocals (2–6) *

Peter Asher Peter Asher (born 22 June 1944) is an English guitarist, singer, manager and record producer. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the pop music vocal duo Peter and Gordon before going on to a successful career as a manager and re ...

– 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 ...

* 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