One Man Parade

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The song was originally going to be the title track of the album “One Man Dog” before the album’s name was changed.

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"One Man Parade" is a song written by James Taylor that was first released as the first track on his 1972 album One Man Dog. It was also released as the second single from the album, following up on the Top 20 hit "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," after receiving significant airplay as an album track.[1] The single was issued twice with two different B-sides, "Hymn" and "Nobody But You."[2] It did not achieve the same chart success as "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," peaking at #67 on the Billboard Hot 100.[3][4] It also charted on the Adult Contemporary chart in Canada, reaching #55.[5] In some regions, such as in Europe, it was released as the B-side of the single release of "One Morning in May."

Lyrics and music

Taylor said he had written "One Man Parade" during the year preceding the album release and he had begun playing it live in concert as early as the Fall of 1971.[6][7] Like "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," "One Man Parade" was recorded on a portable recording console at Taylor's home with his new bride Carly Simon in Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts.[2] Simon, Carole King and Abigale Haness provided harmony vocals, as do Taylor's siblings Alex, Kate and Hugh.[2][8] Musicologist James Perone hears several Latin music elements in the song, including the instrumentation including congas, güiro and timbales.[8] Russ Kunkel plays the congas on the song, in a performance Taylor biographer Mark Robowsky describes as "trippy."[9] Perone also finds Latin dance music influences in the way the song uses harmonic and bass ostinato, and finds the coda section to be similar to a montuno section of certain Latin music pieces that use a canto-montuno structure.[8]

"One Man Parade" was originally intended to be the title track of the album, but Taylor changed the album title "for no particular reason" to One Man Dog, in reference to his shepherd dog who is mentioned in the song.[2][10] To Robowsky, "One Man Parade" provides the theme for the album, calling it "a wistful desire to waste time on the simplest pleasures, walking a dog, pouring rain, checking out an occasional garbage can."[9] Berwyn Life critic Steve Sparacio similarly stated that the song "sets the tone for the individualist theme of the LP."[11]

Although Robowsky calls the song "upbeat" and Taylor's "most carefree yet: he notes that Taylor undercuts that mood with the line "I'm right good at holding on, holding on, holding on."[9] Perone also notes that the lyrics are more "upbeat" than most Taylor songs of this era, with the singer announcing his readiness to "step out on the town."[8] Donald Langis of L'Evangeline praised the word play of the lines "All I want is a little dog to be walking at my right hand / talking 'bout a one man dog / Nobody's friend but mine."[12] Langis interpreted the dog as a metaphor for the type of friend Taylor is seeking.[12]

Critical reception

Billboard rated "One Man Parade" as one of Taylor's best songs ever, saying that it is "full of melodic surprises" and "lyrical weirdness."[1] It also noted that although the song is "rollicking" it fits within Taylor's brand of gentle pop music.[1] Cash Box said that the "soft outing creates quite a mood that [radio] programmers will love," predicting that it would make the Top 10.[13] Record World said that the "Following up his recent 'Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight' hit, Mr. Mellow comes up with another easy-going tune [that] should add one more to his parade of hits."[14] Rolling Stone critic Jon Landau praised how the song "starts right in and never lets up," and also praises Taylor's vocal performance for sounding like he was "standing while singing for the very first time.[15] Langis believed it had potential to be a hit.[12] Calgary Herald critic Jim Rennie said that although many of the songs on One Man Dog are "bits and pieces", "One Man Parade" is a "substantial enough composition" that has "the same soft, fluid, country flavor that almost all of Taylor's songs contain."[16] Several reviewers praised Taylor's live performances of the song in the early 1970s.[7][17]

"One Man Parade" was included on the 2003 compilation album Best of James Taylor.[18]

Personnel

References

  1. ^ a b c "Pop Picks". Billboard. February 17, 1973. p. 59. Retrieved 2014-07-02.
  2. ^ a b c d White, T. (2009). Long Ago And Far Away: James Taylor - His Life And Music. Omnibus Press. pp. 210–214, 377. ISBN 9780857120069.
  3. ^ "One Man Dog awards". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-07-02.
  4. ^ "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. March 17, 1973. p. 62. Retrieved 2014-07-02.
  5. ^ "RPM Adult Contemporary". Library and Archives Canada. April 28, 1973. Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved 2014-07-02.
  6. ^ Werbin, S. (January 4, 1973). "The Rolling Stone Interview: Carly Simon & James Taylor". Rolling Stone. pp. 32–42.
  7. ^ a b Tiegel, E. (October 9, 1971). "Talent in Action". Billboard. p. 46.
  8. ^ a b c d Perone, James E. (2018). The Words and Music of James Taylor. Praeger. pp. 25–26. ISBN 9781440852688.
  9. ^ a b c Robowsky, M. (2016). Sweet Dreams and Flying Machines: The Life and Music of James Taylor. Chicago Review Press. ASIN B01FE6R7J6.
  10. ^ White, T. (December 5, 1988). "A Portrait of the Artist". Billboard. p. 18. Retrieved 2014-07-02.
  11. ^ Sparacio, Steve (January 17, 1973). "Newlyweds record hits". Berwyn Life. p. 12. Retrieved 2023-03-24 – via newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b c Langis, D. (December 22, 1972). "James Taylor a la croisee des chemins". L'Evangeline. p. 14. Retrieved 2014-07-02.
  13. ^ "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. February 17, 1973. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
  14. ^ "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. February 17, 1973. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
  15. ^ Landau, J. (January 18, 1973). "One Man Dog". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2014-07-02.
  16. ^ Rennie, Jim (January 12, 1973). "Records". Calgary Herald. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-03-24 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Rousseau, R. (October 16, 1971). "Crowd Claps Its Approval for Taylor". Lawrence Journal-World. p. 3. Retrieved 2014-07-02.
  18. ^ "Best of James Taylor". Allmusic. Retrieved 2014-07-02.
Wikipedia URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_Man_Parade