Fire and Rain
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- Fire and Rain is also a TV movie about the crash of Delta Air Lines Flight 191.
"Fire and Rain" was the breakout single released in February 1970 by singer-songwriter James Taylor. The signature single on his second album, Sweet Baby James, the song brought Taylor wide-spread attention. The album was released in December 1969 with the song being released as a single the following February. "Fire and Rain" quickly rose to the top five on the Billboard magazine charts.
Moody, introspective, and laying bare an emotional sensitivity not usually associated with male performers, "Fire and Rain" became something of a prototype for the singer-songwriter genre which would boom in the few years following its release. The sparse arrangement, centered around Taylor's ringing acoustic guitar figures, also became a signature sound for Taylor and was influential among other performers.
"Fire and Rain" is in the 227th position on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
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Origin of the song
Taylor has related different versions of what the song is about. In a BBC interview he stated that the song chronicled his experiences in mental institutions and the suicide of a friend. More recently, on the VH1 series Story Tellers, Taylor said that the song was, indeed, about Suzanne MacKenzie, a friend of his who died suddenly while he was away from home. According to that account, he had been in a deep depression after the failure of his new band "Flying Machine" to coalesce (the lyric includes a reference to "sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground"; the reference is to the name of the band rather than a fatal plane crash, as was long rumored). As he was wondering what to do with himself, he received word of MacKenzie's death, and the song explains that her death was a check for his own worries, a way of realizing the transience of life and his need to get back to his old friends. In other interviews Taylor has also indicated that a battle with drug addiction figured into the song.
The song was originally written several years before its release and was refined over time; it appears probable that all the elements referenced by Taylor over time went into the final version.
"Fire and Rain" in popular culture
- Taylor performed "Fire and Rain" on The Simpsons episode "Deep Space Homer," replacing the lyric "In pieces on the ground" with "Flying safely through the air."
- The song is featured prominently as a favorite of the family in the movie Running on Empty.
Cover versions
Many artists have recorded cover versions of "Fire and Rain" in a number of genres. A partial list includes:
- Trumpeter Herb Alpert on his album Lost Treasures.
- Hard rock band Badlands on their album Voodoo Highway.
- Blood, Sweat & Tears on their album Blood, Sweat & Tears 3.
- Actress and singer Betty Buckley on her album Heart to Heart.
- Cher on her album Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves .
- Instrumental jazz group Common Ground on their Taylor tribute album Fire & Rain
- Bobby Darin on his album Live! At the Desert Inn.
- Country music singer Skeeter Davis on her album Love Takes A Lot Of My Time.
- John Denver on his album Poems, Prayers, and Promises.
- Sheena Easton on her album The Lover in Me.
- Jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson on this album Maynard Ferguson.
- Reggae artists The Gaylads on their album Fire and Rain.
- Folk singer Richie Havens on his album The Great Blind Degree.
- The Isley Brothers on their album Givin' It Back.
- Jazz singer Al Jarreau on his album Glow.
- Jazz pianist Keith Jarrett on his album Restoration Ruin.
- Ex-Monkee Davy Jones on his album Just for the Record, Vol. 2.
- Country and western singer Sammy Kershaw on his album Coverin' the Hits.
- Jazz flautist Hubert Laws on his album Afro-Classic.
- Punk music band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on their album Have a Ball.
- Nana Mouskouri on her album Nana's Book of Songs.
- Anne Murray on her album Snowbird.
- Country and western singer Willie Nelson on his album Willie Nelson & Family.
- Tony Orlando on his album The Casablanca Years.
- Saxophonist Boots Randolph on his album Boots with Brass.
- Soul, jazz and blues sing Lou Rawls on his album A Man of Value.
- Cliff Richard on his album Help It Along.
- Johnny Rivers on his album Home Grown.
- Country and western singer Sammi Smith on her album Lonesome.
- Country and western singer Billie Jo Spears on the compilation album Country Ladies and Gentlemen.
- R. Dean Taylor on his album I Think, Therefore I Am.
- Folk singer Linda Thompson on her album Give Me a Sad Song.
- Jazz guitarist Phil Upchurch on his album Darkness, Darkness.
- Jazz trumpeter Frankie V on his album Ocean of Dreams.
- Progressive rock keyboard player Rick Wakeman on his album Piano Vibrations.
- Roger Whittaker on his album Fire and Rain.
- Pop singer Andy Williams on his album Love Story.
- Rhythm and blues and soul singer Bobby Womack on his album Communication.