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Jazzman
1974 song by Carole King

"Jazzman" is a 1974 song performed by Carole King, from her album Wrap Around Joy. King composed the music for the song, while David Palmer (formerly of Steely Dan) wrote the lyrics.

The song is best known for its lengthy saxophone solos, performed by Tom Scott, while King sings an ode to 'the Jazzman' and the effect he has on her. Curtis Amy, saxophonist, composer, and former musical director for the Ray Charles band, was the 'jazz man' of the song.

After being released in August, the song rose on the Billboard Hot 100. It peaked at the #2 spot for a week in mid-November 1974 (stuck behind "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet" by Bachman Turner Overdrive). In King's hometown of New York, "Jazzman" hit No. 1 on the WABC Musicradio 77 Survey for the week of November 12. The song also reached No. 4 on the Billboard easy listening chart. The B-side of the "Jazzman" single was "You Go Your Way, I'll Go Mine".

"Jazzman" is also prominently featured in The Simpsons episode "'Round Springfield", sung by Yeardley Smith as Lisa Simpson; it is presented as a duet between Lisa and the ghost of recurring character Bleeding Gums Murphy, who plays the saxophone.

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Reception

Billboard described "Jazzman" as one of King's most commercial songs, and praised the saxophone playing and backup vocals.5 Cash Box said that "the artist's unique vocal is powerfully backed by strong horns and a great pop arrangement."6 Record World said that its King's "most animated single...since 'I Feel the Earth Move'" and "features the fine sax solos of Tom Scott, along with her own strong overdubbing."7

"Jazzman" was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1975 in the category Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, losing out to Olivia Newton-John's song "I Honestly Love You".8

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Chart (1974)Peakposition
Canada Top Singles (RPM)92
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)101
U.S. Billboard Hot 100112
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary4
U.S. Cash Box Top 100121

Year-end charts

Chart (1974)Rank
Canada RPM Top Singles1333
U.S. (Joel Whitburn's Pop Annual)1442

See also

References

  1. "Billboard Hot 100". Billboard. 1974-11-09. Retrieved 2015-12-05. http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100/1974-11-09 ↩

  2. Musicradio77.com "Weekly Survey for 12 November 1974" https://www.musicradio77.com/Surveys/1974/surveynov1274.html ↩

  3. Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications) ↩

  4. Blankenship, Mark (June 26, 2023). "How Carole King and Lisa Simpson Made "Jazzman" Work". The Lost Songs Project – via Substack. /wiki/Mark_Blankenship ↩

  5. "Top Single Picks" (PDF). Billboard. August 24, 1974. p. 50. Retrieved 2020-07-22. https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-Billboard/70s/1974/Billboard%201974-08-24.pdf ↩

  6. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. August 24, 1974. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-12-11. https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Cash-Box/70s/1974/CB-1974-08-24.pdf ↩

  7. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. August 24, 1974. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-15. https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/70s/74/RW-1974-08-24.pdf ↩

  8. Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications) ↩

  9. RPM Top Singles 9 November 1974. http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.3868a&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.3868a.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.3868a ↩

  10. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2016-10-09. http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.6144&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.6144.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.6144 ↩

  11. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955-1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X /wiki/ISBN_(identifier) ↩

  12. "CASH BOX Top 100 Singles - Week ending NOVEMBER 9, 1974". Archived from the original on 2022-05-23. Retrieved 2016-05-19. https://web.archive.org/web/20220523200317/http://cashboxmagazine.com/archives/70s_files/19741109.html ↩

  13. "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2016-10-09. http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/films-videos-sound-recordings/rpm/Pages/image.aspx?Image=nlc008388.3893a&URLjpg=http%3a%2f%2fwww.collectionscanada.gc.ca%2fobj%2f028020%2ff4%2fnlc008388.3893a.gif&Ecopy=nlc008388.3893a ↩

  14. Whitburn, Joel (1999). Pop Annual. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. ISBN 0-89820-142-X. 0-89820-142-X ↩