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<p><span style="color: rgb(103, 102, 102);"><img src="https://www.songfacts.com/img-artalbums-145-f55a465b380e3003ae01c61d1d4f30a4.png"></span></p><p>Album: Sweet Baby James (1970)</p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(103, 102, 102); background-color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><img src="https://img.youtube.com/vi/EyBCpAIk8Vo/hqdefault.jpg" alt="Play Video"></span></p><h4><br></h4><p>Songfacts®:</p><p>This song is a parody of sorts, taking aim at overtly sexual blues metaphors. Taylor has "the steamroller blues" and compares his love machine to a cement mixer, a demolition derby, and even a napalm bomb.</p><p><br></p><p>Taylor came up with the song after seeing lots of white college kids playing blues songs by the likes of Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf - he noticed a disconnect there.</p><p><br></p><p>Taylor wrote this song when he was in a band called The Flying Machine, which issued one single in 1966 before disbanding. One of his Flying Machine bandmates was Danny Kortchmar, who played guitar on the Sweet Baby James album and toured with Taylor.</p><p><br></p><p>Taylor had a cold when he recorded this song, resulting in a more congested vocal than usual. Recording his track at a later date was not an option, as they were on a tight recording budget and schedule.</p><p><br></p><p>Sweet Baby James was Taylor's second album, and his first on the Warner Bros. label. His 1968 debut album was issued on Apple Records, which was owned by The Beatles. That album also contains a blues takeoff: "Blues Is Just a Bad Dream."</p><p><br></p>