SPORTBUSINESSDAILY.COM — Panthers Enlist Folk Legend James Taylor For Draft Announcement

By Josh Carpenter

NFL Panthers brass have used the quarantine period to set the bar high for their social media team, and their efforts were evident last night when folk legend James Taylor unveiled draft pick Derrick Brown to the tune of “Carolina In My Mind.” Panthers Social Media Manager Amie Kiehn said her staff was motivated by VP/Communications & External Affairs Steven Drummond and President Tom Glick to push the envelope during the pandemic rather than take a step back. “We’re really trying to push ourselves and think differently,” Kiehn told THE DAILY this morning. About three weeks ago, Kiehn was catching up via Facetime with a former colleague, Jared Kleinstein, the Founder & CEO of Colorado-based Fresh Tape Media. Kleinstein spontaneously started singing Taylor’s iconic song and jokingly suggested the Panthers reach out to Taylor’s agent to see if he would help announce the pick. After a quick Google search, Kiehn had an email request out. Just a few days later, Taylor’s rep agreed.

source: https://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2020/04/24/Franchises/Panthers.aspx

AARP.ORG — James Taylor Covers Timeless Songs in ‘American Standard’

American standards
I learned many of the songs on the new album [popular earlier works from Broadway and film] at my mother and father’s knee, then I interpreted them on the guitar. They’re the source of my music, along with some Celtic music, Brazilian music, Afro-Cuban music and the Protestant hymnal. These tunes by Frank Loesser and Rodgers and Hammerstein, and Yip Harburg and Harold Arlen, are, to me, as sophisticated as pop music can get.

Sine qua non
I dedicated the new album that way to my wife, Caroline. It’s Latin. It means “without which there’s nothing.”

Instrumental to success
I think my parents’ main contribution was not that they taught us any music but that they insisted we each choose an instrument and study it. At first, mine was the cello. My older brother, Alex, played the violin, reluctantly; my sister, Kate, and my brother Livingston both played the piano. When we got into our teenage years, Livingston played the banjo, Kate was singing, and I was playing the guitar. Alex and I were in a band together when we were in high school. So we did make a lot of music among us.

‘Break Shot’ youth
In a break shot in billiards, things go from order to chaos in an instant. It seemed like an apt metaphor for what happened to my family in the mid-’60s. We were the sons and daughter of a very dedicated and successful physician and academic, and had a wonderful childhood growing up in North Carolina. Yet instead of going to college, most of us ended up in a psychiatric hospital and essentially dropped out. It’s been a mystery to me. Why at this stage of mid-to-late adolescence did we jump the tracks and run off the rails? I pieced it together later: My father was a very functional alcoholic, but he was an alcoholic, as was his father, and it always gets to a point where it’s not sustainable anymore. That happened at about the same time that my parents’ marriage ended. I came out of it with only one path forward, and that was music.

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Beatlemania
Over time I got deeply into the Beatles. I was amazed that their popularity and exposure did not just kill off their work; instead they just got better and better. So when I was with Apple Records, I wanted to see what life was like for a Beatle and what they did. I remember being there and John was nervous about a date he was going to go on. Turned out, it had to do with something set up with Brigitte Bardot the next day. It went fine, apparently.

Sobering up
At 35, I managed to get clean in 12-step programs — first Narcotics Anonymous, then AA. You find yourself in an unbelievable mess, having hurt people you love, all these grim things. But there was enough that was positive in my life on the other side, the other bank of the river, to get me across.

musician james taylor holding his guitar case and smiling in front of a garden backdrop
PETER YANG

Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

Carolina in my mind
North Carolina was conducive to creativity — there was very little distraction. Your cellphone wasn’t ringing every five minutes; you weren’t streaming something on the computer or texting someone or going on Instagram. We were bored some of the time. When we wanted recreation, we went out into the woods. You could have long, uninterrupted thoughts.

His twin boys
They just turned 19 [he also has an older son and daughter]. I’m sort of hypervigilant, always trying to see what their state is. But even though they’re at the same prep school that I so reluctantly went to and dropped out of, they’re having a totally different experience of it and, I’m happy to say, are extremely resilient and tough. To me, they’re a miracle. Not at all as fragile as I was.

Common conscience?
We have so much communication and access to knowledge that I think younger people may end up with a different kind of mind, a more collective mind, like a common consciousness. The world is in desperate need of global cooperation for the health of the planet. So maybe this helps us head in that direction.

Wise words
I tell young people that the three things that will enslave you are an addiction, being in debt and having children before you’re ready to settle down and support them. Those are the three things that, to me, kids need to know.

Spirituality
I don’t know what God is. I don’t know the nature of it. I certainly don’t know the sex of it or if we were made in its image. I also don’t trust anyone who says they do know what God wants or how God operates. What’s God’s will? The only thing I know about it is that it’s the name of a question; it’s not a thing.

Today’s wall of sound
A record contract was critical back in the day. That’s what you needed. That was the door you had to walk through. Now, of course, you don’t have to have one. You can walk through the door on your own. But if you do walk through that door, there are a million other musicians in the room.

How sweet it is
Yeah, I am happy. You learn as you get older to roll with it and that nothing lasts forever — if you’re in a bad stretch, things can get better. What makes me happy now is a quiet time, free time, a day off, an afternoon off. I love my wife and family, and I like to spend time with them. When I was younger, I wanted to go out into the world and do things and engage with people and travel to places. That sort of restless energy to get out and engage in the world, I think that diminishes over time. —As told to Natasha Stoynoff

Earlier this year multiple-Grammy winner and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee James Taylor, 72, released his Audible Original memoir, Break Shot, and a new album, American Standard.

Postponed Summer Tour
James Taylor’s planned May-to-July tour with Jackson Browne, 71, who is recovering from a mild COVID-19 infection, has been postponed. “As this summer’s tour of 27 towns and cities across the US drew near, we’ve been increasingly excited to hit the road again,” said Taylor and Browne in a joint statement. “So it’s deeply disappointing for both of us to have to call it off and reschedule (and reschedule we WILL)! As we all now realize, COVID-19 is a serious, real and present danger. Moreover, our public health is all of our responsibility. So let us listen to and follow the directions of our public healthcare people and support their efforts in this unprecedented time of global pandemic. Love those around you and, above all, stay safe and healthy.”

Taylor appears as a Mega Mentor advising the contestants on The Voice (NBC, April 20, 8 p.m. ET), which was filmed earlier.

source: https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/music/info-2020/james-taylor-american-standard.html

YAHOO.COM — James Taylor compares ‘Voice’ contestant Toneisha Harris to Streisand and Aretha

By Lyndsay Parker

t’s not every day that a legend like James Taylor agrees to mentor a TV singing competition. And it’s certainly not every day that a legend like James Taylor compares a TV singing competition contestant to legends like Barbra Streisand and Aretha Franklin. But that is exactly what happened Monday on The Voice, when “Mega-Mentor” James heard Team Blake diva Toneisha Harris’s masterful cover of Rihanna’s “Diamonds.” How sweet it is to be loved by him, indeed.

On a night packed with many great singers (and many tough choices faced by the coaches), James — who signed on to advise Season 18’s Knockout Rounds after producers apparently pursued him for years — was generous with his praise. He seemed thrilled to be on the set, actually stating it was an “honor” for him to appear on The Voice, which he called “hands-down, the most positive and effective” talent show on television. He was also impressed by Toneisha’s Knockouts opponent, Cedrice (whom Blake Shelton had stolen during the Battle Rounds), describing this pairing as “what singing is all about.”

But while James loved Cedrice’s attitude and gratitude and likened her vocal “fluidity and dexterity” on another Rihanna song, “Love on the Brain,” to Baked Alaska — “warm and piercing at the same time” — he truly had Toneisha on the brain. “There’s an effortlessness about it,” he said of the 44-year-old soul belter’s powerful vocal style. “I’d compare her with Streisand, or I’d compare her with Aretha. She’s really something. What a beautiful voice!” Toneisha, one of the contestants most excited to work with James — she could barely even enter the rehearsal room, she was so giddy — couldn’t help but tear up as James encouragingly embraced her.

Over on the main stage, Toneisha did James proud and lived up to his hype with a flawless, finale-worthy tour de force that had all four coaches leaping to their feet. Of course she won this Knockout — but that was a shame for Cedrice, one of this season’s most compelling performers, who probably would’ve prevailed if she’d been pitted against just about anyone else.

But as it turned out, Kelly Clarkson, who once declared Cedrice the “hottest woman alive,” apparently still had love for Cedrice on her brain — because she swooped in for the Steal. This now makes Kelly Cedrice’s third coach of the season. (“You have to stop doing this to me!” Cedrice laughed with relief.) But maybe the third time will be the charm. Regardless, I am sure that James Taylor was pleased with how this all turned out.

So for now, we know that both Toneisha and Cedrice are moving on to the Live Playoffs (which likely will not be “live” at all, since, like rival show American Idol, The Voice will have to conduct of the rest of this season remotely due to coronavirus concerns). But Monday also featured the series’ first-ever four-way Knockout — sort of Season 18’s version of the Island of Misfit Toys, similar in intention to the failed Comeback Stage rounds of recent seasons, with four contestants who lost their respective Battles giving it one last go. With no applicable Saves or Steals, only one of these four singers would advance via this week’s pubic vote. Let’s recap that quadruple-headed monster showdown, before reviewing the other normal Knockouts of the night:

ALL TEAMS: Todd Michael Hall (Team Blake) vs. Nelson Cade III (Team Legend) vs. Michael Williams (Team Nick) vs. Samantha Howell (Team Kelly)

Old-school rocker Todd sang first, and while classic rock does tend to do well with the graying terrestrial TV audience, this performance was laughable. Maybe if he’d covered Queen’s “Somebody to Love” he might’ve had a shot, but by doing OneRepublic’s song by the same title, Todd demonstrated just how corny and out-of-step he really is. He did hit most of the notes — that is, until that helium-high chorus, which was screechier than a sack of cats — but he had absolutely no emotional connection to the lyrics, and he came off like an actor in a second-string dinner theater production of Rock of Ages. If millennials and Gen Z kids think rock ‘n’ roll is just uncool music that their grandparents dig… well, hokey performances like Todd’s are the reason why.

Moving on. John Legend warned Nelson that a four-way Knockout performance would require some “fireworks,” but I welcomed Nelson’s chill, mellow cover of Daniel Cesar’s “The Best Part” after Todd’s ridiculous showboating. Nelson hit a nice groove here, and his performance was soooo Team Legend. But would this be enough? Eh, probably not.

Michael Williams’s cover of Calum Scott’s “You Are the Reason” was pleasant and vocally controlled, but not a standout by any means. So, this cleared the way for Samantha — the four-way Knockout’s only female singer and only country contestant — to win by a landslide. “Always on My Mind” was a genius choice: a song all of America loves, and a song that showcased the vintage-Dolly Opry sweetness in Samantha’s voice. If the way the studio audience roared for her bell-clear high notes was any indication of how America will vote, then she was the clear victor here.

WINNER: We will soon find out (but probably Samantha)

TEAM LEGEND: Thunderstorm Artis vs. Mandi Castillo

Thunderstorm and Mandi were both four-chair auditioners, but that’s where their similarities end. Latin pop diva Mandi dedicated an emotional but straightahead rendition of Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me” to her father, who is battling lymphoma, while Thunderstorm took the risk of performing a radical remake of his own coach’s “Preach.”

There was no doubt that Mandi delivered the technically stronger and more competitive vocal; Kelly said Mandi “came to win,” and Blake said Mandi “swung for the fences.” But where was the artistry? Thunderstorm’s performance was so intriguing that the great James Taylor said he felt he had “something in common” with Thunderstorm — which just might be the highest praise any aspiring singer-songwriter could receive. And John, who normally thinks contestants covering his own songs is his “Achilles heel,” was totally pleased with how Thunderstorm switched up “Preach” on acoustic guitar.

Thunderstorm has been such a frontrunner that I was shocked when John, who’s been making frankly baffling decisions all season, chose Mandi instead. Thankfully, Nick Jonas stole Thunderstorm. Nick claimed this had been his secret sneaky strategy all along, which I don’t believe for one second — but however it came about, this was a perfect storm of events that kept Nick and one of the season’s most interesting artists in the game.

WINNER: Mandi Castillo / STOLEN: Thunderstorm Artis moves to Team Nick

TEAM NICK: Arei Moon vs. Jon Mullins

Both contestants made dedications to their beloved spouses — Arei doing former Voice coach Alicia Keys’s “You Don’t Know My Name,” Jon taking on Ed Sheeran’s familiar wedding-reception ballad “Thinking Out Loud.” Jon had a solid and soulful vocal… but even Blake noted that he “turned it up a couple of notches” because Arei was such a tough act to follow and thus brought out Jon’s competitive spirit.

Arei was a revelation and practically at a Grammy-performance level, owning the moment. Sexy and confident, this girl was on fire, indeed. Nick even called her a “superstar” before making the easy decision to keep her. Arei’s husband is one lucky man. And now it’s looking like Nick is one lucky coach.

WINNER: Arei Moon

TEAM KELLY: Tayler Green vs. Micah Iverson

I was shocked by how the coaches reacted to this pairing. Yes, Tayler did a lovely job with “Time After Time,” expertly adapting it to her deep and rich voice, which differs so much from Cyndi Lauper’s. She made the classic ‘80s ballad sultry and soulful, and there was a tenderness and ache to her delivery that felt real and raw.

But Micah’s performance of Halsey’s “Graveyard” — an ambitious song choice, given its rapid, breathless syncopation — was modern and cool, very the 1975 (the band, not the year). He made it even darker and moodier than the original, and he effectively translated Halsey’s strong female point of view to his own narrative. It actually felt like his song. (Side note: Getting to see Micah and James during rehearsals was pretty amazing and surreal. “I love that James Taylor is playing Halsey right now — it’s my dream!” gasped Kelly.)

But all of coaches preferred Tayler, claiming that her song choice was the superior vocal showcase. Blake gave her a standing ovation, and John called her “mesmerizing… everything about your delivery said, ‘I’m a star and I deserve to be on this stage.’” I was surprised by these critiques… and even more surprised when Kelly went with her “gut feeling” and picked Micah anyway. Micah looked very surprised, as did Kelly’s fellow coaches, but I think she made the smart long-haul decision. I just wish Tayler had been stolen, because she too deserved to stay. A conflicted Kelly slammed her forehead onto her chair’s desk as Tayler exited stage left and Blake glowered in disbelief.

WINNER: Micah Iverson

TEAM NICK: Allegra Miles vs. Jacob Miller

I thought teenage Allegra was biting off more than she could chew with Sia’s “Chandelier,” but because of her past struggles with depression, she related to its dark lyrics. “Her connection to the song is clear,” Nick attested. She still had her usual diction issues, but the pain in her imperfect performance was palpable and believable; she sounded like a broken woman, in the best possible way.

Jacob’s folksy acoustic cover of Post Malone’s “Better Now” wasn’t a vocal masterclass, but it was a classic case of an artist “making a song his own.” Even James Taylor marveled during rehearsal over how Jacob “took the song to a new place… He’s got something.” This felt so special, a breakout moment, almost too good for The Voice. Kelly gasped, “Wow!” as she jumped to her feet after Jacob’s main-stage performance. But unfortunately, this was not Kelly’s decision to make.

For the same reason that I would have picked Thunderstorm over Mandi and Micah over Tayler — originality and artistry — I would have gone with Jacob. But Nick could not deny Allegra’s impact. Oh well. I hope Nick makes good on that promise to record with Jacob someday.

WINNER: Allegra Myles

TEAM KELLY: Mandi Thomas vs. Anaya Cheyenne

This may have been the most brutal montage in Voice history. While Mandi got a good amount of screentime for her barnstorming cover of Maren Morris’s “My Church,” with Kelly raving, “This song is rangy, and you made it even rangier,” poor Anaya’s performance wasn’t shown at all. Host Carson Daly didn’t even mention her name, and there wasn’t even a caption; I literally had to look up Team Kelly’s lineup on the NBC website to figure out who Mandi’s opponent was. This was strange, considering that Anaya had received a lot of attention earlier this season and had fared well in the Battles, so I’m not sure what happened here. It was a tough lesson for a 16-year-old kid to learn, but hey, that’s showbiz.

WINNER: Mandi Thomas

source: https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/james-taylor-compares-voice-contestant-toneisha-harris-to-streisand-and-aretha-020032379.html

BILLBOARD.COM — James Taylor Is ‘The Voice’ Season 18’s Mega Mentor: Exclusive

By Rania Aniftos

Award-winning music icon James Taylor will serve as the mega mentor on Season 18 of The Voice, Billboard can exclusively confirm.

Taylor will join the coaches to mentor the artists remaining from the Battle Rounds, and prepare each team for the Knockout Rounds, which will begin on Monday (April 13) at 8 p.m. EST/PST.

The Knockout Rounds will have the contestants paired against a teammate once more, but unlike the Battle Rounds, they will each select their own song to perform individually while their competitor watches and waits. The coaches will then choose the winner from their team to advance.

Additionally, Taylor will help coach and rehearse with the four artists that were saved by their individual coaches during the Battle Rounds for the first-ever Four-Way Knockout. Only one winner on each team will advance, chosen by America’s votes and revealed at the beginning of the first live show.

In a funny announcement video revealing Taylor’s participation on this season, coaches Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Nick Jonas and Blake Shelton play a game of telephone to tell each other the news. As usual with a game of telephone, something got mixed up along the way, leading Shelton to believe that the mega mentor was Elizabeth Taylor, not James.

source: https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/television/9351196/james-taylor-the-voice-season-18s-mega-mentor

BERKSHIREEAGLE.COM — James Taylor on virus’ impact: ‘Life … is going to change’

By Clarence Fanto

LENOX — After the peak of the coronavirus pandemic is reached and we start coming down the other side of the mountain, there will be a new abnormal, less restrictive but still critically different from the pre-virus era. It’s on all of our minds, including Berkshires troubadour James Taylor, as voiced during a wide-ranging conversation from his Montana spring break retreat last weekend.

It has been a busy year for James and Kim Taylor — a $350,000 gift to Berkshire Medical Center for coronavirus response, after a $1 million donation to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. His “American Standard” album came out in late February, after the release of “Break Shot,” his retrospective audio documentary on Audible.com that traces his first 21 years.

With the world turned upside down, Taylor didn’t want to dwell on his professional commitments. As confirmed Friday, he had to postpone his coast-to-coast U.S. tour of 27 cities with Jackson Browne slated from May 14 to July 10, including a June 21 date at Boston’s Fenway Park with Brandi Carlile and Shawn Colvin. (The sold-out Tanglewood concert July 4 is still listed on the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s schedule, for now.)

His April 14-May 5, 12-stop Canadian tour with Bonnie Raitt from Victoria, British Columbia, to St. John’s, Newfoundland, had already fallen by the wayside.

“The response to the tours was so fantastic, and we’re bound and determined to reschedule,” Taylor said, adding that both were sellouts as his latest studio recording was released.

“If you’re a touring musician and basically make it your living and focus of your professional life by asking people to come together in big groups and participate in a musical gathering, you’re in the center of how to respond to the threat and what needs to change,” he said.

“This is not about me,” he emphasized, “but it makes me understand and sympathize with people to have my year’s work so completely impacted by it and have a project I worked on for three years dropped into a well. It definitely makes me aware of the economic implications of this thing. You learn to make touring part of your life, you learn to do it well. For us who have devoted so much time in our lives to this process, this is a real disruption; that’s what we’re feeling.”

Here are additional excerpts from my conversation with Taylor, lightly edited for length and clarity:

Q: What are your immediate concerns about the public impact of the pandemic?

A: People are really hurting, that’s the main thing everybody’s been trying to control. This falls on the shoulders of our health care providers and first responders, and we must help them flatten the curve. We wasted two months, maybe three, to prepare for this thing, but the side that’s been in power, they just weren’t there, their heads were in the sand.

The U.S. is supposed to be the world leader, but it has been asleep at the wheel while the rest of the world was showing us what to do. The focus has to be on encouraging good leadership and supporting the health care providers.

Q: What should have been done differently?

A: For many years, I’ve said along with so many other people that there are serious problems with the way our economy works and what it does to our environment, the economic disparity, the increasing struggles of our workforce and the average citizen. There are real problems when we see our for-profit medical system trimmed down to the least excess, a lean operation with no excess capacity.

I really do think we’re going to need a public health “national guard,” maybe the current National Guard expanded in its medical capacity.

Q: Taking the longer view, what else will we confront whenever we return to some kind of new normal?

A: We’re facing really big decisions; deep alterations to the fabric of our lives are being made day to day with only a short period of time to consider them. That’s the nature of the emergency. We know life on the other side of this thing is going to change.

When something like this happens, people scream for change; they ask, “Why aren’t we protecting our brothers and sisters against this kind of capricious reversal of fortune?” We need to prioritize the well-being of the most number of people.

Q: What do you see as the responsibility of the nation’s chief executive?

A: The executive branch is where the rubber hits the road; the executive is supposed to run things. It’s not a matter of politics. There’s a job to be done, and when it’s not done, you can coast only for a while. But, when something comes along needing a timely and capable response, it isn’t there.

We have to get global, because civilization is all about the ability of strangers to cooperate. The corporate structure should serve humanity and the greatest number of us, not divide us into haves and have-nots. That’s common sense.

Q: How do you view your role as a performer after 50 years of recording and touring?

A: When we give a concert, I feel a community that convenes and reconvenes, without an agenda or political force. It feeds itself, a mutually beneficial thing, and our concerts are one of the ways this happens. That’s a real privilege, the blessing of a lifetime that we have this audience. I’ll be there for them as long as I possibly can.

source: https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/clarence-fanto-james-taylor-on-virus-impact-life-is-going-to-change,601678

THINKNUM.COM — James Taylor topped Amazon’s best-selling music for March, beating Pearl Jam and Joe Exotic

By Julia Gray

Music has been a welcome reprieve this month as Coronavirus continues to spread and reshape our lives. Amazon’s ($NASDAQ:AMZN) CD & Vinyl best-sellers for March accounted for a healthy dose of escapism, including classic rock, glitzy dance pop, and novelty country tunes about a tiger.

If the top three best-sellers are any indication, Americans have been feeling nostalgic this month. James Taylor’s 17th studio album American Standard jumped to number one this month, up from its number two spot in February. Up next is Pearl Jam’s eleventh album Gigaton, which came out late last month. Ozzy Osbourne’s new LP Ordinary Man ranked at number two for nine days in March.

The Frozen 2 soundtrack remains in the same slot as last month. Dixie Chicks recently announced their first album in 14 years, Gaslighter, with its excellent title track. The album comes out next month, but the pre-sales put it among March’s best-sellers.

K-pop sensations BTS averaged at number 10 with Map Of The Soul: 7, down from number one last month. Perhaps the most exciting albums are in the final four.

The Weekend and Dua Lipa’s great new albums — After Hours and Future Nostalgia — both made the cut. Plus, Bob Marley and a newcomer by the name of Joe Exotic. Exotic is the star of Netflix’s ($NASDAQ:NFLX) hit Tiger King docuseries. And his tiger-themed country record I Saw A Tiger is the most insane thing we’ve heard all year.

source: https://media.thinknum.com/articles/amazon-monthly-music-roundup-for-march/

BERKSHIREEAGLE.COM — Kim and James Taylor donate $350,000 to BMC in COVID-19 fight

By Clarence Fanto

ITTSFIELD — A $350,000 donation by Kim and James Taylor launches the COVID-19 Relief Fund for Berkshire Health Systems, bolstering efforts by Berkshire Medical Center to confront the intensifying pandemic as the number of cases expands in the county.

A joint announcement Monday by the hospital and the Taylors stated that the new relief fund will support the 307-bed hospital’s emergency operations during the public health crisis.

Citing their global travels because of their careers, the Taylors explained that “while we also spend a good deal of time in Boston, our favorite place to live our lives is Berkshire County. We are so lucky and grateful to have found a home here. In this time of great uncertainty and dire threat due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are all called upon to support our heroic health care providers. Their contribution and sacrifice cannot be overstated.”

In a phone interview from Montana, where the family is winding up their annual spring break vacation with twin sons Rufus and Henry, the singer-songwriter explained that “we are lucky enough to have a giving agenda every year. When it comes to something like this, when you see so many people really hurt and making major sacrifices, this falls on the shoulders of our health care providers and first responders, and we must help them.”

“The generosity of Kim and James Taylor during this time of crisis is just one more example of their tremendous kindness and their love for the Berkshires,” said David Phelps, president and CEO of Berkshire Health Systems, in a prepared statement. “Their support of BMC is truly a gift to our community, which depends on the hospital to rise to the occasion and provide the health care we need, especially at this critical moment.”

Last week, the Taylors donated $1 million to Massachusetts General Hospital’s Emergency Preparedness Fund to fight the coronavirus pandemic. James Taylor was born at the Boston hospital in 1948, where his father, Isaac, was chief resident.

“Hospital personnel are asked to walk the talk,” Taylor told The Eagle. “This crisis brings out that there are altruistic people and self-centered people. Thank God for the ones who answered the call to altruism.”

“We have been frequent flyers at BMC,” said Kim Taylor. “With twin athletic boys, the odds are one of them is injuring himself. James and I have also availed ourselves of the ER for tick bites to broken ankles.”

Taylor said she and the family “have found everyone at BMC to be extraordinarily professional, highly competent and compassionate. We’re very lucky to have this resource in Pittsfield. We’re pulling for all the health care workers there throughout this unprecedented health crisis.”

“We share the Taylors’ admiration for our doctors, nurses and all our staff who are on the front lines of this fight.” Phelps added in a prepared statement. “The COVID-19 Relief Fund will help us to continue our efforts to provide health care workers with the resources they need to treat and contain the novel coronavirus.”

James Taylor pointed out that “Kim is the main mover and shaker on these particular donations. We moved here in 2000. Our first time at BMC was when Rufus was 6 and struck his head on the molding in our living room while roughhousing. We took him in for stitches, and that was the beginning of the typical accidents childhood and family life bring. We’ve always thought of it as the community hospital that was there for us.”

Recalling other visits to the hospital, Taylor noted that “when Henry broke his wrist and collarbone on the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail, we always knew immediately where to go. I’ve gone there for physical therapy after a joint replacement and shoulder injury, for various emergencies, it’s part of our lives.”

The Taylors’ homestead is in the town of Washington, and they also have a home in Brookline, near Milton Academy, where their twin sons, 18, are seniors. Taylor has been a regular at Tanglewood since 1974 and recorded his three most recent albums, “October Road,” “Before This World” and the new “American Standard” at their studio, The Barn, where he recorded “Break Shot,” his recent Audible Original retrospective detailing his first 21 years. His “One Man Band” album and a PBS special were recorded and filmed at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield in 2007.

Kim Taylor joined the Boston Symphony press office in 1979 and served for two decades as director of public relations and marketing for the BSO and as a close adviser to Seiji Ozawa and John Williams. She married James on Nov. 18, 2001, having been introduced a few years earlier by Williams. She is now a trustee of the BSO.

To support Berkshire Health Systems in its fight against the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), visit berkshirehealthsystems.org/COVID-19ReliefFund.

source: https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/kim-and-james-taylor-donate-350000-to-bmc-in-covid-19-fight,601124

VARIETY.COM — James Taylor Helps Boston Hospital Take On Coronavirus With $1 Million Donation

By Chris Willman

Sending some relief close to home, Boston native James Taylor and his wife, Kim Taylor, have made a $1 million donation to Massachusetts General Hospital to help with the institution’s efforts to deal with the coronavirus pandemic.

“There is no question that it’s a point of pride for New Englanders to claim the MGH as their hospital — our hospital — and this is especially true today with the threat coming from a new and insidious virus,” Taylor said in a statement. “Kim and I want to be part of this fight. We have been so inspired by the courage and sacrifice of the health care heroes in the trenches who are working so hard to protect us all.”

James Taylor’s biographical details make it clearer why this might be personal for the singer-songwriter, beyond just widely shared local pride. The singer was born at the hospital, and hIs father, Isaac, was a doctor who completed his residency, served as chief resident and conducted research at the MGH.

The gift to Mass General allows the hospital to determine where to best direct the donation, be it purchasing supplies and equipment or going toward research into treatments and prevention for COVID-19. The money will go into the MGH President’s Emergency Response Fund, set up after the Boston Marathon bombing for sudden needs like these.

“The generosity of James and Kim Taylor will not only help Mass General respond to this outbreak but will also provide a meaningful morale boost to our caregivers, the many staff who support them, and the scientists who are working to defeat this scourge,” said the president of Mass General, Peter L. Slavin. “The Taylors have long provided comfort and hope through music, and this latest gift embodies that same sense of humanity and sends a heartening message to our staff that their efforts are appreciated, and they are not in this fight alone.”

Kim Taylor has her own strong ties to the institution, having served on the board of the MassGeneral Hospital for Children for the past five years. Four years ago, the Taylors helped raise $2.6 million when he performed at a benefit event for the MGH Cancer Center.

source: https://variety.com/2020/music/news/james-taylor-kim-donation-massachusetts-general-hospital-coronavirus-1203544429/

ROLLINGSTONE.COM — James Taylor Donates $1 Million to Boston Hospital for Coronavirus Relief

By Claire Shaffer

Boston native James Taylor and his wife, Kim Taylor, have donated $1 million to Massachusetts General Hospital to aid in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There is no question that it’s a point of pride for New Englanders to claim the MGH as their hospital — our hospital — and this is especially true today with the threat coming from a new and insidious virus,” Taylor said in a statement. “Kim and I want to be part of this fight. We have been so inspired by the courage and sacrifice of the health care heroes in the trenches who are working so hard to protect us all.”

Kim Taylor called the coronavirus pandemic an “unprecedented time of deep concern,” adding, “The MGH is a place that is looked to for leadership — clinical, scientific and ethical — in humanity’s fight against the danger that is around us. We are proud to support a medical center that is leading the way on so many fronts.”

James Taylor has deep personal ties to MGH: he was born at the hospital, and his father, Isaac, was a doctor who completed his residency there, serving as chief resident and conducting research on the premises.

The $1 million donation will go directly toward the MGH President’s Emergency Response Fund, established after the Boston Marathon bombing to deploy emergency resources and aid. In fighting the novel coronavirus, these funds are being used for in-house testing, establishing a patient hotline, emergency accommodations at the hospital, expanded telemedicine capabilities, and new personal protective equipment such as gloves and face masks.

Source: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/james-taylor-coronavirus-donation-972825/