Click below to see James and the Tanglewood Festival Chorus (TFC) perform “My Traveling Star” (from the 2002 album, October Road) at Carnegie Hall’s 120th Anniversary Gala in 2011.
James and the TFC have performed together at Tanglewood many times, and members of the TFC appear on James’s 2007 live album/PBS special, One Man Band.
James’s “Sister Kate” has a new album, Why Wait, set for release on August 6!
Rolling Stone has just premiered the album’s first single, a cover of The Beatle’s classic “Good Day Sunshine”. Click now to hear Kate’s version, and visit RollingStone.com for more about the new album.
Joni Mitchell’s classic album Blue (which features James on guitar on several tracks) was released 50 years ago today. In honor of that monumental occasion, James contributed his reflections on album opener “All I Want” to a Los Angeles Times feature which explores the album track-by-track.
Joni and I had our year together back when a year lasted three times longer than it does today. Inflation. That was 50 years ago. My time with her included the recording of her Blue album and I remember the sessions at A&M studios with Henry Lewy behind the glass. There was never anyone else there, just Joni, Henry and me. I played on “All I Want”, “Carey”, “California” and “A Case of You”. She had written most of those songs in the previous year or so while traveling. Maybe that’s why so many were composed on the 3 string dulcimer: a nice, portable axe. Playing along with her spare dulcimer accompaniment, I was free to substitute whatever chords I felt, which was great; but of course it was her voice and the songs themselves that make Blue so singular. To his credit, Henry Lewy had us keep it simple. I believe that some of those songs were written with me in mind although, as a songwriter, I know how songs can have their own bent truth. Still, I hear a personal message in several of them, her gift to me: the lucky one. “All I Want” allows itself to be light and loving, as sunny a sentiment as we are apt to hear from her. It’s a kiss, a love note, a valentine. Listen to her laugh at the end of “Big Yellow Taxi”, like that…
~ James Taylor
Click here to read the full piece on LATimes.com. James also shared some thoughts about Blue with the New York Times. Click to read that article on NYTimes.com now.
This week James is sharing another rare clip from the 2011 Carnegie Hall 120th Anniversary Gala, which also served as the first in a four-part series honoring James that year, Perspectives.
Click below to see James open the show with William James McPhee’s own story, “The Frozen Man”, a song from his 1991 album, New Moon Shine.
The stylish gent seen here is modelling one of the new James Taylor signature baseball caps, available now in black or white, alongside many other new and vintage designs in the recently re-launched JamesTaylor.com Store!
Pick up yours today!
Click now for Eric Newsome from Colmar, France’s cover of JT’s “Carolina In My Mind”, which first appeared on James’s self-titled debut.
Click now for Rolf Maibaum, from Duisburg, Germany, performing “You’ve Got A Friend”, which James recorded on his 1917 album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon.
If you’d like to be featured in a future edition of this newsletter, please send us a link to your video!
James got there!
Since 1974, James has performed at the world-renowned Carnegie Hall over 40 times! Click below to see James with special guest, Vince Bruce, performing the classic Lead Belly tune “When I Was A Cowboy”. They are joined by James’s longtime friend and singer, Arnold McCuller.
This performance is from Carnegie Hall’s 120th Anniversary Gala on April 12, 2011. The concert was both hosted by and curated by James as part of a special 2011 four-part series, called Perspectives, honoring his career. The series allowed James to explore cultural, historical and musical themes/genres and to invite guest performing artists of his choosing.
Click here to see what Carnegie Hall has just announced for their live concerts in 2021-2022!
This week we’re featuring Timothy Holmes’ version of JT’s “Millworker” (a song from James’s 1979 album, Flag).
And Dave Harris’ cover of “Our Town”, written by Randy Newman and originally recorded by James for the 2006 film, Cars.
If you’d like to be featured in a future edition of this newsletter, please send us a link to your video!
James’s longtime pal, Michael J. Fox, turns 60 today! Happy birthday!
To hear from Michael how JT’s song “That’s Why I’m Here” became so important for him personally, visit NPR.org here and skip ahead to the 13:40 mark on the audio player.
Photo: Kevin Mazur, New York, 2004
James and Jackson Browne have added three new shows to their summer US Tour! The JamesTaylor.com presales for these newly announced dates (in Columbia, MD, Syracuse, NY and Saratoga, NY) will begin Tuesday, June 8 at 10 am ET. Please see the Schedule page for the complete list of dates and locations.
To participate in James’s exclusive ticket presales, please make sure you are signed in to your JamesTaylor.com account. If you do not already have a free JamesTaylor.com account, please click here to create one now.
To see all of James’s upcoming dates, including his 2022 Tanglewood show, please visit the Schedule page.
Please remember: There will be a limited number of presale tickets available to JamesTaylor.com members, which can sell out quickly — sometimes within the first 30 minutes. The number of tickets available for the fan presale is not in James’s personal control but his hope in offering the fan presale is to give fans the first opportunity to purchase great seats. If you are unable to purchase tickets in the presale, you will have a second chance during the public sale. We apologize in advance for any frustration.
Photo: Paul Hooper