There are few musicians in the world that are globally recognized as classics. James Taylor is certainly one of those few. Yet, last weekend in Long Island at the Ross School, celebrities gathered for a benefit concert where the likes of Paul McCartney, James Blunt and Jimmy Buffett appeared. But, of those in attendance, not too many knew Taylor’s songs.
“I don’t know much of his music,” James Blunt admitted to us before the show started, “but I’m looking forward to it.” So no favorite songs, then? “I’ll have to get back to you at the end of the night,” he said.
I’m a huge James Taylor fan and have been for as long as I can remember. And I’m not even a musician. How could you possibly not know any of James’ tunes? The guy has been singing songs for five decades. He’s sold 40 million records. He has 40 gold, platinum and multi-platinum records, 5 Grammys, and was inducted in to the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Oh, he’s in the prestigious Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, too. If that wasn’t enough, the biography on his website reads:
James Taylor’s music embodies the art of songwriting in its most fundamental form. He has been at it for decades: transforming introspective meditations into lyrics, melodies and harmonies that comfort and reassure the listener with the sense that these sometimes painful, sometimes celebratory moments are a part of life, shared by us all.
A part of life. Exactly. To Blunt, Barton, Brinkley: go to iTunes, there’s lots to listen to.
The New York Magazine has more in its Party Lines.
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