#threetunetuesday: Chasing James Taylor

---

If you have been following me for a while, you know that I have been to a fair share of concerts in my life. Despite that fact, I still have a handful of artists/bands that I would love to see live. They would be considered my "bucket list" shows.

I was able to cross one off earlier this year when I saw George Strait at the Buckeye Country Superfest down in Columbus, OH. A year or two ago, I got to cross another one off my list when I saw Def Leppard down in Detroit at Comerica Park.

James Taylor has always been on my list as well, and I almost got to see him several years ago, but the weather and some other circumstances made it impossible for us to go see him. I had the tickets and everything, it just wasn't meant to be.

That brings us to now, when Friday this week I was supposed to drive a short distance with @mrsbozz to see James Taylor and his Allstar Band live at an outdoor venue. Things were shaping up nicely, the weather looked decent, the distance isn't too far, the venue is nice, and then I checked my Facebook account last night.

According to the official James Taylor page on Facebook, he is suffering from laryngitis and it sounds like his next three or four shows are going to be cancelled and rescheduled. I haven't gotten anything from the venue yet, but I expect it is just a matter of time.

Thankfully, the new show date that they listed works with our calendar and we should still be able to go even though it will be two months later than planned. I guess whatever James needs to do to keep his voice good makes a lot of sense.

Anyway, in honor of that, I am going to share three of my favorite James Taylor songs with you this week for #threetunetuesday sponsored by @ablaze.

---

Direct Link

---

James is such an amazing storyteller. His songs have a great way of taking you to a different place. He is also pretty dang funny too. I was so looking forward to just hearing him tell some of his stories on the stage.

I guess I just have to wait a little longer. "Sweet Baby James" to me is a perfect example of his ability to tell a story. There is a rumor that Taylor Swift was named after James Taylor, so her family must have been huge fans. I have to believe that love for James Taylor was at least a small influence on her amazing ability to tell a story through song.

James has a pretty specific style and sound, if you get a chance though, you should check out Ben Taylor. That's James's son and on many of the songs, he sounds just like his dad. It's pretty crazy.

---

Direct Link

---

This next clip is from a much earlier time in James' career. You can definitely hear the youth in his voice compared to the earlier clip. However, even back then he still had his sense of humor and that iconic sound. It's actually pretty impressive to hear just how little his voice has changed over the years.

I can't say the same for some artists I have seen.

"Carolina in my Mind" is another song that tells a great story. It's been covered by a lot of other artists, I think my favorite would be a version that The Killers did a few years back. If you like them you should check it out.

It's hard to believe this clip is from several years before I was even born. Also that a song so old would still have such an impact on me and so many others even today. That just goes to show you the power of music and song.

---

Direct Link

---

Finally, I had to include the song "Mexico" by James Taylor. The main reason is because not only is James an amazing singer and songwriter, but he is also a pretty fantastic guitar player. I remember when he was a guest judge on The Voice and Blake Shelton was talking to him about how complex the guitar intro to this song is.

I've actually heard that you can go to the James Taylor website and he offers guitar lessons on there. I have never checked it out myself. I am assuming you have to pay or something, but when I finally get around to learning to play the acoustic guitar that has been sitting in my closet forever, I should check it out.

If you have never heard of James Taylor before, shame on you! I'm just kidding, if you haven't though, I suggest you check out his two greatest hits albums first. From there you can start expanding into some of his newer stuff and digging deeper into his older stuff.

The two greatest hits album should keep you content for quite some time.

---

Direct Link

---

Finally, I know this last video isn't going to show, but I wanted to include it anyway as a bonus. There was a movie a while ago called Funny People that had a lot of famous comedians and artists in it. I honestly don't remember watching the movie, but I do remember this small piece where James Taylor was doing a gig at a "My Space" show and he has a pretty funny line about Facebook after one of his songs.

You will have to click the link to see it, and I was hoping the clip actually had a bit more context, but it is still pretty funny.

Especially given how most of us feel about Facebook these days!

So there you go. Even though I likely won't get to see him this weekend, I still wanted to share a little bit of James Taylor with all of you!

---

Sports Talk Social - @bozz.sports

---

---

All pictures/screenshots taken by myself or @mrsbozz unless otherwise sourced