James Taylor picks his favourite songs of all time
James Taylor holds a list of favourite songs that includes contributions from various corners of the musical landscape, each adding nuances to the development of his own distinctive style. While his foundation is deeply rooted in the folk genre, Taylor draws inspiration from those who have excelled in that particular domain, as well as artists spanning a wide spectrum of musical genres.
While Taylor never underwent formal music lessons, his innate musical talent ran in the family. His mother, Gertrude, attended the New England Conservatory of Music and initially pursued a career as an opera singer before choosing motherhood. Moreover, his siblings, including Kate, Alexander, and Livingston, all followed paths in the music industry, turning their passion into a profession.
Although his family initially encouraged an academic path, Taylor felt a stronger calling elsewhere, leading to a short-lived experience at preparatory school. Following an extended stay in a psychiatric hospital during his teenage years, Taylor made the bold decision to relocate to New York City. There, he wholeheartedly pursued his musical aspirations by immersing himself in the vibrant Greenwich Village scene.
When it comes to musical preferences, Taylor has always been upfront about his likes and dislikes. For instance, when asked his favourite Britney Spears song, it’s likely that you would assume that he would choose one of the obvious ones like ‘Toxic’ or ‘…Baby One More Time’. Instead, he told CNN that his favourite was actually the singer’s charged anthem ‘Piece of Me’ because it’s a “good fighting song”.
Although the many songs associated with Christmas and New Year are plenty, Taylor has a particularly fondness for ‘Auld Lang Syne’, partially because of its charm but also for personal reasons. “A few years ago, we made a holiday album, and we recorded ‘Auld Lang Syne’ and I got a chance to get into the tune a little bit, and I really love that one. It’s obvious, I guess, but that’s it.”
When the spotlight is turned onto him, and he’s asked for a favourite within his own discography, Taylor answers ‘Carolina In My Mind’, because he’s “proud of that one” and it’s “the one I seem to perform most frequently”. ‘Carolina In My Mind’ is popular for its heartwarming musical arrangements, melody, and lyrics and has been a staple of Taylor’s concert performances over the decades of his career.
When Taylor wrote the song, he had recently moved to London and was inspired by his early connections with the Beatles. At the time, band members Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr had been blown away by his song ‘Something In The Way She Moves’, and decided to sign him to Apple Records. Speaking to Rolling Stone, Taylor explained how the priceless opportunity to work in close vicinity to the biggest band in the world somehow made him feel homesick.
Taylor said: “I was making my first album at Trident Studios in London, just as the Beatles were recording the White Album nearby. I realised how lucky I was to be listening to the Beatles playbacks and watching their process in the studio, but at the same time that I was surrounded by this holy host of my absolute idols, I missed my home in North Carolina. This captured that feeling of being called away to another place.”
