James Taylor was the reason I got into playing fingerstyle acoustic, and why I purchased my first half-decent one, a Japanese Epiphone Texan, in 1970.
I heard Fire and Rain and instantly switched from loving electric blues and rock to this, with its major and minor 7th chords, delicate trills and introspective lyrics that no lovelorn 20-year-old could resist. I learned Sunny Skies, the B-side to the single Country Road, then spent literally months trying to master the intricate You Can Close Your Eyes, which remains one of my few party tricks.
The first time I met James was in a posh London hotel where I was due to interview him. I’d primed my Sony Walkman with a new tape, had my questions all written out, and a copy of Guitarist with Mark Knopfler on the cover, as the two had recently collaborated on Mark’s song Sailing to Philadelphia.
James was late due to previous items running over, so my time was cut short when the PR came in and said, “Five minutes, gents,” to which James jokingly retorted, “I’m enjoying this; we don’t have to listen to her.” The stern response was: “Actually James, you do; you’re live on BBC Radio 2 in 30 minutes.”
Back in those heady days, Guitarist had a covermounted CD and my ploy was to record our cover star saying, “Hi, [artist name here]. Welcome to this month’s Guitarist CD.” However, I was not sure if someone this exalted would acquiesce to my request. So I could hardly believe it when James reached over to the guitar case sitting opposite, lifted out his Olson acoustic, and played 20 seconds or so of improvised chordal noodling.
He then said, in that unmistakably mellifluous tone, “Hi, James Taylor here. Welcome to this month’s Guitarist CD.” We bade our farewells, I checked that my recording had worked (it had!) and I made my way back to our offices in Ely, grinning all the way.
Your Smiling Face
The next time we crossed paths was in 2015 when James agreed to an interview and video lesson, which, for me, was a huge coup. I went with photographer Joby Sessions and videographer Martin Holmes, two trustworthy pros who always do a perfect job with no fuss.
He said to me, “I learned many years ago that if we all get along, I have a good time, you have a good time and we get a really nice result out of it”
I had taken my Martin OM-42 so the guys could use me as a photo prop until the main event turned up. It was leaning against the wall when James walked in and nonchalantly ran his fingers across its strings. I said hi and introduced everyone.
Throughout the fairly long and drawn-out proceedings he referred to each of us by our first names, gave a fantastic video lesson, then thanked Joby and Martin for making the session less of a chore than it might otherwise have been.
He said to me, “I learned many years ago that if we all get along, I have a good time, you have a good time and we get a really nice result out of it.” We certainly do, and at the time of writing that lesson has received 3.9 million views on the Guitarist YouTube channel.
The next time we spoke was over the phone when James released American Standard, his album of jazz classics done in his own inimitable way.
He remembered me, asked how I was, and a couple of my questions went something like, “These American songbook standards, done your way, sound like they’re your compositions,” and, “There’s so much space in your music; sometimes it seems like it’s almost as important as the notes themselves.”
He said, “Only a musician would ask questions like that,” which I took as a huge compliment.
I’m not sure when James will revisit the UK, but when he does I’m hoping we can get to chat again. I’d definitely go to see him, though, as his live shows are always pure class, especially with his all-star band which includes Michael Landau on guitar and Jimmy Johnson on bass guitar. Here’s hoping.
- This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.
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