James
Taylor Dazzles Americans For July 4 At Tanglewood
Photo: Becky
Shook / INA
By
Joel Leyden
Israel News Agency
Tanglewood,
Massachusetts --- July 4, 2011 .... There are few, memorable treats
that one can expect when celebrating America's birthday. Sure,
we have the fireworks, the parades and the picnics. But to hear
the soft, sweet sound of James Taylor coming not from a DVD but
directly from this music legend's mouth to your ears, is almost
surreal.
The
staff of the Israel News Agency were guests of a magical
place called Tanglewood
in the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts.
We sat among a crowd of over 17,000 under clear New England skies.
James Taylor had joined the legendary Boston Pops and its master
composer John Williams for July 4.
James
Taylor was now doing his fifth of his annual benefit weekends
for the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BOS) at its summer home in
Lenox. About 60,000 people have paid between $21 and $115 for
one of Taylor's four weekend performances - adding millions of
dollars to the BSO coffers.
James Taylor,
63, resides in the Berkshires and understands that the BSO is
the key for a regionwide community of artistic enterprises.
As we entered
Tanglewood, it brought back memories of Woodstock. Long, green
fields awaited the mass human blanket that was allowed to bring
food and drink onto the sprawling, well manicured lawns. For those
who could afford, they took their wooden seats at what is known
as the Shed - or the indoor amphitheater.
As James Taylor
sang, it was as though all had transformed into little children
listening to a bedtime story. The crowd was hypnotized by Taylor
and many stood up and danced slowly to his many tunes including
his most classic - You
Got A Friend.
Taylor engaged
the audience several times during the concert and at one point
when a woman yelled out: "James marry me" Taylor responded
with a smile: "I can see that this is going to be an interesting
evening."
To hear James
Taylor could only take one back to the 70's and memories of once
having hair, no stomachs, Carol King and Carly Simon.
Taylor, who
was born in Lenox, Massachusetts and raised in Chapel Hill, North
Carolina, is a five-time Grammy Award winner and was inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor's 1976 Greatest
Hits album was certified Diamond and has sold 12 million US copies.
James Taylor
broke into the music industry with the help of Beatles Paul McCartney.
In late 1967, Taylor moved to London where he recorded some demos
which found there way to Peter Asher, who was A&R head for
The Beatles' newly-formed label Apple Records. Asher showed the
demos to Paul McCartney, who later said: "I just heard his
voice and his guitar and I thought he was great and he came and
played live, so it was just like, 'Wow, he's great." James
Taylor became the first non-British act signed to Apple. The rest
is history.
Before saying
good night, James walked over to a few of his fellow musicians
and whispered something in their ears. He was going to once again
bond with his massive audience with a song that spoke about driving
in traffic - for getting to Tanglewood is a one lane, country
road. Taylor turned a headache for many into wide, happy smiles.
The staff
of Tanglewood and the Lenox Police deserve much praise for their
efficient organizing efforts. To accommodate up to 20,000 people
in a few hours is no easy task. But they made it appear simple.
Before leaving
the well groomed lawns, one would pass a white tent where James
Taylor T-shirts were being sold for 35 dollars. It could have
been 50 and we still would have bought a few, being proud of the
man and the music which has romanticized us for over three decades.
As we drove
through Lenox, we visited the Judaic store Concepts
of Art. Owned by Lynda Strauch, Concepts of Art Lenox Judaica
has grown to include several thousand Jewish ceremonial objects,
fine art and jewelry, showcasing international artists and products
from Massachusetts to Jerusalem.
Donna Tukel
who buys most of the beautiful objects of Judaica, showed us around.
It was a delight to find a touch of Jewish community among these
vibrant green trees, rolling hills and the tranquil lullabies
of James Taylor and friends.
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