JT

As in James Taylor. I grew up listening to James and always liked his music. . .still do. So I gave this PBS show a look this week and have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a tribute to the artist as "Man of the Year" and various artists covered his songs. Although the performers were well represented from the "Shut Up And Sing" crowd (Dixie Chicks, Jackson Browne, Sting, Bonnie Raitt, and Bruce Springsteen) not a single shot at George Bush was made the entire night. . indeed not a political note was sung. Maybe they have really learned to do what Laura Ingraham suggested in the title of her book, later stolen by the Chicks).
But I digress. . . the show was about the music and so shall be this post. Two of his songs were covered by others in which the covering artist may well have eclipsed the original. . . Carol King's You Got A Friend, and Bonnie Raitt's Rainy Day Man, both of whom performed. The Chicks did a really nice version of Shower the People and Sting did justice to Close your Eyes. I had never seen Keith Urban perform, but was impressed with his rendition of Walking Down A Country Road (and that boy can play the guitar like a rock star). But for me the highlight of the evening was Allison Krauss' rendition of Carolina In My Mind. I first heard of her in the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack and think she is terrific. She has a voice like no other that was clear, beautiful, and haunting.