Questlove Supreme: James Taylor

Quest Love Supreme is a production of iHeartRadio. Here we Go, Suprema Some Supremo.

Roll called Suprema Supremo, Roll call Suprema Supremo, Roll Suprema Supreme.

Roll call.

It's ladies night. Yeah, let's celebrate. Yeah, get down on it.

Yeah, Wron James Taylor Supreme Supremo, Role called Suprema So Supreme.

Roll call.

My name is Sugar. Yeah, I'm the engineer. Yeah, and I love great music. Yeah, that's why I'm here.

Supreme Supremo. Roll Supreme Supremo.

Roll call. My name's Boss Bill.

Yeah.

And I ain't no sucker. Yeah, what are we doing? Roll call Brother Trucker, Supremo.

Supremo, Roll Suprema So Supremo.

Roll call It's like yeah.

And James Taylor, Yeah, I ain't no lame, no fine range, roll call Supremo, Son Sun Supremo.

Roll I'm James. Yeah, I came up here today. I guess I'm here for you. I'm ready, suprem.

We'll take it. Supremo. Roll call Sprema, Roll.

Supremo, roll call Suprema Sun Supremo, Roll call Suprema Supremo.

Roll call.

Nice. All right, we got through that.

Just barely know.

Ladies and gentlemen, we have less than an hour to unravel the complex artistry of over fifty years. That is our guest today and probably one of my favorite singers ever. I'll just say on a personal note to be selfish on the show that has my name in it, James Taylor is. His voice, in my opinion, is probably hands down. I believe one of the most beautiful, soothing, warm sounds that I can recall. It's kind of my trusted blanket, you know. It's a favorite uncle, my favorite teacher in school.

I'm sorry, but I'm gonna take it as a compliment.

Yeah, James sale in hr Man, I'll be the first to admit that, Well, one, I'm probably the only media personality that doesn't care if that song was about you.

She's already said that it wasn't about him. Well, I know, I know, but you.

Know, mainly mainly mainly because I think I pegged it in my head. With a voice that soothing, I'd never bothered to even look under the hood. I don't know if I subconsciously didn't want to look under the hood because it's just like that's my trusted blanket. And in the week and a half of preparation that I decided to search under the James Taylor hood.

Yikes, I was wrong.

And you know, his his newest book Breakshot, or his audiobook Breakshot Audible. Yes on Audible Exclusive. So it's a must be for us an here for every artist I ever worked with. This is literally like I'm not even

Everyone's looking at each other.

Like, yeah, man, it's like we got We've only got you. We got fifty one minutes left his voice. Thank you for coming on the show. You know, you know the special this is Zarah is here. Yeah, and it's not even a political figure thereah one of my managers only here. Whenever someone's here.

Discuss politics and Chris, it does it out, especially, you know, if she's in the room watching how how are you?

I'm good, I'm good. Yeah, you know, it's it's like a We've got a couple of projects that are coming out at the same time and a tour h starting up in April, so you know, it's a very like a it's a busy season, and it's it's kind of a promotional season, you know, and where you take your stuff to market. And that's always been you know, that's always been a kind of a difficult passage for me.

You know.

I mean back in the beginning, you'd sort of go to Rolling Stone and hope that some intern who is interviewing you, you know, cutting your teeth on on your your project and reviewing it, that that could be really uh just just made it a daunting kind of a process to get into. But but you know, I've been feeling really good about this, this particular project and the people I've met and talked to about it.

So you're saying, even this late in the game, when you create product, you still go through the process of its critical reception. It's how it fares well with your fan base and whatnot. You still have those.

Absolutely, you know it. It's still a part of the work. It's it's where you you know, music used to happen. Well, it used to happen in the street, and it used to happen in the in the on the farm. Uh. But it used to happen in the church and in the court, you know, those who are or in academia somehow, you know. And I think that having music exists in a commercial context where it's saleable, is a better choice.

So when you're in your formative years at least for like your first five or six albums, are you obsessively looking to see like do you take a Lester Bangs seriously or even a Christa Gal Or I'm trying to figure out, like who is the the pitchwork of his day, like the the critic that or John.

Landau, John Lando or Hillman out out in Los Angeles or Robert Hillman.

Yeah, yeah, so that that would mean something.

To you, absolutely, I mean, just inas much as it it either pushes the project along and gets it out there for people to hear or it doesn't. That was always the priority. In fact, I made such ruinous deals and decisions early on, mostly due to bad advice, that I never really saw records as a source of income. They never were, so I always just looked at it as a way to support touring and also as a way to just get my thing out there, to get my art out there.

Well, that's weird to hear, because I thought I was the only artist that was like, eh, record sales whatever, like when we tore that's how I make my money. And the records so were like the flyer that you advertise, Hey, I'm coming to town, that sort of thing.

Well, it's also the medium that we work in if you're a recording artist, and I think that's something I've gotten better at over time. I cringe when I listened to my early stuff, but over time I've gotten better at recording and gotten closer to what I hear in my mind when I when I think about it too.

I'm just curious what James Taylor album makes you. I I I'm kind of concerned. I'm like, oh, please, don't let it be one of my favorites.

Ye.

Yeah, I'm like like for you, like, what's what's your like?

Yeah?

What what album that Every fan like, Oh my god, oh my god, you're just like whatever.

Well, the first one, the James the one.

But even then, it's like, if I recall correctly, you've spoken a few times that you know you were creating that right when the Beatles were creating.

The White Album. Yeah, White album, correct, So like whenever the Beatles weren't tried in the studio.

You were there, that's right, we were. They let you race the board and just yeah, they did. I guess. There weren't digital cameras in those days, so you you you couldn't take a picture of it and expect to have it the next day, right, a polaroid, I guess. But no, I never actually thought about that. Man.

Did you realize that you were in the eye of probably the most celebrated creative storm in music history?

I did. I was aware of that in a sort of But you know, in those days, I really I lived, you know, a day at a time, maybe a week at a time. I just didn't I didn't really expand beyond what was sort of in the room, you know it all. Yes, it seemed surreal to to have been, you know, a year prior to that, I'd been here in New York and my band had failed, and I'd sort of limped back to North Carolina to lick my wounds, you know, and then lo and behold, a year later,

You know, how did even worried about you get to to Paul and George?

Were you the first artist sign to? Yes, okay, I was.

The first artist signed. And my lucky break was that my main partner actually through most of my musical life as man a guitarists from from New York, lives in Los Angeles, now named named Danny Kortchmark, Cooch and Coach had backed up Peter and Gordon, a sort of British invasion group like Chad and Jeremy. They had had a World Without Love was a song of Theirs and Knight and Rusty Armor, you know, sort of a British novelty duo,

Up at uh. I love how casual that just comes right, you know, It's like, yeah, let's just see if the beatles.

Here and the way Peter remembers that the day we went up to I got my guitar in my little cardboard case and I follow him up to, uh, this building in Baker Street in London where their temporary first offices were in and he, uh sort of installs me in a room and says, is there a beadle in the house? Leans out into the hall.

And that's amazing, that's amazing.

And I say, I say it's as Peter remembers it, because because I myself, the whole day is just like blur. Yeah, I mean I was. I was like made for one ten and plugged into two twenty. You know, it was a totally total reference, totally shocked.

You know.

Well, okay, we brought up Peter Asher, who's such a at least I consider it. I mean, would you say that Asher is like one of the Mount Rushmore figures of what I think of when I think of the California sound or definitely that.

So how what what is that description?

Because if someone that's not familiar with your work, like I don't know how your album's got in my household, but they were there because and it wasn't like I mean, now they have titles for it soft rock, yacht rock, or whatever they want to call it.

But yacht rock that's good, I know.

Well, you know, it's made this sort of niche, comedic, you know, reference comeback thing, but that's made it cool again, like stuff that again a Lester bangs or a christa gal like, I'm better than this type of whatever, Like now it's worship and revered and those things. But how did you and Peter like figure out this plan to sort of is it folky?

Is it country? Is it blues leaning? Is it you know?

How would you describe the sound that you two molded that I felt really defined the next ten years of what pop music would be, the California sound if you will.

Well, yeah, you know I was. I was just playing on the guitar the songs that I'd written, and counting on a a sort of community of players. Russ Kunkle on the drums, coach guy named Lee Sclar playing the bass, Carol King on the on the piano. I basically was, but essentially I was counting on them to be, you know, to do head arrangements of my guitar arrangements, you know, so that you sort of pass it on to another musician,

You know.

This strange thing about well, actually it's still the case that often the time when the song is recorded for posterity is the first time it's played. You know, that's an odd thing that you don't, yeah, that you don't get to or even the seventh take. But the point is you haven't had a chance to tour it for twenty performances and sort of you know, nail it down and refine it. And I've always thought that would be a good way to go.

Okay, So the question I have about Sweet Baby James is how do you have an active record deal and you're still homeless, like, or at least I've heard you mentioned a few times that for that first album you're kind of just a nomad, like crashing on couches and how like was money just not available back then, or like how did you.

Well enough money was you know, and I didn't have a place to stay in Los Angeles, so Peter had a house at the corner of Olympic and Highland, and and you know, I just would crash there with at Peter's house while while we were recording in Sunset Sound.

Okay, right, no, no, no, yeah, let me clarify. It wasn't like he was sleeping on the street cords like it was all this guy out.

But I don't know.

In my mind, I just feel like there's a certain level of comfort that one has to have, at least I think in order to find their creative space. Where I've been in a few situations in which if my personal life is in shambles, that affects my creative output.

And so am I.

You know, to hear you hear describe that you were crashing on couches and you didn't have a house. I'm I'm wondering, like, is the the rest of the stress of of of not having roots pun intended? Does that affect your creative output or not?

You know, I never thought about it, but I think you're right. If I can think back to any two particular creative periods, it's always been a sort of protected period during the time that I'm that I'm writing, you know, And I think you're right. I think it does take that the songs for Sweet Baby James, that that first Warner Brothers album, that which you'd you know, rightly describe as sort of the the beginning of the California sound.

Were you somewhat aware of what the marketplace was and how somewhat different than the marketplace that you were that this output was presenting itself. I'm not saying it was radically radically different, but you know, I feel as though, you.

Know, I definitely distanced myself and identified myself as being apart from music business. You know, to me, music business was still Dean Martin playing at the sands, you know in Las Vegas. Well, in fact, Dean Martin was a great singer and and and did some great songs, but at the time we identified that as being another generation. Yeah, that's right, sort of, so you want to avoid the Kopa tensil Tensil town. Yeah, I swore I'd never play

I said, ooh oh, even like, oh yeah, that's so funny, and how each artist. Okay, I'm slowly discovering that every clique or people that I would think were the establishment.

They have their I'm sort of yeah, I'm above.

That, which is weird because not like I see you as the establishment, but even now you're saying like in your way, like I'm rebelling against that.

And we very much wanted to to distance our else from it. And I mean we uh that's that was the sense in the you know, the zeitgeist in the in Los Angeles at the time was was that we belonged to a different generation and uh, you know, a sort of the sort of demographic bulge you know that happened after the war, that baby boom bulge in the population when it came to college age. It's sort of it manifested in a way with with FM radio too.

I wanted to ask I'll let you give you a question.

I wanted to I just want to say, hippies.

But that's the thing though, But I feel coming into the seventies, though, what I felt like there was this sort of air at least with like with with Neil Young's after the after the Gold Rush, that there was this sole disillusionment with with all the lofty ideas of what the hippies were trying to present in sixty seven sixty eight. It was kind of a more of a cynical thing, even though you didn't go that route, Like, was this your response to it, like just to be.

Establishment, like you know, I'm I'm a serious singer songwriter. I'm not.

Right. No. That was part of it too, is that there was nothing serious about it. You know, it was like it didn't have any pretensions. You know, Wow, was was the was the idea? You know? I mean, yes, I was judgmental of other music, but you know, I realize now that to be judgment metal of Frank Sinatra because he's he's my parents' generation, you know, is that's absurd?

Is hate you for bringing that up?

Next to the Beatles, I'll probably say that, Uh, soul music interpretations of your songs are probably the most interesting. That's really how I got to introduce to it. So let me tonight. I was going to say my obsession with Oscar Meyer. I mean I was three when three plus three came out. I thought it was boloney. I thought it was about lunch Ronaldsley, the way he announced it, his word, don't let me bolooney?

Yes, oh god, what did I say? Look, there's just.

No one knows what bolooney is anymore, so they plant baseballoney.

Look, we're not do not think that he was my My whole point though, was were you aware at all of how radical the soul music interpretations of your songs were like?

Because to me, even though yes, I love your version of Fire and Rain, but the Isley Brothers have this really notorious eight minute version of the.

Song that.

Almost wound up on every mixtape I've ever given a girl. So and on top of that, are you rather chagrined that for those that don't know the how the song came to be and what it's about and how you wrote it. How almost like Fire and Rain gets or most of your songs get misinterpreted because we just want to see it through our rose colored filter.

This is just this mentioned.

Ship.

This is always the second song on every.

It's like a minor to mature, Like, uh.

Yeah, they won't even get to the lyrics until four minutes in, Like they just stay here for it for.

Like five minutes. But I was gonna say.

The are you are you rather chagrined when people take your songs and sort of have it for the wrong meanings, Like I'm certain that it's been placed in movies, in romantic songs. You're like, no, this is about friends suicide and you know, all.

Right, and drug recovery. Yeah it's it's true, and you know, but but it's the emotional impact of the song that really counts. And I think that that that's why that that song resonated with people, because you know, and I think that the line I always thought I'd see you again, I think the islay said, right, that's basically the sort of the emotional core of it.

Like well, when I've seen it's always like someone rides to the train station too late and the love of their life already like left, or like at the the the airport.

Moment, like.

Commercial TV.

Yeah yeah, those two puppies, like.

Yeah, yeah, no, it is it's it's it's an emotional package, I think, and uh, and it that's what comes through more than the you know, the literal reading of the song, I think, and that's but that's the nature of music. You we don't get to decide about it. It's not a cerebral process. It either connects with us or it doesn't. And and to a certain extent to talk about it, although I talk about it a lot and think about it a lot. But but that's sort of you know,

Words of wisdom, time to get something.

Well so so, you know, so so we we put words together to to describe all kinds of things, the world,

To find a common emotion. So do you feel as though your.

Your voice Okay, now now I'm gonna feel like Chris Farley asking this. Your voice is really cool man, but you're just just your The tone and the sound of your voice is such a warm gift. Uh, that could possibly I mean, I'm certain that you could sing in her stand in by by Metallica, by Metallica, and it would just be the best feeling in the world.

Yeah, how did you?

I know the answer is going to be like, well, I've had this voice, and there's a gift from God or whatever. People people always say to avoid the question, but how did you develop your voice or what made you sing? And I guess you're a lower register like it's it's it's a rare thing to have that much impact under a tenor.

You know, that's a really good point. I've never you know, you're the first person I've ever spoken to who's who's actually put it that way. And I totally agree, I totally, I totally agree. You know. The way I look at it is if if you if you have the guitar as your instrument, you know, to sing down in the same range as the guitar itself is like it's muddy, you know, it's you. You really wish you could get above it. But I just don't have that that range.

You know, like and what was the story that I read about that you injured your voice because you were singing too harshly years and years ago? How does what is singing too harshly sound?

Like, let's not make them, you know, to sing harshly like what yeah.

No, it's uh uh, it's I was just singing in a club. Uh you know, six days a week, five shows, a night over, a li out, banned without any monitors and and eventually I just I got to you know, you get little blisters. I guess it's you.

So what did you learn as a singer in a way to learn how to take care of your voice?

That you did? It took a long time, and now I find that as I get older, you know, you you use it or you lose it. So I I exercise my voice every day. That's Tony Bennett told me that.

Yeah, so you do warm ups?

Yeah, well actually.

Like the seth Riggs variety, Like.

Right, yeah, I do, and but they're not warm ups. They're actually like a workout. It's a it's an hour long process and I do it every day.

Really okay, So I guess yeah, if you're working that, you're working out.

Like a trumpet player and you know his chops, his his armbro sure and his you know you got to keep it going or.

So okay, Can I ask what your daily workout is, like what time do you wake up in the morning and do you set time to create like at six am when everyone's asleep.

Do you ride at three in the morning when everyone's asleep, or.

I guess it's just that entertainment tainer's hours. I don't know what what's it like for you? When do you wake up? When do you wake up in the day?

Shut up?

First of all, Okay, as of this speaking, As as of this talking, I'm in a relationship with someone who absolutely insists I sleep eight to ten hours every night.

So he used to sleep three hours a night. Right. I used to be one of those people that's very proud to you know, whatever sleep sleep is death, right right. I was one of those people.

But you know I I had to get out the situation. No sleep is the best thing that ever happened in my life, which I'm like, kind of mad I missed out on it. But that said, I like, at least preliminary. I'm used to creating late at night.

Yea.

So I'll say that a lot of my practice was kind of a I'll say that's eighty percent of my career was somewhere between seven pm and eleven am, which Quincy Jones has a has a weird theory about what he calls what the alpha alpha state. The alpha state, so Quincy Jones would purposely have his his musicians come in around six pm. He feeds them a lot of food, give them a lot of wine, and they fall asleep in the break room. Then he weighed around midnight one am and wake them up one by one to start

Meter's running and you're saying, oh man, just just sixteen bars to go, you know kind of you know that right when?

Yeah.

So a lot of the times I'm reading something I can I can now play effortlessly without thinking, you know, and people see me a few times check my phone or eat cereal or while I'm playing. That's how effortless I am as a musician. But I mean for you, like, if you get an idea, do you keep always keep a device.

On you need to, Yeah, yeah, I sort of have to to trap those song ideas. Sometimes it'll come when

You know. Do you have performance anxiety?

Yeah? I do to this day, Yes I do.

What does that mean for you?

What is that so it's not a thing? Yeah? Okay, Hi, guys, I see you, like you still have anxiety.

You know, it calms down after a week on the road, but that first night. I'll definitely I've gotten a little bit more efficient at dealing with it. You know, I don't feel it until about half an hour before I go on, but it's sort of packaged in that time.

But I definitely must you be alone. To you, you're like, how do what a half hour before showtime? What are you doing?

That's right? You know, I put in contact lenses because I if I have my glasses in the in the stage lights, it's like it's hard to read, uh, and hard to read the set list and uh, but I don't use the teleprompter. I still remember the lyrics.

But you're better man than I don't know what artists.

Once you get past like sixty songs, then something's gonna you're going to forget the second verse to something.

Yeah, that's right, and and that does happen. Sometimes you you'll get to the what what more typically happens is you you'll get to the end of the second chorus and you say, wait a minute, was that the first or the second chorus? I just fini, you don't know, and you're not sure it's fun it is. Are we going into the bridge or are we going into the next verse?

May I suggest to you pulling what they call a Bobby Brown y'all say it sing that ship?

You know?

Okay, Well, actually I'm curious about something. So for the two songs that I got introduced to you in real time as a five year old in first grade, now I'm realizing that.

Is it the One Man Dog album? All right?

So all the songs are what I would call when when I refer to the end a series or vignettes of short, shortest songs, it's like a beatles the end.

That's how I referred it.

Yeah, it's like a it is they're they're compressed that there's not one of them that's longer than a minute, and and they're they're all they all lead into each other.

Yeah, but it's really great for kids because one of the first songs. All right.

The second song I've ever had to perform in second grade was Chili Dog. All right, Miss Lewynn made us all earned Chili Dog, No kidding, Yeah, dude, bless my heart, blown smoke up.

But yeah, with what was what was the reasoning for the way you structured that album? You know?

I realized that I had all of these short pieces, and uh, I just found a way to put them all together, like Little David play on your Heart. That's like, you know, I had a dog I lost, and I and I really shouldn't have had a dog, and I felt bad about it. You know, I was traveling too much to have my dog, and and you know.

So this is why I have a dog. There, that's true, poor guy.

Before we move on, though, Yeah, I know I encourage every listener to check out One Man Dog. I feel like it's overlooked and underrated and nobody really mentions it often enough.

So One Man Dog, You're right, Steve, I'm adding it right now? Yeah? Why? Okay?

So I don't know why I feel like I again my history of embracing the wrong album the wrong albums, and everyone's cannon.

I don't know about One Man Dog.

Because miss Lewin would play that in second grade, and you know they're short songs, they're easy to learn.

But why what were your at the time. You're on Warner? Correct?

I was on Warner at that point, So what's more Austin and those guys saying as far as like, yeah, we neede a single.

Well, they don't let me be lonely. Tonight was a single from that that album, and it did well enough too, and it also is covered more than any of my other songs, so it you know, it was a The thing that was a problem is that if you look at the album and count each one of those little songs, you know, little David, Chili Dog Jig, you know, all of those various little scraps, they wouldn't pay for individual songs.

I see.

So they's just certain songs you get publishing on, and certain songs just you don't on that record.

If your contract says that an album shall constitute ten songs and the record company, will you know, we'll only pay for that, you know, publishing on that many songs. If you want to put extras on, it has to come out of your piece. If if you wrote the song, it's that that's an obvious choice. But if if someone else wrote it then and if you do cover another person's song, you're going to have to pay someone will I mean, that's that's not you can't contract yourself out of somebody else's rights.

So any inspiring musicians just rewind that and listen to that one more time again.

Yeah, question, okay, true. If I'm afraid to ask this question, the I guess the myth of what you would call again the do you call it the Kenyon Ranch or or or just not the Canyon Ranch. There's there's a specific title for it, the California Lord. Well the click of right of Jonie, you like, was there an actual were you guys interacting with each other in the way that it was kind of the myth of it of the stories or how we see it in our heads, like oh, okay, yeah, you probably hung with Linda.

You know Linda Poker at Linda Ronstadt's house on Thursdays.

Or oh you know Peter Peter managed and produced both both myself and Linda. So so yeah, I saw a lot of Linda, and I sang on a number of her records. Carol and I were sort of in a band together and and toured together for for a long time.

Well, Carol, Carol King, you knew were even back in the Bridal days or no, I didn't.

Know her when she was here in town, although Cooch says that she came down to the night Al Cafe and met us when we were the house band down there, our ill fated Flying Machine days.

Yeah, but I'm saying that does he even is he a where the breakbeat or flying Machine? I don't know. I didn't even know there was one. Yeah, oh there's a bonterfid uh Diamond, Oh we go tell somebody there's a well known breakbeat.

Record.

I was like, that's part of the that's part of the hip hop diet. But good digress.

But uh, I think, oh so yeah, Linda and I had that connection, and Carol King and I had that Linda on set and Carol King and I had a connection. Joany and I were together for a for a year. We we we traveled together, we lived together. I stayed at her placing in Laurel Canyon and and we we also uh performed on each other's record. She's the background vocals on on You've Got a Friend and long ago on far Away Uh, She's you know uh and on a later song of mine called you Are My Only

In l A.

That's where Donnie Hathaway recorded. His version of You Got a Friend was made of the Troubadoor.

He skipped over the part where you where he played on Blue Mitchell's album for People who fantastic.

Fucking album Blue It is.

It is great Johnny, So.

Uh, why is walking Man the one album that at let's see Peter why he didn't produced.

It was the first album he didn't produce. Well, you know, I had made already my first four albums with Peter, and I really wanted to uh to Well, for one thing, I wanted to record in New York because I never lived in Los Angeles. I always lived East Coast, and I would stay out there with with Peter or at another you know place. But I did three albums, one with Spinosa and then two with with Warner Brothers staff producers Lenny Warrenker and uh and Russ Titelmann and and those guys who also.

Said that so casually like those are gods. Wait, they were just staff members.

Well, they were staff members at Warner Brothers.

And never I'm one second year old now that I'm realizing that all the good stuff, all the stuff they produced was on Warner which explains.

Why the sound was so consistent, why.

All those things were made at Amigo's studios right there in Burbank.

It never occurred to me that, like, oh, that they were staff producers. And I mean I came after an era where labels didn't have producers on standby to take all the artists in like people just chose on their.

Own who they wanted to work with.

But that explains why Russ okay, all the all the stuffs engineered the same and has the consistent sound.

And yeah, a guy named Lee Hirschberg was the was the staff, you know, that was the record company studio. So it was sort of like if you were making a movie on the on the Warner Brothers lot.

It was.

It was the musical equivalent of that. So we'd go to I made two albums, Gorilla in the Pocket.

In the Pocket one of my favorites.

Yeah, those were those were good days.

I felt as though I had sort of negotiated the process of being public, of going public. I felt I felt stable in my marriage, and I felt healthy and well, and it was just like you show up at the studio, you do your work for day, you go home. You know, it was very work a day. It was very stable place to work, the you know, the basically working for Warner Brothers, making these two albums, and I really I think that was a very good period for me.

Yeah, I mean it makes sense for a record label to have staff engineers to have a continuity to their sound. I mean I think that's a sort of a lost thing now with labels where.

There's just now I came after that era, so yeah.

I'm thinking of CTI and things and jazz labels and where it's just sort of like, you know, you always have the same engineers and the same producers, and it's the same studios and it's branding.

Yeah.

Yeah, labels used to do a better job of branding and having their own studio.

And also the music was made live, you know, it wasn't all a process of put down an idea with a keyboard and a drum machine, get a vocal on it, and then start making the rounds of people to overdub on it, which is which is a great way to record, but but it doesn't give you the same sound you know of if you have a room, you're micing the room, you're miking the players and and they're actually you know, like that Stan Getz album go from Me Panimas on it.

It just hit me Steve that one of our most heated debates ever about.

Music is over Her Town Too? Sorry, Uh, exactly. We always have this debate, all right, Oh I.

See yeah, yeah, so yeah, what's going on.

I don't know what's going on.

I'm afraid to ask. Yeah, well he knows, he knows what he heard on the radio.

No, dude, like I live Dawn and my dad like Dawn. My dad had all pop and soft ron covered. So there's at least eight of his records in my house right, not in real time, not like, oh I'm in the supermarket.

Oh it's James Taylor, that's James Tale.

My whole point was that we were going this this is ten years ago, where we're just nerded now on James Taylor classics and in my top five is Her Town Too, which it was on Dad's work.

Dad likes.

Right, right right, that was out when I was like ten. It's my sister's favorite record. So I'm telling him like Her Town Too, and it just and I was so angry.

For a week and I played it for him. I'm like, you what this No, I'm like and you know, I'm sorry.

Well different, different, all right, Well, I actually have a very similar story because this is this album right here from eighty five.

That's why I'm here.

My sister had the cassette and brought it on some family vacation, and that's why I know this one back to front and maybe don't know, you know a different one back to front, but it's it's the oldest sister story.

Basically, Yes, both of our oldest sisters put James Taylor that that song was a was a.

It was a real collaboration. And you know, uh, I wrote it with a guy named John David Souther, Watti walk Tel and Coots. I think we were all in the room. We were all, you know, staying up way too late. There might have been some substances involved. We we we ended up.

Wait he played, I don't mean to interrupt you. Yeah he he came with Stevie Nicks.

Yeah wait, you're trying to tell me the guy that I freaking did the intro to Edge of seventeen.

No, no, no, no, no no no, he co wrote the song.

Yes he did. Watty was was was in the room and I get.

To ask him this question. I wish everybody can see your face.

Right, Yeah, actually we should look it up and make sure he that's how I'm remembering it, but.

Oh I'm looking right now.

Yeah, does it say walked out?

Yes?

Oh great, great?

Right, yeah, I'm sorry when when when Stevie came on the Tonight should do Edge of seventeen, he came with her and we've been nerding out on him for at least three to four hours.

He is that's a that's another You know, there's so many of these really important musical figures who figure at least as deeply as the person you know who fronts the band, but you know who like the the you know, the the Wrecking Crew, like the you know that that the Motown.

House band brothers.

Yeah, you know all of all of these these people who Yeah, that's what I meant.

Yes, how did you choose these musicians?

You know it? The for the first album, the Apple album, I just ran ads in the music papers in London. There were two. There was one called New Musical Express and another one called Melody Maker, and we just went to the want ads and advertised for a keyboard player and a bass player and my friend Joel O'Brien came over to play drums. But but ultimately it was like, uh,

I think anyway, we know Scolar too, you know a studio.

Yeah he's yeah, Li's Lee's uh also uh, you know, one of these deep sources of music. And and I think there there are musical cultures like in in Japan and and in Europe and Germany where where people follow who these session players are and understand their value. But we you know, and and particularly back when when music was being made live uh uh in the studio. Uh you know, these these players were were you know, Linda Ronstadt depended on a guy named Andrew gold As as

No, well, yeah, even hip hop heads. We collect records, the first thing we do is look at the credits that are not played on it.

Yeah, I'll buy this record.

Like Bobby Hall playing percussion on on on your albums. It was an instant whoa, I know that name Bill Withers and dada, YadA YadA.

We're okay, so I asked, and of course Steve.

No just speaking about collaborations and things our listeners might not know that you on albums you've appeared on, like just things. I wanted to bring up Steve Winwoods back in the high life again singing background vocals on that song, and uh, that was that was a.

Rust that was a rough produced that particular track.

Yeah, and I mentioned you played on Blue You should really talk about that more. Uh Is it true you played banjo on Old Man?

Yes, that's right. Yeah, and Linda and I sang on that too. It was a session in in Nashville, back when Nashville was, you know, an earlier generation of Nashville, which I really didn't you know, identify with. I just the country music at the at that time seemed like another country to me, you know, it did it seemed like and I was I was raised in the South, so I had a sense of what the line was.

Uh?

Yeah, oh you've noticed that.

Did you notice?

Is that the only uh is that the only banjo you've you've recorded?

That's right. It was a six string banjo and it so you played it like a guitar and it just, you know, was stretched across that membrane that that a banjo has and made that sound.

But yeah, there's one more collaboration that I don't I don't think a lot of people know about. There's a song on an Art Garfunkel album cover of Sam Cook's What a Wonderful World.

Yes, that's right, Paul Simon and Art and and I.

Yeah, yeah, everybody takes a verse. It's really cool.

Yeah, we wrote an extra verse to it too. Don't know much about the Middle Ages, looked at the pictures and turned the pages, don't know nothing about no rise and fall, don't know nothing about nothing at all. And that that was an extra verse that we snuck into it so that all three of us got a verse.

Yeah, everybody should check that out. It's really pretty. We will I just guess.

I have a real quick question. Can you confirm something that I've always thought in my head and in the pocket. There's a song that you did with Stevie wonder, Don't be sad because your son is down? Did Stevie come up with that title? Yes, okay, I knew it. I knew it. What's it there? It's just because that's it just sounds like Stevie, you know, it sounds like a Stevie sentence.

What what Stevie gave me was this this thing that goes like a don't be sad goes your songs is down? Anyway, that's as much as here with the Tarry James Taylor, give it James Taylor, take it away. But the the the thing is that he gave me those chord changes, and he gave me but on the piano, and he gave me, uh, the title don't be said because your son is down? And he said, you know, take that And.

So I think that song and shove it. This is happening.

I haven't thought of that song in many a year. But we we we we did it live one year and it was really it was great. But you know, to to be able to work. Stevie was you know, it was one of those things. He sent it over and and called me up and and said, you know, give it a try, and and you you know, i'll take the publishing on this one. You take the publishing on the next one. And we we haven't got to the next one.

Yet, he said, I as in him.

Okay, guys, Stevie, it was you want.

Yeah, I just had a light bulb of the moment. Ah, damn, he wants to flip some ship. There's I know, like I gotta go, I gotta flip some ship. No, it's just okay, I have one last question then I gotta let you go. Okay, I do want to tell about traffic damn. Yeah, But also I want to ask him why was it necessary for the book to come out?

Right now? What's more important? All right, Well, I'll ask.

You about yes, yes, ask him off the air about traffic, tam, Yes, I'll ask you off the air. Okay, I mean that was some pioneer, Nash Damn near rapping and he was rapping on that you're rapped in nineteen seventy seven. Okay, why did you feel was necessary to share. Thank you for sharing your story? Yes, yes, why did you feel was necessary to at the stage in your life to share that story?

Audible came to me and suggested, sort of through my management, suggested that I do a project of some sort. And initially the idea was to take five songs of mine, play them and talk about them, you know, just sort of elaborate on them, and you know, to the extent that it would take up. However, many songs were necessary

Uh and.

But why why we why we decided uh, just now you know it. I took the fall off because I've got kids who are seniors in high school and they're going to that through that college uh, you know, admissions thing, and I wanted to not be on the road for that.

I wanted to be around.

So I just had the time to do it, you.

Know, thank you. Yeah, that it was necessary. I appreciate that. Thank you, thank you. Wow, this is one for the ages. Yeah, well on behalf of time?

Did you did? But did you you had a question about fire and rain you were thinking of asking?

No, no, I had a question about uh traffic jam, which what made you even think to approach the song like that? Because you know it's essentially hip hop.

You know, it was very four or five? Was that bad that day?

Yeah? You know it was written right there in the studio, right in and in the amount of time really that it took to sing the song. It was written, okay, it was freestyle and and Russ Kunkle took a foot pedal and a box, you know, like a box filled with packing peanuts and uh, and he attached the foot pedal to the box and played the top of it and with brushes, so it wasn't even a drum.

It was like, you know, and Russes.

Russ Russ was was you know, he's a very funky player. He's he's a great player, and and uh, you know, we just basically put it together and then harmonize the Uh. The only melody in the song is in the chorus. Damn this traffic jam. How I hate to be late. It hurts my motor to go so slow. Damn this traffic jam. By the time I get home, my sup will be cold. Damn this traffic jam. And and we so uh, you know, it just uh, it just came out, and it was a very la thing because you know,

And well, just because it came out in seventy seven, I was like, well, hip hop didn't exist yet. I didn't know if it was like post Woody Guthrie folky talkie thing.

Right, talking blues like Bob Dylan is talking blues.

Right.

But yeah, okay, you answered it, and I appreciate that. All right, we gotta go lazier gentlemen.

Wait, white people invented rapping.

Just want to let.

Just let everyone know, no.

Man on behalf of Wasp Bill and Sugar Steve and like, yeah, and sorry, Fante, you missed one. For the record, I'm baby Bill and uh even Sarah, am I missing somebody? Oh James Taylor and Julian Julian of course you're your family though.

Thank you very much.

This has been great man.

Thank you so much for Thank you. Well, this is our episode of Ples Love Supreme. Amazing. Oh I don't even know how to sign off on my own television.

Show, television show exactly.

We'll see you on that story on a plust Love Supree. All right.

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