By — Anne Azzi Davenport Anne Azzi Davenport Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/hear-james-taylor-sing-songs-new-album-world Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter One old, one new: James Taylor sings two songs for the NewsHour Arts Jul 1, 2015 5:43 PM EDT James Taylor sings “Shower the People” for the Newshour at his recording studio in New York City. James Taylor has continued performing over the past decade, but it’s been 13 years since he released an album of all new material. “Before This World” dropped in June and “Sweet Baby James” fans responded; the album hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 recently and, as Taylor told the Newshour’s Jeffrey Brown (watch that interview below), his audience is still very important to him. “I definitely feel like a working musician and there’s value in continuing to show up, show up for the audience, show up for the song writing, for the whole process. I think in my case, it’s something that’s evolved over time and I’ve kind of stuck with it.” But he was concerned going into this project. “I was worried about whether or not the lyrics were going to make it through. It’s such an episodic kind of thing. I’ll write for an album and release and album and then, afterwards I’ll be finished with that for years, tour the album. In the beginning there was a kind of energy, an urgency to express myself and the songs just couldn’t be held in.” Jeffrey Brown talks to Taylor, now 67, about wearing his heart on his sleeve in his songs and finding satisfaction in his life and career. He also told the Newshour that the influences on his music are more varied than fans may realize and, in fact, that notion helped inform the name of this album. “I became who I am in the mid-60s and I was influenced by the family record collection which was a lot of Broadway, but also Brazil. I got a large amount of Afro-Cuban music, folk music, rhythm and blues but I was also hugely influenced by the sort of Church of England hymnals, you know, all those hymns that I was forced to sing as a student. They are sort of the foundation of Western music, the way I see it,” he said. “I am a product of that time which really looked back at the Fifties and Forties as well, you know, so Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly Pete Seeger. So in a way, I am a messenger from another time, before this world!” Taylor sang “Shower the People” for the Newshour when we visited him recently at his recording studio in New York City. Watch that performance above. And he rehearsed his new song, “Angels of Fenway,” with his band. It’s an ode to his beloved Boston Red Sox. “In the case of ‘Angels of Fenway,’ I knew I wanted to write about that series against the Yankees in 2004 when we were down three and couldn’t afford to lose one game out of the next four and then went on to sweep the cards. That was the relatively rare thing of having a song I know I want to write in advance and setting out to write it.” Taylor and his band rehearse “Angels of Fenway,” off of his new album, “Before This World.” After an overseas tour earlier this spring, Taylor continues to tour this summer with his final concert fittingly at Fenway Park in August. By — Anne Azzi Davenport Anne Azzi Davenport Anne Azzi Davenport is the Senior Producer of CANVAS at PBS NewsHour. @Annedavenport
James Taylor sings “Shower the People” for the Newshour at his recording studio in New York City. James Taylor has continued performing over the past decade, but it’s been 13 years since he released an album of all new material. “Before This World” dropped in June and “Sweet Baby James” fans responded; the album hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 recently and, as Taylor told the Newshour’s Jeffrey Brown (watch that interview below), his audience is still very important to him. “I definitely feel like a working musician and there’s value in continuing to show up, show up for the audience, show up for the song writing, for the whole process. I think in my case, it’s something that’s evolved over time and I’ve kind of stuck with it.” But he was concerned going into this project. “I was worried about whether or not the lyrics were going to make it through. It’s such an episodic kind of thing. I’ll write for an album and release and album and then, afterwards I’ll be finished with that for years, tour the album. In the beginning there was a kind of energy, an urgency to express myself and the songs just couldn’t be held in.” Jeffrey Brown talks to Taylor, now 67, about wearing his heart on his sleeve in his songs and finding satisfaction in his life and career. He also told the Newshour that the influences on his music are more varied than fans may realize and, in fact, that notion helped inform the name of this album. “I became who I am in the mid-60s and I was influenced by the family record collection which was a lot of Broadway, but also Brazil. I got a large amount of Afro-Cuban music, folk music, rhythm and blues but I was also hugely influenced by the sort of Church of England hymnals, you know, all those hymns that I was forced to sing as a student. They are sort of the foundation of Western music, the way I see it,” he said. “I am a product of that time which really looked back at the Fifties and Forties as well, you know, so Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly Pete Seeger. So in a way, I am a messenger from another time, before this world!” Taylor sang “Shower the People” for the Newshour when we visited him recently at his recording studio in New York City. Watch that performance above. And he rehearsed his new song, “Angels of Fenway,” with his band. It’s an ode to his beloved Boston Red Sox. “In the case of ‘Angels of Fenway,’ I knew I wanted to write about that series against the Yankees in 2004 when we were down three and couldn’t afford to lose one game out of the next four and then went on to sweep the cards. That was the relatively rare thing of having a song I know I want to write in advance and setting out to write it.” Taylor and his band rehearse “Angels of Fenway,” off of his new album, “Before This World.” After an overseas tour earlier this spring, Taylor continues to tour this summer with his final concert fittingly at Fenway Park in August.