James Taylor and Carole King at Tanglewood
Together for Fourth of July Fireworks
By: Charles Giuliano - Nov 21, 2009
Staff, trustees, patrons and the media gathered yesterday in the grand ballroom of the posh Cranwell resort in Lenox as the Boston Symphony Orchestra announced the schedule and plans for the 2010 season of Tanglewood.
Looking out at the audience Mark Volpe, managing director of the BSO, acknowledged Kim Taylor a former employee of the orchestra who met and later married James Taylor. She is now a trustee of the BSO and played an important role in the five day James Taylor and Friends event last season which brought in a record attendance of 61,000.
How to top that?
Well, surprise. The audience bolted out of their seats with enthusiasm and applause to greet James Taylor and Carole King who made an unannounced appearance at the pre Thanksgiving event.
They first performed together at the Troubadour in Los Angeles in 1970. This formed a friendship and working relationship which is being celebrated with a world tour that starts in March down under in Australia.
1970 was a very big year for both of them. King was among the musicians who assisted Taylor in the studio when he recorded the seminal album Sweet Baby James. She released Tapestry in 1971. It was on the top of the charts for fifteen weeks and remained on the charts for six years with a longevity that ranks it fifth overall. The album earned four Grammy Awards including Album of the Year, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Record of the Year "It's Too Late" and Song of the Year "You've Got a Friend."
During that era they toured together and I reviewed their performance at the old Boston Garden for the Boston Herald Traveler. It was great fun and is sure to be so again. At that time I also covered her solo performance at the Music Hall (now the Wang Theatre).
By pushing up the season's announcement before the Holidays a pair of tickets to the Taylor/ King concerts, on July 3 & 4, are certain to be popular gift items. It will be something to evoke sweet dreams but tickets will actually go on sale in Mid-February. While they will perform on Saturday and Sunday the Boston Pops has been relocated from mid season to segue into what are anticipated to be sold out performances with some 18,000 tickets per event. This the limit set by agreement with the town of Lenox. It is the limit that the local roads can manage.
Folks coming for the weekend are likely to want Pops tickets for Friday night. Or look for another Berkshire event to round out the three day holiday weekend. Pops concerts always sell well. But if they add a headliner for a guest spot the weekend could run clean. That has the potential of 54,000 shed and lawn tickets. Minus the comps. This would certainly jump start the season not just for Tanglewood but the entire Berkshire arts and tourism community.
For the July 2 concert Keith Lockhart will lead the Pops in the 125th anniversary of "America's Orchestra" including tributes to past Pops directors Arthur Fiedler and John Williams.
On Sunday, July 18 Lockhart and the Pops will return for an afternoon performance featuring another Berkshire neighbor, Arlo Guthrie. That evening will mark the Ozawa Hall debut of the phenomenal singer and actress Audra McDonald in a performance of the New American Songbook. It will be a long day at Tanglewood punctuated by a quick dinner break. Arlo Guthrie will appear in a benefit for Shakespeare & Company on December 5. It is sure to be sold out so act quickly for the unique opportunity to hear him in an intimate setting.
During her opening remarks, Nancy Jane Fitzpatrick, a BSO Trustee, and owner of the Red Lion Inn, in Stockbridge, and Porches, in North Adams, noted the importance of a healthy and thriving Tanglewood to the overall economic well being of the Berkshires that largely depends on cultural tourism. Last summer was tough with a combination of miserable weather and a poor economy. The end of summer, five day Taylor event filled hotels, shops, and restaurants in what might otherwise have been a complete washout.
It is anticipated that Taylor and King headlining the Fourth of July weekend will be a blockbuster sellout. Surely there will be a scramble for choice seats and top hotel reservations. It will be a great boost to sekk out the first major weekend of the summer. Hopefully, that will create excitement and momentum. It will be an incentive for other arts presenters to front load their season's with top attractions.
Already Barrington Stage Company has announced that it will open its season in Pittsfield with the ever popular musical Sweeney Todd. What a tasty treat with its unique recipe for meat pies.
Front loading a season with the biggest events and most popular attractions also makes sound sense economically. When the BSO, predictably, sells out that James Taylor/ Carole King, Pops weekend the money will sit in the bank by March earn interest for a several months before having to pay any bills. That's just wise business planning. Selling out the first shows will also prove to be a boost for promoting other events. It is likely that while purchasing those Taylor/King tickets individuals will look into other performances and vacation packages.
There was a gush of excitement when King and Taylor spoke briefly with the audience. They described themselves as troubadours. Apparently when they reformed the original band for a 50th reunion they decided to take it on the road. In this case for a round the world jaunt.
A couple of years ago King made a surprise appearance in Lenox during a birthday celebration for JT. She recalled warmly how exciting that had been and she welcomed "Any excuse to return to Tanglewood."
As Volpe correctly noted they are two of the greatest all time songwriters. Before she emerged as a performer and recording artist she wrote hit tunes in partnership with Gerry Goffin. They married in 1960 and divorced in 1968.
They labored in New York's famous Brill Building or Tin Pan Alley. The first Goffin King chart buster was "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" in 1960 for the Shirelles. They wrote "Some Kind of Wonderful" for the Drifters in 1961 which was covered by Marvin Gaye in 1968. Little Eva had a hit with "The Loco-Motion" in 1961. My personal favorite is "Up on the Roof" with the Drifters in 1963. A tossup with "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" for Aretha Franklin in 1967.
With plans in place for a blockbuster holiday weekend to launch the season of 2010 let's hope that the momentum sustains through Labor Day.