In November of 1970 James Taylor and Carole King first performed together at t
he Troubadour on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood, California. Taylor had just released his debut album for the Beatles’ newly formed Apple Records and King was finding her way as a first time solo performer even though by then she was a famous songwriter with a string of hits for other artists. When they returned to the club for a two-week co-headlining run in 1971 their lives were somewhat different. That summer Taylor’s “Fire and Rain” was topping the charts and King’s landmark Tapestry was on its way to making her a music superstar. Thirty-six years later, in November 2007, James Taylor, Carole King and members of their renowned original band “The Section” (featuring guitarist Danny Kortchmar, bassist Leland Sklar and drummer Russell Kunkel) returned to the Troubadour for a three-night, six-show run to celebrate the venue’s 50th anniversary. Those historic shows are documented in Live at the Troubadour, a special 2-disc CD/DVD available May 4th from Hear Music/Concord Music Group. This remarkable recording, culled from these unforgettable shows, features 15 songs and 75 minutes of pristine video and audio including stunning performances of the pair’s most beloved hits such as Carole King’s “So Far Away,” “It’s Too Late,” and “Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” as well as James Taylor’s “Carolina in My Mind,” “Sweet Baby James,” and “Fire and Rain,” to name just a few. Read more…
Follow closely: Raul Midon and his twin brother were both born blind at birth. Raul became a musician, writing songs and playing guitar for a living; his brother became an engineer at Nasa. Midon once performed a Stevie Wonder song at Carnegie Hall; his brother probably has listened to a Stevie CD. So out of those two, take a guess at who not just met Stevie first, but had was invited to his house.
Not Raul.
His brother met Stevie at a technical conference. He didn’t even play any of Raul’s music for him. But that’s fine with Raul, because he can now boast that he has a duet with Stevie on his album, and performed with him in Los Angeles.
Born in New Mexico, and living in New York since 2002, Raul Midon is one of those artists who come along every few years that once you hear their music, you have to tell all your friends to listen. Midon can make a trumpet sound, without actually playing the instrument, and without making it sound like a cheesy novelty during a performance. His guitar skills are superb and his voice is a youthful mix of James Taylor and Donnie Hathaway.
After gaining fans opening for Joss Stone and performing on Letterman, Midon is now playing in front of packed audiences in North America. It’s a show not to be missed, as he can make a fan out of anyone.
Raul Midon spoke with andPOP while in Toronto to launch his tour. Watch the interview to see him speak about making his major label debut album (“State of Mind”), working with legends like Stevie Wonder, and how he makes that trumpet sound.
