By Shari Barrett
After meeting in Kent, England, international singers/songwriters Phoebe Katis and Dan Clews have been traveling the world together for ten years, performing the fabulously nostalgic The Carole King and James Taylor Story to appreciative audiences. The two friends, both married to other people – just as Carole and James were – share a mixture of renowned hits, album tracks, and history lessons about the two artists who single-handedly ushered in the singer/songwriter movement during the 1970s. While harmonizing to perfection, Katis rules the piano with the sensitivity necessary to realistically perform King’s songs of self-awareness and the longing to find your place in the world, while Clews’ artistic expertise on guitar and soundalike vocals add a real sense of introspective musical magic to Taylor’s.
The Carole King and James Taylor Story is filled with the icons’ songs as either duets or solos while sharing personal information about their lives together and apart. Beginning her career as a 16-year-old songwriter, Carole King spent years shaping the sound of the 1960s, writing hits for some of the biggest artists of the era including “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” and “One Fine Day” after marrying her high school sweetheart, Gerry Goffin, in 1959. Katis performed both songs to perfection.
In 1962, Gerry persuaded Carole to go on American Bandstand to perform her first single, “It Might as Well Rain Until September,” the next song performed. Insecure about her solo performance skills, nervousness got the best of her and the song was rated a 42 out of 100 points by a panel of teens. That rebuke led King to leave the industry as a performer for 9 years, while 6 years younger James Taylor was developing his skills growing up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, as the mental illness that plagued him most of life was already taking ahold of him at age 14.
In 1967, Taylor went to Greenwich Village in New York City, with musical partner Danny Kortchmar where they formed The Flying Machine, performing in the small Night Owl club. This was the first place Carole saw James perform his original music. And she never forgot him or his easy rapport with the audience while onstage, so different from her fear of performing on her own. For even though Carol had written over 400 songs recorded by other artists, she never thought her voice was good enough to sing her own songs.
While Gerry and Carole were immensely successful as songwriters during the early years of their marriage, personal differences led to their divorce in 1968. Feeling uprooted as a single mother, Carole moved to Los Angeles where she hoped to launch a successful solo career. She and James frequently crossed paths at local clubs, and their friendship blossomed based on their love of music and songwriting.
In November 1970, Carole King stood backstage at the Troubadour Club in Los Angeles, clutching the piano with trembling hands. For years, she had been the voice behind the voices -the writer of songs that defined a generation, yet rarely the one standing under the lights to sing them. That night was different. Encouraged by James Taylor, she was about to perform songs from her upcoming solo album Tapestry, letting the world finally hear her own voice wrapped around her own words.
Taylor stayed close. Guitar in hand, steady and calm, he offered more than music – he gave her something to lean on. Already rising with “Sweet Baby James,” on which Carole played piano and sang backing vocals, his presence softened the weight of the moment. Out front, the room was filled with watchful eyes. Joni Mitchell. David Crosby. The Laurel Canyon circle, record producers, and agents. People who knew music, and knew when something mattered. And then she walked onstage – and changed her life and world music forever.
Others songs performed during the show include “(Down on) Copperline,” “Knocking Around the Zoo,” “Home Again,” “(You Make me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” “Carolina in my Mind,” “Sweet Baby James,” “It’s Too Late,” “Fire and Rain,” “Up on the Roof,” “So Far Away,” “Beautiful,” “Shower the People,” “I Feel the Earth Move,” “You’re So Vain,” and “You’ve Got a Friend.”
Presented by Night Owl Shows (named for one of Taylor’s songs), The Carole King and James Taylor Story tour returns to Southern California on Monday, May 18 at the Palm Springs Plaza Theatre; Tuesday, May 19 at the San Gabriel Mission Playhouse; Wednesday, May 20 at the Scherr Theatre at Bank of America Performing Arts Center in Thousand Oaks; and Thursday, May 21 at Centre Theatre at California Center for the Arts in Escondido. All shows at 7:30 p.m. For tickets and complete tour schedule, visit https://www.nightowlshows.com/content/carole-king-james-taylor-story. I encourage everyone to grab tickets for this entertaining and nostalgic musical trip down memory lane!
