Why they are here

Yesterday was the last class on female singer-songwriters, with the subject being Carole King. This session really drove home to me the significant age range in the group: I am 10-20 years younger than all the other students. So although they were somewhat familiar with the more well-known material, none of them shared my passion for or knowledge of Carole King. After discussing her long career as a songwriter and her reluctant transition to performer, the instructor focused on her best-known album, “Tapestry,” with brief mention her earlier albums, “The City” and “Writer.” He then moved on to the next two albums, “Music” and “Rhymes and Reasons.”

Since he had lectured on Joni Mitchell last week, it was natural to compare and contrast the two. Joni Mitchell’s songs tend to be serious, with more complex music and lyrics. Carole King exudes joy, generosity of spirit, and warmth. No one could describe her music or lyrics as complex or ambiguous. The two women also took rather different roads in their careers. One of the criticisms that people often have of aging pop stars is that they just keep doing the same thing year after year, song after song. Joni Mitchell tried to branch out in other directions, but this did not serve her career well, and she never again received the attention she achieved in her early career. Carole King, on the other hand, is criticized for doing essentially the same thing over and over again. This is true of James Taylor as well, and in fact at a concert Barry and I attended a few years ago, he introduced a song by saying “here’s a new song, sounds pretty much like all the old songs,” which clearly resonated with his audience. He never expressed this better than in “That’s Why I’m Here,” when he sang

Oh, fortune and fame’s such a curious game,

Perfect strangers can call you by name,

Pay good money to hear “Fire and Rain”

Again and again and again.

Some are like summer, coming back every year.

Got your baby, got your blanket, got your bucket of beer.

I break into a grin from ear to ear

And suddenly it’s perfectly clear:

That’s why I’m here,

Singin’ tonight, tomorrow, and every day,

That’s why I’m standing here,

That’s why I’m here.

I may be old and boring but as far as I can tell, when someone does something as well as Carole or James do, there is just no need to change it! I am happy to continue to fill my life with their music as long as they are able to keep it coming.

Love,

Rebecca