Carole King and James Taylor Bring a Long Friendship to a MusiCares Duet
By the time Carole King and James Taylor met at the MusiCares tribute, they had been sharing stages and recording rooms for decades. Their history was there in how easily they found a common pace on ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow.’
The event was held in King’s honor, recognizing her work in music and her charitable contributions. A song she helped write made for an especially personal choice.
King was 71 and Taylor was 65 when they sang the ballad together. They came to it with years of experience performing it and with the attention the song’s unanswered question still asks of a singer.
Taylor plays acoustic guitar and fills in around King’s lead with harmony. His part is gentle enough that the shifts in her vocal remain clearly audible.
The pairing prompted enthusiastic comments. One listener put the surprise plainly: “We all get old. But OMG, they can still bring it!!”
Watch the performance
Much of the performance comes down to small exchanges. A look between them or a brief pause can cue the next phrase as clearly as anything in the arrangement.
King wrote the song with Gerry Goffin, and The Shirelles made it a hit. The duet brings the writing back into an intimate frame, with the co-writer herself singing the question.
King’s piano and Taylor’s acoustic guitar leave enough space for the words. When he joins her on a line, the harmony adds warmth without changing the sense that the lyric is being spoken directly.
The MusiCares setting makes the history of the partnership part of the performance. Two people who have known each other through years of making music are sharing one of the songs that links them.
The two have reunited for other concerts and tours. The ease of their phrasing here makes clear why they continue to return to each other’s company onstage.
The arrangement has a way of drawing a familiar tune back into focus. You can hear the hesitation in the lyric, even if you already know how each line ends.
King gives the words weight with the grain of her voice. Taylor’s softer tone catches the edges of her phrasing and gives the shared passages a different color.
The question at the heart of the song is direct enough to work across generations. In this performance, the two singers deliver it with the familiarity of an old conversation.
Listen for the moment their voices meet in the chorus. The blend is close, with each singer’s character still easy to make out.
That is one reason the video continues to have an audience outside the gala. The performance offers the intimacy of a duet even in an occasion organized around a career.
King and Taylor had a long history to draw from when they walked out together. The song gives you a few minutes to hear that history expressed as timing, harmony and trust.
Two more performances to explore
Carole King ft James Taylor – YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND Live at the Troubadour 2010
‘You’ve Got a Friend,’ recorded live at the Troubadour in 2010, gives the pair another familiar song to share. Hear how the accompanying voices gather around its reassuring refrain.
Carole King & James Taylor – It's Too Late (Live at The Troubadour 2007)
Their Troubadour performance of ‘It’s Too Late’ brings a different feeling into the same partnership. King and Taylor give its more resigned lyric room to settle.
