You’ve Got a Friend
I went to a James Taylor concert this past Friday night.
I had seen him perform back in 1973 at the Wofford College Coffee House. I saw him again when the Student Government of Baptist College in Charleston, South Carolina sponsored his concert. Since I was the vice president of the student council that year, we had front row center seats.
I closed my eyes a good deal during the concert this time just to see if James really did sound like the same person I remembered from 33 years ago.
He did.
Of course he looked different…but don’t we all. He doesn’t have much hair now but his voice is still the same. I hear, when you get older, that your voice will not stay at the same quality it was when you were younger. For me, as a singer, that has been the case.
With James it was different. He truly did sound just like he did years ago…except better.
The stage he performed on was a quite simply set…really sort of like the intimate stage he would perform on years ago. I think you’ve probably seen some of the more “seasoned” performers who, as they have gotten older, have added lots more lights and action to keep their performances fresh and current.
Not James.
He had the same simple, relaxed, performance he did during his early career start. His visuals did not include lasers. He did not use the young dancers or singers backing him up. In fact, he used a screen to show a choral group of people his age to sing backup. He also showed lots of pictures of him in his younger years…the ones most of the audience remembered from years ago.
The personal touch he shared with his listeners is just what we were there for. After all, many of us at this age grew up humming “You’ve Got a Friend.” Even today, I will hum it every now and then. I bet many of you are humming it right now.
In many ways, we all saw an old friend at that concert. Isn’t it great to have connections and memories like that?
My wish for you today is that you enjoy and appreciate the simple things in life…especially old friends.
~ Joellen