Carolina in My Mind
"Carolina in My Mind" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by James Taylor | ||||
from the album James Taylor | ||||
B-side | "Taking It In" (1969 original) "Something's Wrong" (1970 reissue)[1] | |||
Released | February/March 1969 (original UK & US releases) October/November 1970 (US & UK reissues) | |||
Recorded | July–October 1968 | |||
Genre | Folk rock, country pop | |||
Length | 3:36 (original) 3:57 (1976 version) | |||
Label | Apple | |||
Songwriter(s) | James Taylor | |||
Producer(s) | Peter Asher | |||
James Taylor singles chronology | ||||
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"Carolina in My Mind" is a song originally written and performed by American singer-songwriter James Taylor. It was Taylor's second single from his 1968 self-titled debut album. Taylor wrote Carolina in My Mind while in England recording for the Beatles' label Apple Records, and the song's themes reflect his homesickness at the time. Released as a single in 1969, the song earned critical praise but not commercial success. It was re-recorded for Taylor's 1976 Greatest Hits album in the version that is most familiar to listeners. It has been a staple of Taylor's concert performances over the decades of his career. Carolina in My Mind is one of the most covered contemporary folk songs of all time, the most famous of which being covers by American singer-songwriter John Denver and American rock music duo the Everly Brothers.
The song was a modest hit on the country charts in 1969 for North Carolinian singer George Hamilton IV, released as the first single from his 1970 album Back Where It's At (see George Hamilton IV discography). Strongly tied to a sense of geographic place, "Carolina in My Mind" has been called an unofficial state anthem for North Carolina. It is also an unofficial song of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, being played at athletic events and pep rallies and sung by the graduating class at every university commencement.[2] The association of the song with the state is also made in written works of both fiction and non-fiction. It has become one of Taylor's most critically praised songs[3][4] and one that has great popularity and significance for his audience.[3]
Song and recordings
The song references Taylor's years growing up in North Carolina.[5] Taylor wrote it while overseas recording for the Beatles' label Apple Records. He started writing the song at producer Peter Asher's London flat on Marylebone High Street, resumed work on it while on holiday on the Mediterranean island of Formentera, and then completed it while stranded on the nearby island of Ibiza with Karin, a Swedish girl he had just met.[3][6] The song reflects Taylor's homesickness at the time,[7] as he was missing his family, his dog and his state.[6]
Dark and silent late last night,
I think I might have heard the highway calling ...
Geese in flight and dogs that bite
And signs that might be omens say I'm going, I'm going
I'm gone to Carolina in my mind.
The original recording of the song was done at London's
The song was first released on Taylor's eponymous debut album in December 1968 (February 1969 in the United States), and was later released as a single in the UK in February 1969 and in the United States in March 1969.[12] However, owing to the same problems which plagued the release of the album (namely, Taylor's inability to promote it due to his hospitalization for drug addiction), the single's original release reached only No. 118 on US pop charts and failed to chart in the UK.[12] Indeed, Taylor had fallen back into addiction during the London recording sessions,[5][13] and his line about being surrounded by Beatles had been immediately followed by "Still I'm on the dark side of the moon".[7] Following the success of Taylor's second album, Sweet Baby James, and its hit single "Fire and Rain", "Carolina in My Mind" was reissued by Apple as a single in October 1970[1] and rose to No. 67 on the U.S. charts. (A previously unreleased acoustic demo of "Carolina in My Mind" was issued as a bonus track on the 2010 Apple Records remastering of James Taylor.) In Canada, the song peaked at No. 64 in the spring of 1969,[14] then recharted in the fall of 1970, reaching No. 39.[15]
Different versions of both this song and "Something in the Way She Moves" were remade by Taylor for use on his 1976 Greatest Hits album because of the difficulty of obtaining licensing rights from Apple during the 1970s and because of uncertainty about where the Apple masters were.[16] The new recordings were done in October 1976 at The Sound Factory in Los Angeles and production was again done by Peter Asher.[17]
This rendition of "Carolina in My Mind" had a slower tempo than the original, and accompanying Taylor on acoustic guitar were experienced LA session musicians
The 1976 re-recording was also included on Taylor's 2003 compilation The Best of James Taylor.
Chart history
James Taylor:
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George Hamilton IV:
Crystal Mansion:
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Later appearances
"Carolina in My Mind" became a staple of Taylor's concert repertoire, appearing in the set list of virtually every Taylor tour.[26] A 1992 performance of it was included near the end of Taylor's first live album, 1993's Live. The audience reaction demonstrates that the song has great popularity despite never being a hit single: there is immediate cheering as the first notes are picked out on Taylor's acoustic guitar, and further cheering as soon as he starts to sing. By this era Taylor's always-excellent touring band[27] was using four backing singers. Arnold McCuller, David Lasley, Kate Markowitz, and Valerie Carter featured strongly in the arrangement, continuing the emphasis on the song's harmonies that had begun with the 1976 remake.[7]
The song has been included in a number of Taylor's concert video releases, including 1980's James Taylor: In Concert at the
In a 2020 interview with Parade, Taylor stated that "Carolina in My Mind" was his favorite song to perform, explaining, "Because my audience responds well to it, and because it wears well, I like 'Carolina In My Mind'. I play it almost every time I perform, and I haven't tired of it."[37]
Other versions
While "Carolina in My Mind" did not gain much attention from the public upon its original release, it did from other artists. It was a No. 29 hit on the American country charts and No. 3 hit in Canada in 1969 for North Carolinian singer George Hamilton IV.[38] The Everly Brothers also released it as a single in 1969, under the variant title "Carolina on My Mind", but it failed to chart;[39] this was later collected on their 1994 box set Heartaches and Harmonies. Evie Sands also touched upon it in her 1969 album Any Way That You Want Me.[40]
The song was recorded by
The song subsequently became so identified with Taylor that other artists recorded it less frequently,[citation needed] but still by the late 2000s there were some 60 albums (including compilation reappearances and albums from Taylor himself) that featured it.[45]
Sense of place
"Carolina in My Mind" is strongly associated with its geographical place
"Carolina in My Mind" is also an unofficial song of the
In October 2006, Taylor returned to the campus to receive the school's Carolina Performing Arts Lifetime Achievement Award.[48] University chancellor James Moeser said to Taylor, "We love you. We love what you do and how you represent this university."[48] Taylor said, "It's strange but somehow compelling to come home and sing it. It draws a line through my own personal history and connects me again to a place that I go to in my dreams, a landscape that will forever be a part of me."[48]
"Carolina in My Mind" is the corps song for the
Some of the song's lyrics are used as an epigraph in the 2001 Celebrate the States series volume on North Carolina[65] and in the 1983 reference book America the Quotable.[66] News providers have used "Carolina in My Mind" as a title for stories about the state's politics, economy, and outdoor activities.[67] The song's geographical association also appears in fiction, including in Carly Alexander's 2004 novel The Eggnog Chronicles[68] and North Carolinian Sharyn McCrumb's 2006 novel St. Dale.[69]
Although it was North Carolina that inspired the song, it is popular in
"Carolina in My Mind" has been mentioned by members of the Carolinian diaspora. Prize-winning North Carolinian writer
References
- ^ a b Castleman, Harry; Podrazik, Walter J. (1976). All Together Now. Pierian Press. pp. 75, 93.
- ^ a b c d Keyes, Brian (June 24, 2019). "Alumni reflect on how 'Carolina in My Mind' stays with them years after graduation". The Daily Tar Heel. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
- ^ ISBN 0-8065-2348-4.
- ^ ISBN 0-394-73535-8.
- ^ ISBN 0-7119-9193-6. pp. 137–140.
- ^ a b c d e Taylor, James (2007). One Man Band (DVD). Hear Music.
- ^ Allmusic. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
- ^ a b c d James Taylor (Vinyl inside gatefold). James Taylor. Apple Records. 1968.
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ISBN 0-345-25680-8.
- ^ Landau, Jon (April 19, 1969). "Album Reviews: James Taylor". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on March 29, 2010. Retrieved August 25, 2017.
- ^ a b Enos, Morgan (December 6, 2018). "James Taylor's Self-Titled Debut Turns 50: A Track-by-Track Retrospective". Billboard.
- ^ a b White, Long Ago and Far Away, pp. 142–144.
- ^ Halperin, Fire and Rain, p. 70.
- ^ a b RPM Top Singles, April 28, 1969
- ^ a b RPM Top Singles, December 12, 1970
- ^ a b White, Long Ago and Far Away, p. 240.
- ^ Warner Bros. Records. 1976.)
{{cite AV media notes}}
: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link - RIAA. Retrieved February 16, 2022.
- ^ Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959–2004
- ^ ISBN 0-89820-089-X
- ^ a b "Cash Box Top 100 Singles, December 12, 1970". Archived from the original on June 8, 2015. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
- ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. January 3, 1970. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
- ^ "Item Display – RPM – Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. January 1, 1970. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
- ^ "George Hamilton IV Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research.
- ^ One newspaper story per year (and tour) is presented as supporting evidence.
Note that some years Taylor did not tour (2000, 1988) or played only a small number of shows, usually benefits (1993, 1991, 1989), making fewer stories written.
The early 1980s and before are harder to access through online newspaper archives.
- "Spotty connection leaves some struggling to hear James Taylor at ...". South Florida Sun-Sentinel. May 1, 2009.
- "Taylor thrills crowd with songs and humor". Deseret News. August 5, 2008. Archived from the original on August 14, 2008. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
- "Set List: James Taylor & Carole King, Troubadour, 2007". Variety. November 28, 2007. Archived from the original on April 27, 2009.
- Holden, Stephen (November 11, 2006). "Mr. Taylor Goes to New York, Telling the Tales Behind the Tunes". The New York Times.
- Stout, Gene (August 29, 2005). "James Taylor's songs sound all the sweeter live". Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
- "In Concert, Natalie Maines Reiterates Opposition to Bush". CMT. October 4, 2004.
- "Taylor charms Fargodome crowd with well-paced show". Fargo Forum. August 3, 2003.
- "James Taylor Easy on the Ears, Mind". St. Paul Pioneer Press. November 11, 2002.
- "10,000 enjoy James Taylor lovefest". San Antonio Express-News. August 27, 2001.
- "Orchestra and James Taylor: SRO". The Philadelphia Inquirer. October 6, 1999.
- "Concert hopscotches through 30 years of James Taylor hits". Kansas City Star. June 28, 1998.
- Strauss, Neil (September 12, 1997). "Lullabies and Little Sighs, With Memories, of Course". The New York Times.
- "Taylor Blends Soul With Insights". Los Angeles Times. September 19, 1996.
- "Taylor Makes Right Move to Play With Strings ...". Los Angeles Times. November 6, 1995.
- "Classic Taylor shows why he's here". Austin American-Statesman. August 5, 1994.
- "'Sweet Baby James' musical show Taylor-made, but doesn't always fit". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. August 2, 1992.
- "James Taylor hits memory lane at full stride in Telluride". The Gazette. Colorado Springs. June 29, 1990.
- "James Taylor's Singing Has Something to Say, but It Was Said Long Ago". Los Angeles Times. November 16, 1987.
- "A Critical View of Audience Participation Pop Music". The Sacramento Bee. November 14, 1986.
- "Taylor's melodic soft touch charms audience". Daily Collegian. October 7, 1985. Archived from the originalon March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
- "Dandy Man Davis Audience Falls for James Taylor at Rousing Concert". The Sacramento Bee. May 12, 1984.
- "James Taylor's Old Songs, New Audience Mix Amicably". Toledo Blade. February 22, 1982.
- "Spotty connection leaves some struggling to hear James Taylor at ...".
- Allmusic. Retrieved April 3, 2009.
- ^ ISBN 1-4116-3477-2.
- Columbia Music Video.
- CMT. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
- ^ Risberg, The James Taylor Encyclopedia, p. 73.
- CMT News. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
- ^ Various artists (2006). A Musicares Person of the Year Tribute Honoring James Taylor. DVD: Rhino Entertainment.
- ^ "James Taylor & Carole King – Live at the Troubadour". Street Date. CBS Radio. April 29, 2010. Retrieved June 25, 2010.
- ^ "James Taylor & Stephen Colbert – "Carolina in My Mind"". January 19, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
- ^ "Singer/Songwriter James Taylor Performs at Democratic National Convention". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
- ^ Farber, Jim (February 14, 2020). "'You Don't Know Me'! James Taylor Says These 7 Songs Tell His Life Story". Parade. Retrieved March 5, 2020.
- ISBN 0-8230-8291-1.
- ISBN 1-84195-615-5.
- Allmusic. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
- Allmusic. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
- St. Petersburg Times. p. 69. Retrieved February 16, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ISBN 0-89820-140-3.
- CMT News. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
- Allmusic. Archived from the originalon June 3, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
- ISBN 0-89587-269-2.
- ^ "Hey, James Taylor – You've got a ... bridge?". Rome News-Tribune. May 21, 2002. Archived from the original on January 31, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
- ^ a b c d e Hoppenjans, Lisa (October 2, 2006). "You must forgive him if he's ..." The News & Observer. Retrieved June 28, 2009. [dead link]
- ^ Waggoner, Martha (October 17, 2008). "James Taylor to play 5 free NC concerts for Obama". USA Today. Associated Press. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
- ^ White, Long Ago and Far Away, pp. 55, 57.
- ^ White, Long Ago and Far Away, p. 61.
- ISBN 978-0-8203-2868-3.
- ISBN 0-306-80852-8.
- ^ "Carolina in My Mind: The James Taylor Story". The Chapel Hill Museum. Archived from the original on August 15, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
- ^ a b Blythe, Anne (March 3, 2009). "Service will honor slain student leader". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on March 11, 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
- ^ "UNC Marching Tar Heels – Duke Pep Band Trip Schedule" (PDF). University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. November 29, 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 20, 2011. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
- ^ Ferreri, Eric, Jane Stancill and Sue Stock (May 12, 2008). "A roundup of the graduation ceremonies". The News & Observer. Archived from the original on May 13, 2008. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ "The University of North Carolina Spring Commencement 2009". UNC General Alumni Association. 2009. Retrieved June 28, 2009.
- ^ "News: Vote for Anoop on American Idol". The UNC Clef Hangers. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ^ "UNC Clef Hangers – Carolina In My Mind". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
- ^ "Eve Carson Remembrance". University Gazette. March 18, 2009. Archived from the original on March 23, 2009. Retrieved April 4, 2009.
- ^ "Carolina In My Mind". Drum Corps International. December 12, 2010.
- ^ "A Soldier's Heart". Amazon. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
- ^ "The 82nd Airborne Division (Fort Bragg) All American Chorus sings "Carolina in My Mind" at the WBHS 3rd annual Army JROTC Veterans Day ceremony". Star-News. Wilmington, North Carolina. November 10, 2016. Archived from the original on December 20, 2021.
- ISBN 0-7614-1072-4.
- ISBN 0-87196-331-0.
- ^ "'carolina in my mind' Archive Search". Retrieved June 28, 2009.
- ISBN 0-7582-0643-7.
- ISBN 0-7582-0777-8.
- ^ "Soundtrack for this state now playing". The Post and Courier. November 15, 2007. Archived from the original on August 1, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2009.
- ^ "Jill McCorkle – 1958". The American Collection. Retrieved June 29, 2009.
- ISBN 1-56025-618-4.
- ISBN 978-1-4165-7098-1.
External links