Fire and Rain Trivia Quiz

Answer: Mockingbird

Taylor and his sister Kate used to sing this song for its novelty factor when they were teenagers. After hearing it in concert by its original artists, Inez and Charlie Foxx, Taylor figured it would suit as a medley for he and Carly (Simon). They recorded the track for Simon's fourth studio album "Hotcakes", which was released in 1974 but, despite Taylor making considerable adjustments to the lyrics, the writing credits were in Simon's name only. As a duet, it presented Simon with an opportunity to venture on stage with a partner in a bid to overcome her fear of performing in front of large scale audiences. To this end she accompanied James on his 1975 tour to promote his (then) current album "Gorilla". The pair would later perform the song in front of a massive audience at Madison Square Gardens in September of 1979 as part of the "No Nukes Concert".

This composition has been put together by Phoenix Rising team member pollucci19.

Answer: You Can Close Your Eyes

"You Can Close Your Eyes" was originally recorded by Taylor's sister, Kate, on her "Sister Kate" album, released in January of 1971. Taylor says he regards it as a "secular hymn" written for one-time girlfriend Joni Mitchell. Taylor had been playing and performing for a few years before he experienced commercial success in the early 1970s. An accomplished musician, he played the cello before switching to guitar.

This song was plucked by Phoenix rising member VegemiteKid.

Answer: Her Town Too

The track was recorded in partnership with J.D. Souther who, along with renowned session musician "Waddy" Wachtel, share the writing credits with Taylor. As noted above the track made an impressive debut on the charts but stalled at number eleven. Because of the subject matter of the song there has been a lot of conjecture that the track was somewhat autobiographical though, for whom, remains unclear. At the time, Souther's brief relationship with Linda Ronstadt was dissolving and Taylor's marriage to Carly Simon was in serious trouble.

This question was recorded by Phoenix Rising team member pollucci19.

Answer: Taylor wrote "Me and Bobby McGee" for Janis Joplin in 1972

James Taylor and Carole King have a friendship that has lasted over forty years. They performed together in 1970 at The Troubadour and, it was there that they recorded a joint live album in 2010. Ms King played piano on Mr Taylor's second album "Sweet Baby James" and wrote Mr Taylor's biggest hit "You've Got A Friend" (which she included on her 1971 "Tapestry" album). Joni Mitchell did sing back-up vocals on this track. "Sailing to Philadelphia" tells the tale of Jeremiah Dixon and Charlie Mason mapping out what would eventually be known as the Mason-Dixon line. Knopfler sings as Jeremiah Dixon while Taylor takes the role of Charlie Dixon in the song.

Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster wrote "Me and Bobby McGee" which was recorded by Janis Joplin just before she died in 1970, the same year Mr Taylor's career was starting to take off. The single, released after her death, reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

This questioned was scored by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1.

Answer: True

Taylor had produced a demo tape that had caught the notice of Peter Asher who, at the time, was working as a producer for the Beatles owned Apple Records. On the strength of the demo Asher arranged an audition for Taylor in front of Paul McCartney and George Harrison who were impressed enough to sign the young man. Harrison was particularly impressed by "Something in the Way She Moves" so that it moved him to write "Something" for the Beatles and, not only that, he used Taylor's title as the opening line to this song. When asked if he'd been put out by a Beatle "stealing" the title of his song Taylor responded in a fashion that implied that, like most songs, it was only "borrowed" and, besides, he'd also "borrowed" the ending of the Beatles track "I Feel Fine" to close out his "Something...". Instant karma if you like.

This question was orchestrated by Phoenix Rising team member pollucci19.

Answer: A fatal plane crash caused by a jet engine fire

"Fire and Rain" was Mr Taylor's breakthrough hit from his second album, "Sweet Baby James"; it peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970. Mr Taylor explained in a subsequent interview that the song was written in three parts. The first part was about the suicide of his friend Suzanne. The second part was about his struggle to overcome heroin addiction (twice). The third part is not about a plane crash as is commonly believed due to the reference to a broken "flying machine". Said flying machine is not a plane but his backing band and the reference is about the break up of the band.

This question was created by Phoenix Rising member 1nn1.

Answer: Carolina in My Mind

"Carolina in My Mind" appears on James Taylor's eponymous debut album, which was recorded in the Beatles' Apple Records studio, in 1968. Apart from the studio connection, Taylor's affiliation with the Beatles ran deeper - George Harrison was inspired by a line from one of his songs to write the Beatles hit "Something" and, at the time of writing "Carolina..." James Taylor was in Peter Asher's flat. Peter Asher was a record producer and a member of the duo Peter & Gordon for whom Paul McCartney (attributed to Lennon-McCartney) wrote the hit song "World Without Love". Oh, and Peter's sister, Jane, was a girlfriend to Paul.
Taylor wrote "Carolina..." as a means of coping with his homesickness. The song would fail commercially but would gather great critical acclaim. It is one of Taylor's most covered songs, is a staple at his live shows and has been adopted as the "unofficial" anthem by the State of North Carolina (Taylor's birthplace) and a number of its sporting teams.

This question has been belted out by Phoenix Rising member pollucci19.

Answer: Linda Ronstadt

Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor (JT) had collaborated before on Neil Young's "Harvest" album (1972). Ms Ronstadt sang backing vocals and Taylor played guitar as well as that notable six string banjo on "Old Man". Interestingly, JT and Linda Ronstadt shared the same manager in Peter Asher (Peter and Gordon fame, "I Go to Pieces", "A World Without Love"). On her Grammy nominated album, "Get Closer", Ms Ronstadt performed three duets; a remake of Ike and Tina Turner's "I Think It's Gonna Work Out Fine" with James Taylor plus others with J.D. Souther, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris.

This question was arranged by Phoenix Rising team member 1nn1.

Answer: River

Not only were Taylor and Mitchell contemporaries, their paths would also intersect on a personal level for a brief period in the early 1970s. Mitchell would go so far as to reveal the connection in the lines of her song "Blue" and touch briefly upon it in "All I Want". Taylor, in turn, would write "You Can Close Your Eyes" for Mitchell. Musically, in the fledgling years of their careers, this pair were almost made for each other. They both presented their songs in a similar vein and both would choose the guitar as their preferred weapon of delivery, though Joni would venture to the piano from time to time. It is hardly surprising then, that in 1971, Taylor would provide the guitar for Mitchell on songs such as "California", "All I Want" and "A Case of You" and Mitchell would reciprocate by providing backing vocals on his album "Mud Slide Slim". From there, their musical paths diverged. Taylor would carry on being Taylor while Mitchell sealed her greatness with radical experimentation in the fields of rock and roll and, in particular, jazz.

As Taylor stepped up to the microphone on the stage at the Hammersmith Ballroom in New York City in that April of 2000 he strummed the opening chord to "River", looked up at Mitchell in her box and whispered tenderly "Thanks for writing this".

This question was strummed out by Phoenix Rising team member pollucci19.

Answer: George Jones

Taylor decided to take the typical country music theme of a bartender listening to his patron and have the bartender do the talking instead. In the song the bartender is looking for the quintessential "honky-tonk angel" to save him from his woes. Taylor's song only reached 88 on the country charts.

George Jones released the album and took the song to number six on the country charts. Many critics considered Jones' version far superior to Taylor's but that is understandable considering he was a country superstar and Taylor was not. But it does show that Taylor's writing was spot on as far as capturing the flavor of a country song goes, even if he himself could not deliver it authentically.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising member tazman6619.