An exclusive series of Living Legends Music interviews with Livingston Taylor. Part 9 of 10. Recorded on January 12th, 2008 in Vero Beach, FL.
Livingston Taylor’s official website: http://www.livtaylor.com
Living Legends Music online: http://www.livinglegendsmusic.com
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Bridge on carmen song is an instrumental. Words to it, I think would have been great. The bridge melody is still great by itself. I share livingstons love for fine craft songs. I drives others crazy when I talk about it.
Livingston just taught me how technical great song writing is. He is right about the dilution of recordings are today. We've come from great classical music to music with sound affects and lyrics you can't hear, to rap that half the words are crass. Just because an artist is rich doesn't mean its good quality.
He is brilliant! Love-love-love this series of interviews!
Amazing passion, beautiful.
Great stuff Liv. Remembering seeing you in Bethlehem, PA in 78. Looking forward to watching the whole series.
Great song! I met Liv in the mid-80's. He and I have a mutual friend in Macon, Georgia. Livingston is a super guy and awesome songwriter!
I love Liv!
Make that Call Me Carolina.
The song is Carolina Calling, I believe. I've seen Liv perform at Cain Park numerous times here in Cleveland, even sang part of Loving Arms with him. Lovely guy, very nice, INCREDIBLY talented – as we all know. Thanks for sharing this interview. LOVE it.
It would be nice if the establishment pushed good music so the truly gifted may flourish and improve the world by sharing higher level works of art.
Hope=I will get a music contract
Expectation= My music will be embraced and have record sales
Reality=No music contract, music is not pushed by the Establishment, Music is not embraced and low music sales
Result=Making music in your home with poor quality and unpolished lyrics and melodies
Outcome=People flock to the internet to record and discover music that is real, from the heart, untampered with by the Establishment, something we can all relate to and all at no monetary cost or gain.
I saw him perform at Cornell or maybe Ithaca College back in 1974 or 75.
The name of the song he plays is "Call Me Carolina" – from the album "Last Alaska Moon" (2010). Great Song!
Song name?
I have a few friends that speak about song writing with this much intensity. It's all well and good but I tend to avoid them. I build furniture with these type rules but I write songs with rules that change moment by moment.
At 2:17 he looks like Clint Eastwood.
Wow is this insightful and compelling. Always loved his stuff (and was lucky enough to see him a few times in the very early 70's). But the way Liv talks here about BOTH the joy/surprise of great songrwriting AND the outside structures/pressures necessary to perfect and complete it is very interesting indeed…
Oh my goodness, you are so right on this matter! I myself have become lazy in writing my own songs in that, with today's technology, it has become almost obscenely EASY to "sound" professional! I must go back to basics and find out why I love this craft as much as I do, and shamelessly coerce myself to do better!! Thank you Livingston. I hope you read this, and understand the force you are. ~Jon
Another great Carolina tune. Livingston's enthusiasm is contagious and he seems to be experiencing a renaissance of creativity. Really good stuff.