James Taylor Apologizes After Being Cut From the Democratic National Convention
You may have noticed that the first night of the Democratic National Convention ran quite long on Monday. So long, in fact, that elements were forced to be cut — like the appearance of James Taylor.
The legendary songwriter was slated to close out the evening with Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend,” but was reportedly cut after continuous applause from the audience led to a time crunch. However, Mickey Guyton and Jason Isbell still managed to perform, with Guyton delivering “All American” and Isbell playing “Something More Than Free.”
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Taylor spoke about the cancellation on social media, writing that he had a great rehearsal and that it was “exciting to see and hear so many of the speakers at the opening night of the Democratic convention here in Chicago.”
“But it became clear, as the evening unfolded, that there wouldn’t be time for our ‘You’ve Got a Friend’ with cello and voices,” he added. “Maybe the organizers couldn’t anticipate the wild response from the floor of the United Center…Anyway, sorry to disappoint. But a great and inspirational, quintessentially American moment. We were honored to be there.”
Even after cutting elements to save time, President Biden’s emotional speech was lengthy, reaching nearly an hour. “I made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you,” he said. “I was too young to be in the Senate because I wasn’t 30 yet, and I’m too old to stay as president, but I hope you know how grateful I am to all of you. I can honestly say that I’m more optimistic about the future than I was when I was elected as a 29-year-old senator.”
In 2022, Taylor went to the White House to celebrate Biden’s passing of the Inflation Reduction Act. Taylor performed “Fire and Rain,” while his wife Kim joined for “You Can Close Your Eyes” and “America the Beautiful.”
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