The legendary songwriter was scheduled to perform Carole King's “You've Got a Friend.”
Maybe you have I noticed that the first night of the Democratic National Convention took a long time on Monday. It was so long that some people had to cut out some elements — like James Taylor’s appearance.
The legendary songwriter was scheduled to close the show with Carole King's “You've Got a Friend,” but it was reportedly cut short after sustained applause from the audience led to a time squeeze. However, Mickey Guyton and Jason Isbell were able to perform, with Guyton performing “All American” and Isbell playing “Something More Than Free.”
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 on the opening night of the Democratic Convention here in Chicago.”
“But as time went on, it became clear that there would be no time to perform ‘You’ve Got a Friend’ with cello and voices,” he added. “The organizers probably couldn’t have anticipated the wild response from the United Center auditorium… Anyway, sorry for the disappointment. But it was a great, inspiring, very American moment. We were honored to be there.”
Even after some elements were cut to save time, President Biden’s emotional speech was long, running to nearly an hour. “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I’ve done my best for you,” he said. “I was too young to be in the Senate because I’m not 30 yet, and I’m too old to be president, but I hope you know how grateful I am to all of you. I can honestly say I’m more optimistic about the future than I was when I was elected to the Senate at 29.”
In 2022, Taylor went to the White House to celebrate Biden's passage of the Inflation Reduction Act. Taylor sang “Fire and Rain,” while his wife Kim joined him in singing “You Can Close Your Eyes” and “America the Beautiful.”
