~ Like the ripples in a pond, the work of one man spreads out and touches the lives of others ~

From The Soul of One ~ To The Hearts Of Many
TAYLOR HICKS MY IDOL
Taylor Hicks "The Distance"


Friday, November 9, 2007

Wherever I Lay My Hat



I vividly remember sitting in the parking lot of Walmart last December with my friend
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Taylor's just released CD was playing and we were sobbing and hugging!
It was finally here!!
Woo hoo and we had the bonus track!!

I immediately fell in love with Taylor's "Wherever I Lay My Hat",
and it tugs at my heart and moves me every time I listen to it.

I was quite surprised when I learned that it was originally by Marvin Gaye.
I couldn't remember ever hearing it before and then realized
it was recorded before Marvin came to Motown.

I grew up surrounded by the sounds of Motown, listening and dancing to the the songs of Glady's Knight & The Pips, The Supremes, The Temptations, Smokey Robinson & The Miracles and Marvin Gaye ... just to name a few.

I love Taylor's take on WILMH, and though I like Marvin Gaye ...
can't say I care for his original version.
It's doesn't move me or make my heart go ping.

I'm probably showing my limited exposure to music here ...
but I had never heard of Paul Young either.
I guess by the 80's I had already pretty much stopped listening.
Raising 5 kids I already had enough noise in the house
:-)


"Wherever I Lay My Hat" was written by Marvin Gaye, Barrett Strong and Norman Whitfield, and first recorded by Marvin Gaye in 1964.

Almost 20 years later
Paul Young's version of the song was a UK number one single for three weeks in July 1983.
23 more years passed
Then Taylor Hicks put his own soulful spin on it and recorded it for his self-titled CD "Taylor Hicks"

When you watch the video below you will see why it's Taylor's soulful version that I love!


video capture by Phantom
video presentation by The Boogie Board
(Thank You)







Marvin Gaye's "Wherever I Lay My Hat" (audio only)




Hope you enjoyed today's trip down memory lane


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woo hoo waiting for the release of "Whomp At The Warfield"

Comments welcome!

3 comments:

KarinP said...

I read this post yesterday and have been thinking about it ever since wondering what could I write on this topic.

When I let my daughter hear Taylor's WILMH, she said, hey, that was one of my favourite songs when I was young. She remembered the Paul Young version. I actually found a Paul Young video on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8l8D0aFVjvg

I am not sure why I didn't remember it. I must have been "busy" back then.

As I watched the Taylor version of the song, I thought, "wow" - the voice is smooth as silk and he really "felt" this song as he performed it in the video. Just incredible.

My thoughts went a bit further and I realized that a musician "must" feel the song in order to perform it well.

In this video, it is clear to me that Taylor "feels" this song and one must give him credit for choosing the tracks on the CD that he did choose. He obviously chose the songs that felt good to him.

Then, I wondered - why does Taylor love this song so much? Is it because it is a Marvin Gaye song or is it because he relates to it so well. I can't help but ponder the question as to where Taylor feels better. Does he feel better when he is wandering the country like a gypsy or does he enjoy life when he stays put? I think the answer to that question would be very interesting to know.

Some people are born with wanderlust in their veins and being on the road adds a different dimension to their lives. The question, for me right now, is that I wonder if Taylor is happy with this break or is he yearning to be back in the passenger seat of the bus?

Loved the Christmas Butterfly story. What an incredible sight that would be and actually it also ties into your Blog beautifully. Butterflies were given wings so that they could fly and enjoy the beauty of the world. Maybe people are born with wings too.

Bloom said...

Karin, I went searching for Paul's videos when I was working on this page. I had actually added one of them here, but something was the matter with it's flash and it kept shutting down my computer so I removed it.

Your question as to where Taylor feels better ... on the road or wherever he is currrently calling home ... brought to mind this article that I've copied from his scrapbook:
From 'The Olympian'
LOS ANGELES - Some 'pop' stars want fame and money.
"American Idol" winner Taylor Hicks just wants to ride the tour bus.

"I've always wanted to be on a bus .... My home has been on the road since even before American Idol."

As a struggling musician en route to his next gig, Hicks had hoped to travel on his own tour bus one day.

"You would see buses on the road in Alabama going to their next destination, and I would always dream about being on one and now I have the opportunity."


Well Taylor's dream did indeed come true and with over 100 concert venues played since February he certainly has laid his hat in a lot of places!

KarinP said...

Great article and it leads me to believe that Taylor is not going to be able to sit still for very long.

Another question came to my mind as well. How does an artist encourage the "muse" to visit? Perhaps during all of those road trips, the ideas for new material just came to him. What happens if they don't readily come, I wonder?

What inspires someone to write music? I have been listening quite a bit, as you well know, to the Eagles' new CD and all of those songs were written by the band members. Each in his own different way but as I listen to it, I think to myself that these "men" are really able to speak from the heart and I guess that it takes a man with a big heart to write down his feelings and put them to music.

It is quite fascinating to me and I am not sure that I have ever known anyone personally who is able to articulate their feelings in that way. Truly a gift, I think.