'James Taylor At Christmas,' At Last

Longtime Star Finally Records Holiday Album

(CBS)  James Taylor has won five Grammy Awards and sold more than 40 million albums, but it took him until now to put out a Christmas CD.

The legendary singer/songwriter put some of his favorite holiday songs in the album "At Christmas.

"It was a long time in coming," Taylor admitted to Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith Friday. "Actually, there had been, over the years, from record company and other quarters, there had been a lot of interest in doing a Christmas album. You know, it just fell into place."

Taylor told Smith, a longtime, ardent fan, the album has "songs I've been living with for a long time that I've always been around, you know, every year. And you get to -- in a way you get to know them. By listening to them, you get to sort of try them on, and it wasn't a difficult stretch, really, picking them and arranging them and then doing it."

"At Christmas" includes secular songs, Smith pointed out, such as "a bluesy 'Jingle Bells,' but there's also a gorgeous version of Joni Mitchell's 'River.' Man, you do it justice!"

"It's a lovely tune," Taylor replied. "It's sort of a sad Christmas song, like 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."

Smith told Taylor the album brought tears to his eyes.

"One of the things that struck me," Smith later observed, " … is that your voice is still so clear. It sounds as beautiful as it's ever sounded."

"Well," Taylor said, "I think a lot of it is luck, and also the material that I sing is not abusive. It didn't tear up your throat. It's not like shouting at a football game or something. It's musically sort of sustaining.

"You know, you also have to keep fit and keep your instrument in shape, and, you know, I take my lead from people like Tony Bennett or Ray Charles or Ernest Tubb or people who've been around for a long time, Rosemary Clooney, Peggy Lee, people who sang right through, right until the end."

[nynative1340]

Thank you. I thought I was going nuts. I bought this album last year.

[kalatur]

Actually, this album is a rerelease:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Taylor:_A_Christmas_Album

Of course, Columbia and CBS are part of the same company.