While country/folk icon John Denver’s biggest hit is unquestionably “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” he does a killer cover of James Taylor’s “Carolina In My Mind”.
Back in 1971, he covered the song with Tom Jones on Toms’ television series This Is Tom Jones.
The original song was composed and recorded by James Taylor for his 1968 self-titled debut album. It only reached the 29th spot on the American country charts, but it became a staple in his repertoire as he included it on almost every single tour because it resonated so deeply with his fans.
He says it was inspired by the area he grew up in North Carolina. The landscape, the peace and the essence of the terrain shaped him into the man he became:
“Chapel Hill, the piedmont, the outlying hills, were tranquil, rural, beautiful, but quiet.
Thinking of the red soil, the seasons, the way things smelled down there, I feel as though my experience of coming of age there was more a matter of landscape and climate than people.”
These two are kind of an unlikely duo, but man, they definitely did the song justice. It’s rare to find a cover that’s almost as good as the original and thanks to Denver, it’s absolutely incredible:
