Song #345: "Carolina In My Mind"--James Taylor (1968)

I bet most of you believe today's song has to be among the biggest selling singles in the long, storied career of James Taylor. So did I.

But upon further research, his 1968 release of the song originally did not do very well. A re-release as the decade of the 1970's began didn't do much better. Meanwhile, everyone from George Hamilton IV, Glen Campbell, and the pop group Crystal Mansion (ever heard of them??) recorded it, the latter reaching #73 on the pop chart.

So, come 1976, when there were issues getting the original version of the song from Apple Records, Taylor simply re-recorded it, slowed it a bit, and it became a concert staple for the next 40 years, and garnered much more critical and fan acclaim than ever before. An now, when you hear the term, "Carolina In My Mind", you think of North Carolina, and James Taylor.

And yes, the song was written with North Carolina in mind, Taylor having spent much of his childhood there near Chapel Hill.

With half of my family North Carolina natives, there's no way there's not a spot available for this song in our Top 500 countdown. And, with a recent return to Carolina now in the books, it's time to reflect, and wish we were back with family. And at Smithfield Barbeque.  :)