Tribute To James Taylor To Air On PBS Great Performances

James Taylor is saluted in the star-studded "A Tribute To James Taylor" on PBS (check local listings). Danny Clinch

"Good Lord, what a lineup," exclaims Keith Urban, assessing the musical heavyweights assembled for A Tribute to James Taylor , on Thirteen/WNET New York's GREAT PERFORMANCES on PBS (check local listings).

The country star's reaction is no overstatement. On hand to honor the beloved singer/songwriter, whose music helped define a generation, are such luminaries as India.Arie, Jackson Browne, Sheryl Crow, Jimmy Buffett, David Crosby, Dixie Chicks, Carole King, Bonnie Raitt, Bruce Springsteen and Sting. Also look for Jamie Foxx, and President Bill Clinton.

Recorded at the L.A. Convention Center last winter, where MusiCares, the philanthropic foundation of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, saluted Taylor as Person of the Year. The evening was a fan's dream come true. Surveying the room of some 2000 industry movers and shakers, a genuinely touched Taylor quips: "It's strange to be at an event like this and still be alive."

Musical highlights include Springsteen's roaring performance of "Millworker," a Taylor rarity written for a 1978 Broadway musical; Taylor joining Carole King for the final chorus of "You've Got a Friend," and the honoree closing the telecast with his classic "Fire and Rain."

One of the preeminent and most influential composer/performers of the 1970s, James Taylor has re-mained unsurpassed as a musical craftsman, with an enduring popularity that is the true hallmark of a superstar. "An authentic Southern voice," Spring-steen calls him in the telecast. Close friend Jimmy Buffett adds: "I was a James Taylor fan before we ever met. I still am a James Taylor fan."

Summing up his appreciation of the evening, Taylor and his band rock the house with what he terms "the way it feels to me tonight": his classic cover of Marvin Gaye's appropriately titled "How Sweet It Is."

A Tribute to James Taylor is a co-production of Thirteen/WNET New York and Warner Strategic Marking. The program was recorded live in performance February 6, 2006 and is available on DVD through Rhino Entertainment.