By some measures, this is the first proper James Taylor post on this blog.
I’ve posted three tracks featuring Taylor over the past five years, but each earns as asterisk.
The one Taylor original, ‘Mexico,’ was posted without comment during one of my vacations. ‘Our Town‘ is a Randy Newman Pixar tune that Taylor performed (beautifully) for the movie Cars.
The most-read Song of the Day in the history of Meet Me in Montauk is (drum roll, please) Paul Simon’s ‘Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes.’ Top two spots go to Mr. Simon! Must be some meaning behind that.
Even factoring out the Bob Dylan tracks, this post is far and away the winner. It has been viewed 3,690 times, second only to the Hancock post, and more impressive as all of these views have come the old-fashioned way.
In the three and a half years since I posted it, it has never received more than 211 views in a single month. But it’s good for about four page views per day, every single day.
I understand why four of the five songs I’m featuring this week have risen to the top of the stats.
Childish Gambino is a new enough artist that the Web probably isn’t inundated with mentions of him. The Dar Williams track was otherwise unavailable on YouTube. Lyle Lovett’s ‘The Road to Ensenada’ is a mysterious career standout. And tomorrow’s track, my most-viewed, has a very specific lyric that has been Googled repeatedly.
But Paul Simon’s ‘Darling Lorraine‘ — I don’t really get this one.
My third most-read SOTD blog entry is Dar Williams’ ‘When I Was a Boy,’ my 83rd Song of the Day post.
This one owes most of its 1,089 page views to YouTube. I uploaded a copy of the song, along with a link back to my blog, when I couldn’t find it on the site. So fans of Dar Williams, or at least of this song, have stumbled upon my post after finding that video.
The fourth most viewed Song of the Day post belongs to Lyle Lovett — it’s the title track of his best album, The Road to Ensenada.
I’m guessing this post has attracted so much attention due to its general awesomeness, as well as the mysterious nature of its lyrics. I can imagine many an obsessed fan Googling away to come across any scraps they can find about this haunting masterpiece.
