James Taylor performed “Fire and Rain” as a duet with Sheryl Crow on tonight’s live broadcast of Stand Up 2 Cancer, an hour long fundraising effort to finance a collaborative effort among the scientific community to find a cure for cancer. This marks perhaps the first time James Taylor has performed this song as a duet. James was also briefly seen at the finale with the rest of the celebrities during Melissa Etheridge’s performance.
James Taylor wore a shirt honoring the memories of Don Grolnick and Michael Brecker, two celebrated jazz musicians who died of cancer-related illnesses. Don Grolnick served as James’ primary piano player and eventually his band leader and producer from around 1979 until his death on June 1, 1996. Michael Brecker played saxophone on many of Taylor’s albums. He died on January 13, 2007. Both were highly influential artists who released award-winning albums of their own.
Associated Press and Celebuzz have posted pictures of James and Sheryl Crow on the red carpet before the taping.
