James Taylor

NEW YORK — The voice behind dozens of standards like ‘‘It's Too Late," "You've Got a Friend," and ‘‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" says her music-making days are likely over. Carole King, now a best-selling author, doubts she will ever write another song and suggested that her 2010 ‘‘Troubadours Reunion" concert tour with James Taylor would be her last: ‘‘It was a good way to go out. " King composed dozens of 1960s hits with then-husband Gerry Goffin before emerging as a recording artist in her own right.

NEW YORK — The voice behind dozens of standards like ‘‘It's Too Late," "You've Got a Friend," and ‘‘(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" says her music-making days are likely over. Carole King, now a best-selling author, doubts she will ever write another song and suggested that her 2010 ‘‘Troubadours Reunion" concert tour with James Taylor would be her last: ‘‘It was a good way to go out. " King composed dozens of 1960s hits with then-husband Gerry Goffin before emerging as a recording artist in her own right.

James Taylor, currently on a 16-stop tour of Italy, is making playing abroad a family affair. He and wife Kim (both speak fluent French) have taken sons Rufus and Henry skiing in the Dolomites and will hole up in Paris for much of the spring - with a tutor along for the boys - while James and band swing elsewhere through Europe.

Carole King played the piano at 3; conducted her first orchestra at 15; married at 17; became a mother at 18; and had co-written, by the time she was 23, a dozen rock 'n' roll classics, songs revered and covered by the likes of the Beatles. By her late 20s, a divorcee with two young girls, King relocated from her New York-New Jersey axis to Los Angeles and tentatively began performing her own songs. In 1971 she released "Tapestry," a Grammy-winning album that would remain on the top 100 album charts for six years and sell 25 million copies worldwide.

We're told James Taylor, who's in France preparing for the second leg of his European tour, had a chance meeting in Paris with Macky Sall, the new president of Senegal. The two ran into each other at the luxurious Le Meurice Hotel, and Sall invited JT to tour Senegal. Taylor is off to play shows in Scandinavia, Germany, and Spain before returning to the City of Light for a sold-out concert May 15 at L'Olympia.

James Taylor tells us that it's nice to be part of an ensemble. Unlike his day job as a singer-songwriter, his work in the Berkshire Theatre Group's "A Christmas Carol" involves some down time. "It's different to be able to come on and off stage," the veteran performer told us. "You get a chance to sort of collect yourself. " Taylor and his wife, Kim, play Mr. and Mrs. Bob Cratchit in this year's Berkshire production of the famous holiday play about Scrooge and the meaning of Christmas.

When the Boston Pops tunes up for its Esplanade performance on July 4, another legendary act will be taking the stage across the state at Tanglewood. James Taylor will be doing the fifth of his now-annual benefit weekends for the Boston Symphony Orchestra at its summer home in Lenox. And while hundreds of thousands of celebrants will cram the banks of the Charles for the free Pops concert in Boston, about 60,000 will pay between $21 and $115 for one of Taylor’s four weekend gigs - adding millions of dollars to the BSO’s coffers.

We're told James Taylor will receive the Lupa Capitolina Award in Rome when the singer's 16-city tour of Italy pulls into town. The prestigious award, which is the equivalent of the National Medal of Arts here in the states, will be presented by Gianni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome. Previous recipients include actors Meryl Streep and Al Pacino.

James Taylor as Bob Cratchit? Yes. The Berkshire Theatre Group says JT - and his family - will appear in the community theater's annual production of the Charles Dickens classic, "A Christmas Carol," from Dec. 17-30 at the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield. The show is adapted by Eric Hill , who will codirect with E. Gray Simons III . Taylor will play Cratchit, Scrooge's abused, underpaid clerk, while Taylor's wife, Kim , will play - naturally - Mrs. Cratchit.

Carole King played the piano at 3; conducted her first orchestra at 15; married at 17; became a mother at 18; and had co-written, by the time she was 23, a dozen rock 'n' roll classics, songs revered and covered by the likes of the Beatles. By her late 20s, a divorcee with two young girls, King relocated from her New York-New Jersey axis to Los Angeles and tentatively began performing her own songs. In 1971 she released "Tapestry," a Grammy-winning album that would remain on the top 100 album charts for six years and sell 25 million copies worldwide.

We're told James Taylor, who's in France preparing for the second leg of his European tour, had a chance meeting in Paris with Macky Sall, the new president of Senegal. The two ran into each other at the luxurious Le Meurice Hotel, and Sall invited JT to tour Senegal. Taylor is off to play shows in Scandinavia, Germany, and Spain before returning to the City of Light for a sold-out concert May 15 at L'Olympia.

James Taylor returned from his tour of Italy just in time to join Sting, Trudie Styler, Elton John, Jennifer Hudson, Bruno Mars, and others at a Carnegie Hall benefit for the Rainforest Fund. (Cofounded by Styler in 1988, the fund protects land and human rights in the Amazon rain forest.) The show opened with Taylor, Sting, John, and Oscar-winner Meryl Streep singing verses of "If I Only Had a Brain" while accessorized like characters from "The Wizard of Oz. " (Sting looks particularly fetching with a tin funnel on his head.)

We're told James Taylor will receive the Lupa Capitolina Award in Rome when the singer's 16-city tour of Italy pulls into town. The prestigious award, which is the equivalent of the National Medal of Arts here in the states, will be presented by Gianni Alemanno, the mayor of Rome. Previous recipients include actors Meryl Streep and Al Pacino.

James Taylor, currently on a 16-stop tour of Italy, is making playing abroad a family affair. He and wife Kim (both speak fluent French) have taken sons Rufus and Henry skiing in the Dolomites and will hole up in Paris for much of the spring - with a tutor along for the boys - while James and band swing elsewhere through Europe.

MUSIC Dennis: Alicia Mathewson performs originals and cover songs from Indigo Girls, James Taylor, and The Beatles. Thursday, 7 p.m. Cape Cod Chat House, 593 Route 6A, Dennis. Free. 508-694-7187, www.capecodchathouse.com. EVENTS Plympton: Everything you need to create your own beautiful panoramic or sugar egg is included in a Panoramic Egg Workshop. Try your hand at this Victorian craft and bring home a springtime decoration to enjoy throughout the season. Tuesday, 1:30 p.m. $5, registration requested.

James Taylor tells us that it's nice to be part of an ensemble. Unlike his day job as a singer-songwriter, his work in the Berkshire Theatre Group's "A Christmas Carol" involves some down time. "It's different to be able to come on and off stage," the veteran performer told us. "You get a chance to sort of collect yourself. " Taylor and his wife, Kim, play Mr. and Mrs. Bob Cratchit in this year's Berkshire production of the famous holiday play about Scrooge and the meaning of Christmas.

It doesn't come out until next month, but "More Room in a Broken Heart: The True Adventures of Carly Simon " is already upsetting its subject. We're told the "You're So Vain" singer is not happy that the book includes some juicy details on her many romances. (We leafed though the unauthorized bio this weekend and a partial list of Carly's liaisons includes producer Eddie Kramer , former Yardbirds bassist Paul Samwell-Smith , Kris Kristofferson , Warren Beatty , Mick Jagger , Cat Stevens , actor Jeremy Irons , and, of course, James Taylor , for whom...