The Race to Nowhere: Jason Mraz talks about his hit song "I'm Yours"

I have been a Jason Mraz fan since he stepped on the scene back in 2002. 'The Remedy (I Won't Worry)' is a song that I am proud of saying is on my iPhone 3G to this day. Jason's songwriting skills are top of the crust, recently winning the Hal David Starlight Award. I ran into Jason in Manhattan a few days ago and with the few moments I had with him in Time Square, I asked him about the inspiration behind his inspirational hit "I'm Yours". And this is what he had to say about it.


"I’m Yours was a song about giving in to that inspiration; it was about generosity, giving yourself and time to someone else," said Jason as he checked his surroundings. "The setting was great. I had once visited Bob Marley’s house in Kingston, Jamaica and I thought, man, I would like to have a house like this – where my band could live and we could all work together. So on the day that I wrote it, I realized that all of the dream that I had at Bob’s house, had happened. The band was in the other room working things out, the sun was shining and the song itself unfolded. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that I realized that I was influenced by that experience in Jamaica.”

The Race to Nowhere: The Legendary James Taylor gives Extraordinary Advice

Last night in New York City, music industry legends came together for the 40^th Anniversary of the Songwriters Hall of Fame awards ceremony held at the Marriot Marquis Hotel in Time Square. And when I tell you that legends were in attendance, I am using this description to the fullest extent of its definition: Berry Gordy, Sir Tom Jones, Jon Bon Jovi and Richie Sambora, Holland-Dozier-Holland, Paul Williams, Beach Boys’ Al Jardine, Ashford and Simpson, need I say more?

During the red carpet melee, I had the opportunity to tell one of Oprah Winfrey’s favorite artists, James Taylor (1970’s Sweet Baby James, 1997’s Hourglass and groundbreaking hit songs like ‘Fire and Rain’ ‘Something in the Way She Moves’ ‘Carolina In My Mind) about “The Race to Nowhere” and he kindly laid out some gems for the younger generation.

“I always advice to keep a low overhead,” said James as a few more reporters surrounded him in awe. “Stay away from pitfalls that will own a piece of you or a little piece of you. Avoid getting married and/or having children before you’re truly ready to settle down. Avoid anything that would put you into debt, because your time will no longer be your own. Be able to tolerate loneliness; be able to tolerate the isolation and alienation of waiting until the right thing develops.”

James Taylor would then go on to talk about the ups and downs of his illustrious career and even when it was told that he must go inside, he gave the media all the time we needed to get to know him.

I’d like to thank Michael Ragogna for being an excellent tag-team partner on the carpet.