TAYLOR AND ME

With Taylor Swift in town, readers would expect me to write something about her. Wouldn’t you? After all she has pretty much taken over the city.

But I don’t really follow Taylor’s music, and this site has a limited budget which doesn’t allow for $1,000 per-person tickets to go to a concert. I was tempted to write about some other newsworthy item, like my teen-age rise to fame, but frankly I don’t remember it. My mind kept wandering back to this superstar. What is it about her that attracts so many millions of fans?

Even though she is only 35 years old, Taylor Swift (named after singer James Taylor), has a long performing history. As a child she sang at Montessori concerts and in school musicals. Then she started going to New York City for voice and acting lessons. By age 13 Swift won a deal with RCA records and began travelling to Nashville with her mother. Clearly her parents were well-off and could afford to support their daughter’s musical career, just like her namesake.

As a young teen, Swift learned the guitar and did commercials for Maybelline. She followed the music of Patsy Cline and Shania Twain. Most of my teen age friends and I followed Elvis, with never a thought of actually singing like him or even being in his back-up group. But Swift was determined to build a career in country music. So her parents did what she needed – they moved the family to Nashville. Wen I was 13, my family moved to a small town called Greece New York where there was definitely no music scene.

Along the way Swift began writing her own material: tunes and lyrics. For example she would write about what happened in school on a certain day, what boy winked at her, what girl called her names. Then she would design costumes and add dance moves too. She was, and still is, the whole package. Many of us wrote stuff like that in our diaries, and we made costumes out of old castoffs in the attic. But that’s as far as it went for our stardom.

Swift’s debut album, Taylor Swift, was released when she was just 17. Accolades poured in for this emerging star. For most of us, age 17 meant our first part-time job at a greasy spoon. and maybe singing along with the jukebox. I even had a tiny radio that ran on batteries!

At the American Music awards in 2019, Swift was named Artist of the DECADE. In 2020 she was the highest paid solo musician worldwide. Concerned about theft of her content, she began to re-release her albums in her own style. Fearless: Taylor’s Version was released in 2021. In 2023 Swift was the most streamed artist on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon.

Her fan base has grown to many millions, all across the globe, across age groups, and across genders. Her fans include musicians, as she has often advocated for them on issues of intellectual property rights and streaming policies. She has become a cult figure with her own logo – friendship bracelets. She supports women’s rights. Folks like you and I continue to watch in wonder.

Not surprising to learn that Swift is rich; in 2023 she became a billionaire. And she gives it away too. She had already donated millions to charitable causes: cities ravaged by storms and floods, schools for needy kids, food banks at every concert venue. So what else to do but create another tour? Meanwhile our thirties were spent raising kids and paying the mortgage. Sometimes we went to a bar and sang along with the band to “Sweet Caroline.”

Toronto has come alive in pink. The subway system has posters on every wall and pillar. Stores and malls have pop-up tables and kiosks full of Swift “merch.” Radio stations blast her hits. Downtown is filled with loving fans, cheering and trading bracelets, (except for one couple that has gone to court, fighting over a divorce and who gets the Swift concert tickets). Mostly it is all about adoration and happiness.

But I am wondering about one thing. Our generation all worked hard, gradually moving up the career ladder, and maybe striving for an upper rung before we retired. We left lots of goals unattained. For Taylor Swift, having reached the top of her game at age 35, what is she going to DO for the next 60 years?

Sue