March 1, 2014 - I am resurrecting this post because it has been a long, cold winter and hopefully it will soon be over!
I haven't learned this song all the way through yet, despite having the record since 1973 and access to the free tab since 2011.
This is my March 2014 goal. I know I picked up some bad habits along the way now, for instance playing the high E note on the
9th fret of the third string when Mike Taylor plays it 1st string open, and playing that same note on 2nd string 5th fret when he plays
it third string 9th fret.
Here it is - the ultimate John Denver/Mike Taylor musical score from Pete Huttlinger's website. Late Winter, Early Spring (When Everybody Goes to Mexico)
from the B side of the Rocky Mountain High album.
http://www.petehuttlinger.com/pdf/Late_Winter_Score.pdf
Click on the youtube video to start the music, then go to the tab above. Then come back and read the story below. Enjoy. CK
Pete Huttlinger's (Pete was the lead guitarist in the band when Denver died) story behind the score:
September 6, 2010
Mike Taylor
"Many of you John Denver fans are familiar with the name Mike Taylor. For those who are not, Mike was John's lead guitar player in the early days and he co-wrote a few of John's biggest hits including Rocky Mountain High, Sunshine On My Shoulders, Late Winter, Early Spring. Mike played that great opening lick on Take Me Home, Country Roads. As soon as you hear it, you know what song is coming up... that's a gift to be able to come up with parts like that. I've never done it myself... The opening lick to Rocky Mountain High was something that Mike was working on as a guitar arrangement of Floyd Cramer's big hit called Last Date. If you don't know it, buy it and compare the two. You'll hear the similarities immediately. John liked it and they worked it into what eventually became a huge hit for John.
Well, Mike Taylor passed away last weekend and it's a shame we won't be getting anymore great licks from him.
The first time I met Mike was at a show at the Birchmere in Alexandria, VA. It was just a few months after John died and a bunch of us got together to do the first Tribute show to him. I was excited to meet Mike as I'd listened to him so much when I was young. I had questions for him about guitars, and music and I wanted to see him play those great old songs the way that only he could. Instead I met a man who was battling alcoholism and was close to the bottom of the bottle that night. I felt bad for him and I was sorry that he wouldn't be able to play very well that night... if at all. I remember that he was very concerned that I was going to play Late Winter, Early Spring that night and he didn't want anyone to play it. He thought that it was a work of art that was perfect on the recording and couldn't be duplicated. I assured him that I wouldn't be playing it, hadn't planned on playing it and didn't even know all of it. He wasn't buying it. He was convinced that I was going to play it anyway and wanted no part of it.
Mike was an anthropologist living in South Carolina. Heavy use of alcohol aside, I was taken with his soft southern accent and easy going demeanor. He still played a little in local bars but really, really loved the world of old dead things. (My words, not his) He loved to search for it, look at it study it and then teach about it. I would have loved to have taken a class with him because he was so enthusiastic about his work. It always makes learning easier and more interesting when the instructor enjoys his/her work.
Now fast forward several years and it's 2005. We were in Aspen, Colorado for our annual Tribute to John Denver shows. Mike was clean and sober and was coming to join us for the shows. He and I had communicated via e-mail and telephone for several weeks about the tune Late Winter, Early Spring. He was really into playing it. I had told him to make sure he went back and listened intently to the original recording because everyone in the audience would know it note-for-note. He was surprised and said, "You mean someone actually gives s..t about this old tune." I assured him that many people gave a s..t about it and would be very touched to hear him play it. ;-)
I was going to be the rhythm player and he would play the melody. Well, we got together in my hotel room and after chatting a few minutes I was ready to play. We went through the piece and it was fantastic. From the first notes he played, it was just like playing along with the record when I was a kid. Except that this time it wasn't a record. That sound that I'd heard for so many years was right there in the room with me and coming from his guitar. There is something about players and their sound. It doesn't start with the instrument. It starts in the heart and then goes to the hands. A player could be playing a $100 pawn shop guitar, but because it's in his hands it would sound just like the player... no matter who it is. And that is exactly what was happening. Mike Taylor was playing in my hotel room and couldn't have sounded like anyone else but himself.
Then Mike told Erin and me (She was there too with tears in her eyes from seeing him play so beautifully) that he had never before played that piece with another guitar player. What about the original recording, you ask? He said they recorded the rhythm tracks and then he worked out the melody/lead part separately. Mike Taylor and John Denver never performed that piece together. I had goose bumps all over knowing what had just happened. Mike said he'd never played that piece with another guitar player before that moment! So we went through it another time or two and then that night on stage he played flawlessly and received a standing ovation from the audience. We went back to our seats with the band and Mike, who was a little taken aback by the reception, turned to me and said, "Pete, were they all just standing up?"
I said, "Yes, Mike and it's not because they're all catholic! They loved it." We had a good laugh and he played out the rest of the show sitting next to me.
He was a happy man that weekend and that's the way I'll remember him."