Sweet Baby James is sailing

Fresh from performing at President Obama’s inauguration celebrations, James Taylor has a new gig – singing for his supper on a transatlantic crossing aboard the Queen Mary 2.
And why not? Ex-wife Carly Simon recorded a DVD of her performances on the liner in 2005.
Taylor has a string of concerts scheduled in the UK in June, and has made a deal with Cunard for his whole band to travel on the crossing from New York to Southampton.
“It seems like a dream come true. It will probably be a nightmare on the open seas,” he told the Independent. “To bring all those people over to Europe and to bring all the equipment is a big hump to get over.
“So we have made a deal with Cunard line to bring everybody over on the Queen Mary. We are going to rehearse aboard the boat and pay our way with a couple of concerts at the end of the passage. Then Bob is our collective uncle and there we are at Southampton and ready to go to Bournemouth and do the first gig.”
Cunard confirmed the deal, saying it continued a grand tradition aboard the transatlantic liner dating back to the times of Noël Coward, when stars of the Golden Age would make impromptu performances for their fellow seafarers. “The entertainment is very important and it is also quite rewarding for guests on these ships to meet and mingle with stars like this,” a spokesman said.
Just one thing, James. Before you get on board, you’d better remember that Queen Mary 2 is a ship, not a boat. Otherwise you might be walking the plank.