Best Known As: Folk-pop singer of "Fire and Rain" and "Carolina in My Mind"
James Taylor was a big part of the folk revolution of the 1960s and early 1970s, recording hits like 'Carolina in My Mind,' 'Sweet Baby James,' and Carole King's 'You've Got A Friend.' Taylor was married for a time to singer Carly Simon, and their passionate relationship and breakup was much publicized. Also much publicized were Taylor's struggles with depression and heroin addiction. Taylor continued to tour and record throughout the 1980s and 1990s, emerging as a kind of elder statesman of pop music.
Taylor was the first outside artist signed to The Beatles' Apple Records label.
When people use the term "singer/songwriter" (often modified by the word "sensitive") in praise or in criticism, they're thinking of James Taylor. In the early '70s, when he appeared with his introspective songs, acoustic guitar, and calm, understated singing style, he mirrored a generation's emotional exhaustion after tumultuous times. Just as Bing Crosby's reassuring voice brought the country out of the Depression and through World War II, Taylor's eased the transition from '60s activism and its attendant frustrations into the less political, more inward-looking '70s. He was rewarded with a series of hit albums and singles (surprisingly, many of the latter were covers of old songs rather than his own compositions), and he managed to survive his initial fame to achieve lasting popularity. He continued to tour successfully for decades, and, starting with his 1970 breakthrough Sweet Baby James, all but one of his regular album releases for the rest of the century went gold or platinum, while his 1976 Greatest Hits album achieved a diamond certification reflecting sales of more than ten million copies.
Taylor was the son of Dr. Isaac and Gertrude Taylor. His three brothers Alex (1947-1993), Livingston, and Hugh - and his sister Kate - all became musicians and recorded albums of their own. In 1951, Dr. Taylor was appointed dean of the medical school at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and the family moved from New England to the South. Taylor studied cello as a child, but first took up the guitar in 1960. In 1963, he began attending Milton Academy, a prep school in Massachusetts. That summer, he met fellow guitarist Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar while staying on Martha' s Vineyard, and the two formed a folk duo. Taylor dropped out of school at 16 and formed a band with his brother Alex. Having moved to New York, he suffered from depression and checked himself into McLean Psychiatric Hospital in Massachusetts, a stay that would inspire some of his early songs. While there, he earned a high school diploma. Upon release, he returned to New York in 1966 and formed a new group, the Flying Machine, with Kortchmar and Joel O'Brien. The band played in Greenwich Village and was signed to a fledgling record label, Rainy Day Records (the name taken from Taylor' s song "Rainy Day Man"). It released one single, "Brighten Your Night with My Day" / "Night Owl," both songs written by Taylor. The record was unsuccessful, and the band broke up in the spring of 1967.
By 1968, Taylor had become addicted to heroin. In an attempt to overcome his addiction, he moved to London, where he submitted a demo tape to Peter Asher, former member of Peter and Gordon, then working for the Beatles' Apple Records label. As a result, Taylor was signed to Apple and recorded his debut solo album, James Taylor, released in the U.K. in December 1968 and in the U.S. in February 1969. Initially, it received little attention. A more pressing concern, however, was that Taylor had not been able to kick heroin. As a result, he returned to the U.S. and checked into the Austin Riggs Hospital in Massachusetts. By July 1969, he had recovered sufficiently to make his solo debut at the Troubadour nightclub in Los Angeles, but soon after he was in a motorcycle accident and broke both of his hands, which put him out of commission for several months.
Freed of his Apple Records contract, Taylor signed to Warner Bros. Records, moved to California, and, retaining Asher as his manager and producer, recorded his second album, Sweet Baby James. It was released in February 1970 and became a major success during the course of the year, spurred by the single "Fire and Rain," a song that reflected on his experiences in mental institutions, which peaked in the top five in October, the same month that Sweet Baby James achieved the same status on the LP charts. With that, interest in Taylor's first album was re-stimulated, and it belatedly reached the charts along with the single "Carolina on My Mind," as did James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine - 1967, a short collection of unfinished recordings made by his '60s band. Sweet Baby James then spawned a second hit single, "Country Road," which peaked in the Top 40 in March 1971. The same month, Taylor appeared on the cover of Time magazine, touted as the founder and leading proponent of the "singer/songwriter" trend in popular music.
Meanwhile, Taylor had acted in a feature film, Two-Lane Blacktop, co-starring with the Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson. It was not successful, and Taylor never pursued an acting career, though it has been well-reviewed subsequently. Taylor also worked on a new album, returning to record stores in April 1971 with Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon. As he toured the U.S., the LP spent the summer in the Top Ten, eventually peaking just below the top of the charts, paced by its first single, "You've Got a Friend," written by Carole King, which hit number one in July and went gold. A second single, "Long Ago and Far Away," reached the Top 40, and the album eventually sold more than two million copies. On March 14, 1972, Taylor won the 1971 Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, for "You've Got a Friend."
Taylor took what was then considered a long time - more than a year and a half - to come up with his next album, One Man Dog, released in November 1972. On November 3, 1972, during an appearance at Radio City Music Hall in New York, he announced to the crowd that he had married singer/songwriter Carly Simon earlier in the day. Simon was already well known for the hits "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" and "Anticipation," and would soon top the charts with "You're So Vain." One Man Dog marked a fall-off in Taylor's record sales, though it went gold, reached the top five, and spawned a top 20 single in "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight."
Taylor was next heard from in January 1974, when he sang a duet with his wife of "Mockingbird," a cover of the 1963 hit by Inez and Charlie Foxx, on her Hot Cakes album. Released as a single, the recording reached the Top Five and went gold. That spring, Taylor launched a major tour in anticipation of his next album, Walking Man, released in June. Though it reached the Top 20, the album was a commercial disappointment, failing to go gold or produce a chart single. But Taylor bounced back the following year with the May release of Gorilla. Again, he succeeded by reviving an old hit, this time Marvin Gaye's 1964 song "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)," which reached the Top Five, helping the album become a Top Ten, gold-selling hit.
In the Pocket, Taylor's seventh album, was his third annual warm-weather release, appearing in June 1976. Its single was the singer's own "Shower the People," which reached the Top 40, while the album made the Top 20 and went gold. Nearing the end of his Warner Bros. contract, Taylor re-recorded a couple of his Apple songs for his Greatest Hits LP, released in November. It became a perennial seller. With that, in a major coup, he was signed by Columbia Records. His debut for the label, JT, was released in June 1977. Once again, a revival spurred its sales, as Taylor covered Jimmy James' 1959 song "Handy Man" and took it into the top five, followed by a top 20 showing for his own "Your Smiling Face." With such stimulation, JT reached the top five and sold over two million copies. On February 23, 1978, Taylor picked up a second Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, for "Handy Man."
Along with Paul Simon, Taylor was a featured singer on Art Garfunkel's cover of "(What A) Wonderful World," previously a hit for Sam Cooke and Herman's Hermits, which peaked in the Top 20 in March 1978. Taylor next became involved with the Broadway musical Working, based on Studs Terkel's bestseller, writing three songs for it. The show ran a scant 25 performances after opening on May 14, 1978, but Taylor reclaimed "Millworker" and "Brother Trucker" for his next album. Meanwhile, his duet with Carly Simon on a revival of the Everly Brothers' "Devoted to You" peaked in the Top 40 in September.
Flag, marking a nearly two-year break between albums, appeared in April 1979, its Top 40 hit single being a revival of the 1963 Drifters hit "Up on the Roof." Despite the lack of a really big hit single, the LP reached the Top Ten and went platinum. That September, Taylor performed at Madison Square Garden in the No Nukes concerts, later being featured in the No Nukes triple-LP and in the No Nukes concert film.
Taylor embarked on a national tour in the summer of 1980, despite not having a current album to promote. From here on, recurrent touring became a regular part of his career and contributed to his longevity as an artist. That fall, he appeared on the children's album In Harmony 2, singing "Jelly Man Kelly." The album won the 1981 Grammy for Best Recording for Children. He toured extensively during 1981, releasing Dad Loves His Work in February. The album reached the Top Ten and went gold, spurred by the Top Ten success of the single "Her Town Too," written by Taylor, J.D. Souther, and Waddy Wachtel, Taylor's most successful original composition since "Fire and Rain."
Taylor continued to tour frequently in the early 1980s, a period when his marriage to Carly Simon came to an end (they were divorced in 1983). Often, his performances took place overseas. In January 1985, he performed at the Rock in Rio concert in Brazil, a show that resulted in the Brazil-only release Live in Rio. His next studio album, following a gap of more than four years, was That's Why I'm Here, released in October 1985. As usual, his record label issued a cover song as the single; in this case it was Buddy Holly's "Everyday," which didn't get very far up the charts. Nevertheless, Taylor's long career and constant touring had brought him a permanent audience ready to buy his records, and the album eventually went platinum. On December 14, 1985, he married for the second time, to Kathryn Walker; a month later, he was on tour in Australia.
Road work continued to be Taylor's primary occupation in the mid-'80s, but he came off tour long enough to finish another album, Never Die Young, only a little more than two years after That's Why I'm Here, released in January 1988. The title song, issued as a single, barely reached the charts, but Never Die Young was another million-seller. The late '80s and early '90s saw more extensive, worldwide touring. New Moon Shine, Taylor's 13th regular album release, came in October 1991, the same month that he sold out six consecutive shows at the Paramount Theater in New York; the disc stayed in the charts nearly a year and sold a million copies.
Despite his consistent draw as a concert attraction, Taylor had never released a live album in the U.S. until the August 1993 appearance of (Live), a two-CD set that went platinum within months. Columbia Records, which had never had a Taylor compilation to promote, trimmed the album down to a single disc of hits for the 1994 release Best (Live). Taylor was divorced from his second wife in 1996. His next album, Hourglass, released in May 1997, demonstrated his continuing appeal by entering the charts in the Top Ten. On February 25, 1998, it won the 1997 Grammy for Best Pop Album. In October the same year, Columbia issued the DVD Live at the Beacon Theater while Billboard magazine was honoring Taylor with their highest accolade, the Century Award.
By 2000, Taylor's first Greatest Hits collection had sold over 10 million copies, earning him the RIAA's Diamond Award. Taylor was also inducted into both the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 2000 and at the end of the year, Columbia issued Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, covering the years 1977-1997. Fans who had waited five years for new material were awarded with October Road in 2002, an album earned two Grammy nominations and eventually went platinum. A year later, The Best of James Taylor became the first compilation to cover material from his years with Apple, Warner Bros., and Columbia. In 2004, he appeared on the television show The West Wing, released a Christmas Record and sang the national anthem before game two of the World Series. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
"I would advise you to keep your overhead down; avoid a major drug habit; play everyday, and take it in front of other people. They need to hear it, and you need them to hear it."
"Time will take your money, but money won't buy time."
Taylor's career began in the mid-1960s, but he found his audience in the early 1970s, singing sensitive and gentle acoustic
songs. He was part of a wave of singer-songwriters of the time that also included Joni
Mitchell, Tom Rush, Cat Stevens, Carole King, John Denver, Jackson
Browne as well as Carly Simon, whom Taylor later married.
His 1976 album Greatest Hits was certified diamond and has sold more than 11 million copies. He has retained a large audience well into the
1990s and early 2000s, when some of his best-selling and most-awarded albums were released.
Taylor first learned to play the cello as a child in Carrboro (near Chapel Hill), and switched
to the guitar in 1960. His style on that instrument evolved from listening to hymns, carols, and Woody Guthrie. He
attended Milton Academy, a prep school in Massachusetts, and summered with his family in
Martha's Vineyard, where he met Danny Kortchmar. The two began playing folk music together. After dropping out of school, he formed a band called The Fabulous Corsairs with his
brother, Alex. Later, he was committed to McLean Hospital for depression. He earned a high school diploma while in the hospital, and then left and formed a band
called the Flying Machine with Kortchmar and Joel O'Brien in New York City. The band was signed to Rainy Day Records and released one single, "Brighten Your Night with My Day" (B-side: "Night Owl").
The single was not a success. (A UK band with the same name emerged in 1969
with the hit song "Smile a Little Smile for Me".)
While living in New York City, Taylor became addicted to heroin. One night, after receiving a desperate phone call, his father drove to New York and "rescued" him. Taylor
later wrote a song called "Jump Up Behind Me" that paid tribute to his father's help during a time of desperate need. The song
also reflects on Taylor's memories of the long drive from New York City back to his home in Chapel Hill.
In 1968, Taylor moved to London. He was signed to Apple Records after sending a demo tape to Peter Asher (of
Peter & Gordon) and released his debut album, James Taylor. Despite the Beatles connection, and the presence of Paul McCartney and George Harrison on one track, the album did
not sell very well, and Taylor's addiction worsened. Moving back to the United States, Taylor checked into a hospital to treat
his drug problem in Western Massachusetts outside of Stockbridge (where he lives today). By 1969 he was well enough to perform
live, and had a six-night stand at the Troubadour Club in Los Angeles. On July
20, 1969 he performed at the Newport Folk Festival. Shortly thereafter he broke
both hands in a motorcycle accident on Martha's Vineyard and was forced to stop playing for several months.
1970s
Once recovered, Taylor signed to Warner Bros. Records and moved to
California keeping Asher as his manager and record producer. His second album, Sweet Baby James,
was a massive success, buoyed by the single "Fire and Rain", a song about his experience
in an asylum and the suicide of his friend, Suzanne Schnerr. The success of this single and the album piqued interest in Taylor's
first album, James Taylor and propelled the album and the single, "Carolina In My Mind",
back into the charts.
In 1972, Taylor returned with One Man Dog and married fellow singer-songwriter
Carly Simon on November 3. His next album, 1974's Walking Man, was a disappointment
but the following one, Gorilla, was a success partially because of a successful
single cover version of Marvin Gaye's
"How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)". This was followed by
In the Pocket in 1976 and then a greatest hits album that included some re-recordings of Apple Records-era material.
It became a huge hit and remains Taylor's best selling album.
In the early 1980s Taylor's career was again beset by drug problems. Additionally, Taylor's wife, Carly Simon, was unhappy
with his extended absences due to touring. After an ultimatum that he spend more time with their children, Taylor responded with
the 1981 album Dad Loves His Work. He and Simon divorced in 1983.
He was quoted in various interviews that he was thinking of retiring after fulfilling his last contractual obligation, the
Rock In Rio in 1985. However, he was surprised by the reception of the audience on Saturday,
January 12 (there were 250,000 people, the biggest attendance of the 10-day festival), when
he performed right before George Benson. Two days later, they were scheduled to perform in
the same order, but because Taylor's extended performance had caused a delay to Benson's on Saturday, Benson proposed that they
switch the order. Taylor ended up the finale in this second performance. Buoyed by the audience's reception, he decided to take
back his life and his career. (Sixteen years later, on January 12, 2001, he played the very same site, at the opening night of the third Rock in Rio, whose organizer, Roberto Medina,
described Taylor to the Brazilian press then as "his good luck charm".) The song "Only a Dream in Rio" was written in tribute to
that night, with verses like "I was there that very day and my heart came back alive". The album, That's Why I'm Here, from which that song came, started a series of studio recordings that,
while spaced further apart than his previous records, showed a more consistent level of quality and fewer covers.
In 1985, Taylor married his second wife, actress Kathryn Walker, who helped him through recovery of his substance addictions.
According to Taylor, he remains clean and sober to this day.
In 1988 he released Never Die Young. He began touring regularly especially in
amphitheaters on the oldies circuit. His later concerts
feature songs from throughout his career and are marked by the musicianship of his band and backup singers. The 1993 two-disc
(LIVE) album captures this well, with a highlight being Arnold McCuller's descants in the codas of "Shower the People" and "I Will Follow."
Taylor's two albums of original material from the 1990s were notably successful. His thirteenth album, New Moon Shine, went platinum in 1991 and he won the Grammy for Best Pop Album in 1998 for Hourglass.
2000s
In 2001 Taylor wed for the third time, marrying Caroline ("Kim") Smedvig. Part of their relationship was worked into the album
October Road, on the song "On the 4th of July". The couple has twin boys,
Rufus and Henry, born in 2001 to a surrogate mother via in vitro fertilization.
Flanked by two greatest hit releases, October Road appeared in 2002 to a receptive audience. It featured a number of
quiet instrumental accompaniments and passages. The album appeared in two versions, a single-disc version and a "limited edition"
two-disc version which contained three extra songs including a duet with Mark Knopfler,
"Sailing to Philadelphia", which also appeared on Knopfler's Sailing to
Philadelphia album. Also in 2002, Taylor teamed with bluegrass musician Alison
Krauss in singing "The Boxer" at the Kennedy
Center Honors Tribute to Paul Simon. They later recorded the
Louvin Brothers duet, "How's the World Treating You?"
Always visibly active in environmental and progressive causes, in October 2004 Taylor joined the "Vote for
Change" tour playing a series of concerts in American swing states. These concerts
were organized by MoveOn.org with the goal of mobilizing people to vote for John Kerry and against George W. Bush in that year's Presidential
campaign. Taylor's appearances were joint performances with the Dixie Chicks.
In December 2004, Taylor appeared as himself in an episode of The West Wing
entitled "A Change Is Gonna Come". He sang Sam Cooke's classic "A Change Is Gonna Come" at an
event honoring an artist played by Taylor's wife Caroline. Taylor's rendition was then released over the Internet.
Taylor's four siblings, Alex, Livingston, Hugh, and Kate, have also been musicians with
recorded albums. Livingston is still an active musician; Kate was active in the 1970s but did not record another album until
2003; Hugh operates a bed-and-breakfast with his wife; Alex died in 1993. Taylor's children with Carly Simon, Ben and Sally, have also embarked on musical careers.
James Taylor band members
The following is a list of musicians who have played in James Taylor's band.
2003 — The Chapel Hill Museum in Chapel Hill North Carolina opened a permanent exhibit
dedicated to Taylor. At the same occasion the highway bridge over Morgan Creek, near the site of the Taylor family home and
mentioned in Taylor's song "Copperline", was dedicated to Taylor.
2004 — George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement UCLA Spring
Sing.[1]
2004 — Ranked 84th in Rolling Stone's list of "The Immortals: 100 Greatest
Artists of All Time".[2]
