JAMES TAYLOR

'James Vernon Taylor' (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, born in Belmont, Massachusetts.
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.

Contents

Biography

Early years

Early career

1970s

1980s and 1990s

2000s

Musicians in the family

Awards and recognition

Other recognition

Discography

Videography

Other appearances

References

Further reading

External links

Biography

Early years

James Taylor grew up in Carrboro, North Carolina, where his father Isaac M. Taylor was the dean of the University of North Carolina Medical School from 1964 to 1971. His family spent summers on Martha's Vineyard.

Early career

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 a psychiatric 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.
Taylor worked with Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys on a film, ''Two-Lane Blacktop'', but this was unsuccessful at the time. 1971 saw the release of ''Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon'', another hit album. He won a Grammy Award for his version of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend".
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.
Taylor signed with Columbia Records and released ''JT'' in 1977 winning another Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for his cover version of "Handy Man". The snazzy song "Traffic Jam" from the album has since become a favorite jingle for rush-hour radio traffic reports.
After collaborating with Art Garfunkel and briefly working on Broadway, Taylor took a two-year break, reappearing in 1979 with the cover-studded album ''Flag'' featuring a Top 40 version of Gerry Goffin and Carole King's "Up On The Roof." Taylor also performed at the No Nukes concert in Madison Square Garden and appeared on the album and the film from the concert.

1980s and 1990s

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?"
In 2004, after his Columbia/Sony record contract was not renewed, he released '' with distribution through Hallmark Cards.
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.
In 2006, Taylor performed Randy Newman's song "Our Town" for the Disney animated film ''Cars''. The song was nominated for the 2007 Academy Award for the best Original Song.
On January 1, 2007, Taylor headlined the inaugural concert at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York, honoring newly sworn in Governor of New York, Eliot Spitzer.
It was recently announced that Taylor's next album "One man band" will be released in November on Starbucks' Hear Music Label, where he will join Paul McCartney and Joni Mitchell.

Musicians in the family

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.

Awards and recognition

===Grammy Awards===

★ 1971 — Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, "You've Got a Friend"

★ 1977 — Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, "Handy Man"

★ 1998 — Best Pop Album, ''Hourglass''

★ 2001 — Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight"

★ 2003 — Best Country Collaboration With Vocals, "How's the World Treating You", with Alison Krauss

★ 2006 — Grammy MusiCares Person of the Year. At a black tie ceremony held in Los Angeles, musicians from several eras paid tribute to Taylor by performing his songs, often prefacing them with remarks on his influence on their decisions to become musicians. These artists included Carole King, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Taj Mahal, Dr. John, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, David Crosby, Sheryl Crow, India.Arie, the Dixie Chicks, Jerry Douglas, Alison Krauss, and Keith Urban. Paul Simon performed as well, although he was not included in the televised program; Taylor's brother Livingston appeared on stage as a "backup singer" for the finale, along with Taylor's twin boys Rufus and Henry.

Other recognition

★ 1995 — Honorary doctorate of music from the Berklee College of Music, Boston, 1995

★ 2000 — Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2000

★ 2000 — Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, 2000

★ 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]

Discography

★ 1968 — ''James Taylor''

★ 1970 — ''Sweet Baby James''

★ 1971 — ''James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine'' — recorded 1966–1967

★ 1971 — ''Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon''

★ 1972 — ''One Man Dog''

★ 1974 — ''Walking Man''

★ 1975 — ''Gorilla''

★ 1976 — ''In the Pocket''

★ 1976 — ''Greatest Hits''

★ 1977 — ''JT''

★ 1979 — ''Flag''

★ 1981 — ''Dad Loves His Work''

★ 1985 — ''That's Why I'm Here''

★ 1988 — ''Never Die Young''

★ 1991 — ''New Moon Shine''

★ 1992 — ''Live In Rio (1985)''

★ 1993 — ''(LIVE)''

★ 1994 — ''(Best LIVE)''

★ 1997 — ''Hourglass''

★ 2000 — ''Greatest Hits Volume 2''

★ 2002 — ''October Road''

★ 2003 — ''The Best of James Taylor''

★ 2004 — ''

★ 2006 — ''James Taylor at Christmas''

★ 2007 — ''One Man Band'' (CD/DVD Set)

Videography

★ 1982 — '' — CBS/FOX laser disc of a 1979 concert in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

★ 1988 — ''James Taylor In Concert'' in Boston

★ 1993 — ''Squibnocket'' — Tour rehearsals on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts

★ 1998 — ''Live at the Beacon Theatre'' — Recording of a show in New York City

★ 2002 — ''Pull Over'' — Recording of a 2001 show in Chicago, Illinois

★ 2002 — ''CMT Crossroads: James Taylor and Dixie Chicks''

★ 2004 — ''Crossroads Guitar Festival''

★ 2006 — '' — DVD of Taylor and celebrity guests released by Rhino Entertainment

★ 2007 — ''One Man Band'' (CD/DVD Set)

Other appearances

★ He provided a guest voice to ''The Simpsons'' episode "Deep Space Homer" where he played some of his songs to Homer, Buzz Aldrin, and Race Banyon when they were in space.

★ He has often played with Italian rock band Elio e le Storie Tese when touring in Italy

★ Performed "Second Star To The Right" on ''Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films'' in 1988 as one of Various Artists.

★ He appeared as himself, performing Sam Cooke's "A Change Is Gonna Come" on the December 1 2004 episode of the TV show "The West Wing."

References

1. Calendar & Events: Spring Sing: Gershwin Award
2. The Immortals: The First Fifty

Further reading

★ White, Timothy, ''James Taylor: Long Ago and Far Away'', Omnibus Press, 2002, ISBN 0-7119-9193-6.

★ Risberg, Joel, ''The James Taylor Encyclopedia'', GeekTV Press, 2005, ISBN 1-4116-3477-2.

External links

★ The Official James Taylor website

★ James Taylor Online

★ James Taylor discography

★ James Taylor profile, NNDB

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★

★ Dedication of James Taylor Bridge

★ "Carolina in My Mind" — The James Taylor Story at the Chapel Hill Museum

★ 2006 Grammy MusiCares Person of the Year

★ James Taylor Tabs

★ James Taylor Discography at Quasimodobell