James Taylor Biography, Photos and Posters

James Taylor

Biography

Born: March 12, 1948
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Instrument: Vocalist, Guitar
Music Training: studied cello as a child; took up guitar in 1960
Awards: 1971 Grammy Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, "You've Got A Friend;" 1977 Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, "Handy Man;" 1997 Best Pop Album, Hourglass; 2001 Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight;" Best Country Collaboration With Vocals, "How's The World Treating You;" 2000 inducted into Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame; 2000 inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame
Top Recordings: "Fire and Rain," "Carolina in My Mind," "Sweet Baby James," "You've Got A Friend,"
James Taylor biography: James Taylor is the son of Gertrude and Dr. Isaac Taylor who in 1951 was appointed dean of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Medical school. This required the family to pack up and move to North Carolina. He studied the cello as a child and took up the guitar in 1960. In 1963 he attended Milton Academy a prep school in his native Massachusetts. He formed a duo fellow guitarist Danny Kortchmar while vacationing on Martha's Vineyard that summer. At 16 he dropped out of school to form a band with his brother Alex and moved to New York. He later checked himself into McLean Psychiatric Hospital in Massachusetts suffering from depression. While there he completed high school.

In 1966 Taylor formed a new band, the Flying Machine, with Kortchmar which played in Greenwich Village. This earned him a contract with fledgling record label Rainy Day Records. His only recording with them did not fair well. The group disbanded in 1967. It was 1968 when Taylor became addicted to heroin. He felt a change of scenery would facilitate his kicking the habit so he moved to London where he submitted a demo tape to Peter Asher of Peter and Gordon, who by then was working for the Beatles. This landed Taylor a contract with Apple Records. His initial solo album was released in the U. K. that year and in the U. S. in 1969, initially it garnered little attention. Unable to overcome his heroin addiction he returned to the U. S. and checked into the Austin Riggs Hospital in Massachusetts. His recovery was far enough along by July of 1969 for him to make his solo debut at the Troubadour nightclub in Los Angeles.

A motorcycle accident put him out of commission for several months. In 1971 he returned to the record stores with Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon. This would become his first charting effort and the single released from the album Carole King's "You've Got a Friend," hit the top of the single charts in July and went gold. His follow up One Man Dog wasn't released until November 1972 and contained the top 20 hit single "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight." All in all the effort was not as successful as his previous recording. It was at that time that he married singer/songwriter Carly Simon. In 1974 the duo had a hit with the song "Mockingbird." The record went gold.

Taylor's next effort Walking Man was a commercial disappointment failing to go gold. His release of Gorilla in May of '74 spawned the hit single "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)," a revival of the Marvin Gaye hit. "Shower the People," the single from his 1976 album In The Pocket, reached the top 40 while the album made the top 20. At the end of his contract with Warner Records he re-recorded some of his earlier efforts with Apple Records for his Greatest Hits album. It became a perennial seller. He then signed with Columbia. His first release JT included the old Jimmmy Jaymes hit "Handyman" which made the top 5. Another duet with wife Carly "Devoted to You" made the top 40. In 1979 he released Flag which included the single "Up on the Roof" which struggled to make the top 40. The LP, however, went platinum. Starting in 1980 Taylor began touring on a regular basis. His marriage to Carly Simon ended in divorce in 1983. While on a tight schedule of tours mostly abroad his recording career began to suffer. His next major release wasn't until 1985, That's Why I'm Here, including Buddy Holly's "Everyday," at first did not fare well on the charts, but eventually went platinum. He continues to perform and record.

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