James Taylor | Artist
James Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist born 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide, is a six-time Grammy Award winner, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. His start in music came with the formation of The Flying Machine which comprised Taylor (vocals, guitar), Danny Kortchmar (vocals, guitar), Zachary Wiesner (bass) and Joel O'Brien (drums). They recorded several singles and one self-titled album recorded in 1966 but not released until 1971. Taylor then moved to London for several years and was introduced to Apple Records head Pete Asher, who signed him and recorded his 1968 self-titled solo album at London's Trident studios at the same time the Beatles were recording the White Album. Paul McCartney and George Harrison both contributed to the album but are uncredited. Taylor's breakthrough came in 1970 with the single "Fire and Rain" and his first No. 1 hit in 1971 "You've Got a Friend", written by Carole King. Now signed to Warner Brothers, Taylor released his second album Sweet Baby James which sold more than 1.5 million copies in its first year. Sweet Baby James was received as a folk-rock masterpiece, an album that effectively showcased Taylor's talents to the mainstream public. It earned Grammy Award nominations and is listed at No. 103 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Taylor is still active performing and recording to the present day and has released 22 studio albums. Standouts include James Taylor, Sweet Baby James, Mud Slide Slim, Gorilla, Hourglass and Live. Over his career his artistic fortunes have waxed and waned, but he has always been part of rock "nobility" and received the support of many name artists. From an early age Taylor experienced depression and committed himself to McLean psychiatric hospital after completing high school. For long periods of his life he was also addicted to Heroin and Methadone. He finally cleaned up in 1983, spurred on in part by the deaths of his friends John Belushi and Dennis Wilson, and in part by the desire to be a better father to his children. Taylor was married to fellow singer/songwriter Carly Simon between 1972-1983.
Artist Website: jamestaylor.com
Featured Albums: James Taylor
Related Artists: Carly Simon, James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine
Video Clips: Fire and Rain, Carolina on my Mind, Mexico
