James Taylor biography
Born On This Day
Happy Birthday! James Taylor is 66 today.
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Quick Facts
- NAME: James Taylor
- OCCUPATION: Songwriter, Guitarist, Singer
- BIRTH DATE: March 12, 1948 (Age: 66)
- Did You Know?: Taylor starred in a movie, 1971's Two-Lane Blacktop, which also featured the Beach Boys' Dennis Wilson.
- PLACE OF BIRTH: Boston, Massachusetts
- Full Name: James Vernon Taylor
- AKA: James Taylor
- ZODIAC SIGN: Pisces
Best Known For
Singer-songwriter James Taylor creates music that combines folk, rock and pop sensibilities. His hit songs include "Fire and Rain" and "Shower the People."Quiz
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Synopsis
James Taylor was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 12,
1948. He rose to fame in the 1970s, when he became known for writing
and performing sensitive, affecting songs. Over the course of a
long-running career, Taylor has won five Grammy Awards and seen many of
his albums go platinum. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame in 2000 and received a National Medal of the Arts in 2011.
Contents
Quotes
"I thank God for music, and I thank music for God."
– James Taylor
Early Life
James Vernon Taylor was born on March 12, 1948, in Boston, Massachusetts. At the age of 3, he moved with his family to North Carolina, where he lived for the rest of his childhood (though his well-off family usually spent summers on Martha's Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts). Taylor's mother had studied singing; Taylor, like all of her children, was also musically inclined. Initially a cellist, he began to play the guitar when he was around 12 years old.Beginnings of Musical Career
In 1965, James Taylor committed himself to McLean Psychiatric Hospital in Massachusetts. During his stay there, he honed his songwriting skills. After leaving McLean in 1966, he helped form a band, The Flying Machine. When the group broke up, Taylor moved to London, where he was signed by the Beatles' Apple record label. Taylor's debut album, James Taylor, was well-liked by critics, but didn't sell well.In 1969, Taylor returned to the United States. Struggling with a heroin addiction, he checked into a hospital in New York, and then went to Austin Riggs, a Massachusetts psychiatric facility. After those stays, he played the 1969 Newport Folk Festival. Then he moved to California and recorded a new album, this time for Warner Brothers.
Musical Stardom
Taylor's career skyrocketed with the success of his second album, Sweet Baby James (1970), which contains what may be Taylor's best-known song, the gentle "Fire and Rain." Both the album and the song reached No. 3 in their respective chart categories. On his next album, Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, Taylor had a No. 1 hit with his cover of "You've Got a Friend," written by Carole King. He also won a Grammy for his performance of that song.Following a few moderately successful releases, James Taylor's Greatest Hits came out in 1976. The album was a success from the start, and has now received diamond certification (meaning it has sold more than 10 million copies). In 1977, Taylor won a second Grammy for his cover of "Handy Man." It was from the first album he recorded for Columbia, the multiplatinum-selling JT.
Over the next few decades, Taylor's musical output included studio albums, live recordings and even work on a Broadway musical. Hourglass (1997) won the Grammy for Best Pop Album (Taylor won Grammys in 2001 and 2003 as well). Touring has also enhanced Taylor's popularity, as well as his album sales; almost all of his releases have now attained either gold or platinum status.
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