Description of James Taylor's Music:

Folk-pop, Singer/Songwriter

Comparisons:

James Taylor is probably best compared to his contemporaries: folks like Arlo Guthrie, Paul Simon, Jackson Brown and Van Morrison.

James Taylor Trivia:

When he was growing up, James Taylor's family would spend their summers on Martha's Vineyard.

Recommended CDs by James Taylor:

Sweet Baby James (Warner Bros., 1970). Best Live (Columbia, 1994).

October Road (Warner Bros., 2002). Best of James Taylor (Warner Bros., 2003).

Quote From James Taylor:

"I would advise you to keep your overhead down; avoid a major drug habit; play every day; and take it in front of other people. They need to hear it, and you need them to hear it."

James Taylor Biography:

James Taylor was born in Boston, MA in 1948. His father was a doctor, and his three siblings Alex, Livingston, and Hugh, were all musicians in their own right. In 1951, the family moved to North Carolina when Dr. Taylor was made the dean of the medical school at UNC Chapel Hill.

As a child, James studied cello, but in 1960, he started teaching himself how to play guitar. Three years later, he headed back to New England to attend prep school at the Milton Academy in Massachusettes. During a holiday on Martha's Vineyard, he met Danny "Kooch" Kotchmar, and the two began playing music together.

When he was 16, Taylor formed a band with his brother Alex and quit the Milton Academy. He also moved to New York and began experiencing severe depression.

Taylor checked himself into a Massachusettes hospital, where he was treated for depression and began writing more intensely.

After his release from the hospital, Taylor returned to New York and had a short run with a band called The Flying Machine. The band broke up in 1967 and, in an attempt to kick what had become a heroine addiction, Taylor moved to London the following year. There, he managed to get a record deal with Apple Records (the Beatles), for whom he recorded his first album.

Later, after a motorcycle accident wherein he injured both his hands, Taylor signed with Warner Brothers Records, moved to California, and started work on his second album Sweet Baby James, which spawned the huge hit "Fire & Rain" and helped to bring his debut album back into popularity.

In 1972, James Taylor married fellow singer/songwriter Carly Simon, and the two were divorced eleven years later. In 1985, he remarried to Kathryn Walker.

Since then, he has toured almost tirelessly around the world, and has received Grammy Awards and nominations, and has been inducted into both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. He has released more than 20 albums to date.