This article deals with James Taylor, the singer-songwriter and guitarist. For other people of the same name, see James Taylor (disambiguation).
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, born in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where his father Isaac Taylor was the dean of the University of North Carolina Medical School. His family summered on Martha's Vineyard.
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 soft singer-songwriters of the time that also included Carole King, Joni Mitchell, John Denver, Jackson Browne and Carly Simon (whom he later married).
His Greatest Hits album from 1976 was certified diamond and has sold more than 11 million copies.
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 and did not record another album until 2003; Hugh opened 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.
Taylor first learned the cello as a child in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, then switched to the guitar in 1960. His style on that instrument evolved from listening to hymns, carols, and Woody Guthrie; Taylor would later become an easily recognized linchpin of Guthrie's sound. While attending Milton Academy, a prep school in Massachusetts, Taylor met Danny Kortchmar at Martha's Vineyard and the two began playing folk music together. After dropping out of school, James formed a band with his brother, Alex. Later James was committed to McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, due to depression. He believes that this action on his behalf saved his life. He earned a high school diploma while in the asylum, then left and formed a band called the Flying Machine with Kortchmar and Joel O'Brien. The band was signed to Rainy Day Records and released one single, "Brighten Your Night with My Day" (B-side: "Night Owl"); the song was not a success.
