May 2006 James Taylor 

James Vernon Taylor was born on March 12, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts.  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). 

Taylor grew up in the university town of Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  He summered with his family on Martha's Vineyard, where he met fellow guitarist/songwriter Danny Kortchmar and began performing.  Beset by drug problems, he voluntarily institutionalized himself and began writing songs during his stay.  Moving to New York, Taylor formed the Flying Machine with Kortchmar in 1966.  After their breakup, he headed to London, where he lived for a year. He cut a demo tape that got him signed to the Beatles' Apple Records by A&R man Peter Asher, who became his manager and producer.  The debut album James Taylor (1968) contained Taylor's classic "Carolina in My Mind."

In 1969, he signed to Warner Bros. and moved to California, where he recorded the classic Sweet Baby James with a band that included guitarist Kortchmar and Carole King on piano.  Released in March 1970, the album offered its share of signature songs, including "Fire and Rain," "Sunny Skies," "Country Road" and "Sweet Baby James."  

His third album, Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon (1971), found Taylor-mania in full swing. It was certified platinum the month of its release and reached #2 on Billboard's album chart. Taylor's version of Carole King's "You've Got a Friend" became his first--and, to date, only--#1 single.  It won Grammys both for Taylor (Best Male Pop Vocal Performance) and King (Song of the Year).  A 1971 cover story in Rolling Stone proclaimed James Taylor and his musical siblings--sister Kate and brothers Livingston, Alex and Hugh--"the first family of the new rock."

Taylor remained a prolific recording artist throughout the Seventies, releasing a string of solid albums: One Man Dog (1972), Walking Man (1974), Gorilla (1975) and In the Pocket (1976). Such breezy, soulful singles as "How Sweet It Is (to Be Loved by You)" and "Mockingbird," a duet with Carly Simon, made the Top Five. His reign as a pop icon culminated in the December 1976 release of Greatest Hits, which has sold more than 11 million copies. Taylor's combined catalog has sold an astonishing 30 million copies to date.

In 1977, Taylor moved to Columbia Records, where he debuted with JT, an album that found him in peak form as a folk-pop stylist.  The pace of his releases has slowed over the years, but his work has intensified in its depth and craft.  His later albums, notably New Moon Shine (1991) and Hourglass (1997), rank with his best.  In fact, Hourglass won Taylor a coveted Grammy for Best Pop Album in 1998.  Taylor's hit-filled live shows are renowned for their exquisitely polished musicianship. James Taylor (Live), A double CD released in 1993, was a career-spanning triumph that documented his exacting artistry onstage.

Always visibly active in environmental and progressive causes, in October 2004 Taylor joined the "Vote for Change" tour, playing a series of concerts in American swing states.  Taylor's appearances were joint performances with the Dixie Chicks.

In December 2004, Taylor appeared as himself in an episode of The West Wing entitled "A Change Is Gonna Come". He sang Sam Cooke's classic "A Change Is Gonna Come" at an event honoring an artist, played by Taylor's wife Caroline. Taylor's rendition was then released over the Internet.

Congratulations to James Taylor, for being chosen our latest Artist Spot-Lite on LiteFavorites.com!  Listen for James and other soft hits, with less talk all day at work.

Click here for our previous Artist Spot-Lite Faith Hill.