James Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist who is popularly known as one of the best-selling music artists of all time. Taylor is a five-time Grammy Award winner and also has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is known for his hit single covers including, “Fire and Rain”, “How Sweet It Is(To Be Loved by You)” and “Handy Man”.
What is James Taylor Famous for?
- Famous as the Grammy award-winning singer.
Where was James Taylor Born?
James Taylor was born on March 12, 1948, in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. His birth name is James Vernon Taylor. His nationality is American. Taylor belongs to White ethnicity while Pisces is his zodiac sign.
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Taylor was born in a well-to-do family to Dr. Isaac M. Taylor(father) and Gertrude Woodward(mother). His father was a resident physician who came from a well-off family of Southern Scottish ancestry while his mother was an aspiring opera singer.
He grew up along with his siblings: three brothers, Alex, Livingston and Hugh, and one sister, Kate. Belonging to a family with a music background, he along with his siblings became keenly interested in music such that his siblings all became musicians and recorded albums of their own.
While James was 3, he and his family moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina when his father was appointed dean of the Medical School at the University of North Carolina. He began taking cello lessons after then he learned the guitar in 1960. He even wrote his first song on guitar at 14.
He attended a public primary school in Chapel Hill. Later, in 1963, he joined prep school called Milton Academy where he met fellow guitarist from New York, Danny “Kootch” Kortchmar and by 1963, he and Kortchmar were playing coffeehouses around the Vineyard.
Later, he joined Chapel Hill High School where he joined a band formed by his brother Alex called “The Corsairs”.
Sooner, he became depressed and in 1965, he went to McLean, a psychiatric hospital where he was treated with chlorpromazine. However, in 1966, he earned a high school diploma from the hospital’s associated Arlington School. After, checking up, and on urging of Kortchmar, he moved to New York to form a band.
James Taylor’s Career Highlights
- James Taylor began his professional career forming a band, called The Flying Machines, with Kortchmar and Joel O’ Brien. Their band sang songs like ‘Knocking ‘Round the Zoo’, ‘Don’t Talk Now’, and ‘The Blues Is Just a Bad Dream’.
- With the release of “Brighten Your Night with My Day” which was a flop song written by Taylor, the band broken up in 1967.
- He came in touch with drugs including heroin and wrote the “Paint It Black” to depict his drug experience. His friend, Kortchmar helped him and he got in touch with Peter Asher who was working for Apple Records.
- He became the first non-British to be signed by the Beatles’ Apple Records label.
- In 1968, he released his debut self-titled solo album, “James Taylor” in the UK.
- After Taylor headlined a six-night stand at the Troubadour in Los Angeles in July 1969, he signed a new deal with Warner Bros. Records in October 1969.
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- In February 1970, his second album there titled “Sweet Baby James” was released.
- In 1971, his third album, “Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon” was released along with singles “Long Ago and Far Away”, “You’ve Got a Friend”.
- Taylor won his first Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance-Male and Song of the Year for “You’ve Got a Friend” in 1972.
- He released his last studio album, “In the POcket” under Warner Bros. Records in 1976.
- In 1977, Taylor signed with Columbia Records and recorded his first album for the label, “JT”.
- Taylor got his breakout career with the release of his hit album, “Hourglass” in 1997.
- He released two hit albums “October Road”(2002) and “Covers”(2008)—both of which reached No. 4 in the U.S. Billboard 200.
- He also appeared briefly in the movie Two-Lane Blacktop(1971), Funny People(2009) and in the ABC comedy, “Mr. Sunshine”(2011).
- Taylor was an active supporter of Barack Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, where he even performed “America the Beautiful” at the President’s second inauguration.
- He appeared on the final of Star Académie, the Quebec version of American Idol, on April 13, 2009.
- On June 16, 2015, his 19th album, “Before This World” was released which turned out to be Taylor’s first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart.
- Taylor will begin his role as a Mega Mentor on the April 13 edition of the “The Vocal” show.
Who is James Taylor Married to?
James Taylor married three times his entire life. He first got married to his first wife, Carly Simon in 1972. Simon is also a singer-songwriter. They together have two children, Ben and Sally who are also aspiring musicians like their parents. However, they divorced in 1983.
Later, in December 1985, he got married to actress Kathryn Walker in New York but their relationship couldn’t last long and they got divorced in 1996.
In February 2001, Taylor got married to his third wife, Caroline Smedvig(Kim). Caroline and James together have twins sons, Rufus and Henry. Currently, he is living with his wife, Caroline, and sons in Lenox, Massachusetts.
What is the Net Worth of James Taylor?
The 72 years old James Taylor has quite a great earnings from his professional career as a musician. Working in this field for more than 6 decades, Taylor has managed to amass a great fortune worth million dollars from his several hit songs, albums, and concerts all around the world.
His current net worth is around $70 million.
Being a five-time Grammy awards winner and one of the best-selling music artists of all time, Taylor has earned a huge fortune in million dollars including his properties and deals.
Besides, Taylor supports altogether 13 Organizations and Foundations including Children’s Health Fund, Entertainment Industry Foundation, Rainforest Foundation Fund, Stand Up To Cancer, GRAMMY foundation.
How Tall is James Taylor?
James Taylor is a charming man in his early 70s. He has an athletic body physique. He stands tall with a height of 6ft. 2inch(1.9 m)while his body weighs around 90kg. He has bald hair and green eyes.
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