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James Taylor Biography
Born March 1948, Boston,
Massachusetts, USA. The embodiment of the American singer-songwriter in
the late 60s and early 70s was the frail and troubled James Taylor.
He was born into a wealthy
family. His mother was a classically trained soprano and encouraged James
and his siblings, including future recording artists Livingston Taylor (b.
21 November 1950, Boston, Massachusetts), Alex Taylor (b. 28 February
1947, Boston, Massachusetts, USA), Hugh Taylor (b. 24 July 1952, Durham,
North Carolina, USA) and Kate Taylor (b. 21 November 1950, Boston,
Massachusetts, USA) to become musical.
The young James Taylor wanted for nothing and divided his time between two
substantial homes. He befriended Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar at the
age of 15 and won a local talent contest. As is often the case, boarding
school education often suits the parents more than the child, and James
rebelled from Milton Academy at the age of 16 to join his brother Alex in
a rock band, the Fabulous Corsairs.
At only 17 he committed
himself to the McLean Mental Institution in Massachusetts to undergo
treatment for his severe depression. Following a nine-month stay he
reunited with "Kootch" and together they formed the commercially
disastrous Flying Machine. At 18, now being supported by his parents in
his own apartment, the seemingly affluent James drew the predictable crowd
of hangers-on and emotional parasites. He experimented and soon was
addicted to heroin.
Eventually
he had the drive to move out from his family home, and after several
months of travelling he arrived in London and found a flat in Notting Hill
(which in 1968 was hardly the place for someone trying to kick a drug
habit!). Once again "Kootch" came to the rescue, and suggested
Taylor take a demo tape to Peter Asher. "Kootch" had supported
Peter And Gordon on an American tour, and Asher was now looking for talent
as head of the new Apple Records. Both Asher and Paul McCartney liked the
work and the thin, drug-weary, weak and by now experienced teenager was
given the opportunity to record. James Taylor was not a success when
released, even though classic songs like "Carolina On My Mind"
and "Something In The Way She Moves" appeared on it.
Depressed and still hooked on heroin, Taylor returned to America, this
time to the Austin Riggs Mental Institution. Meanwhile Asher, frustrated
at the disorganized Apple, moved to America, and persevering with Taylor,
he secured a contact with Warner Brothers Records and rounded up a team of
supportive musician friends; "Kootch", Leland Sklar, Russ Kunkel
and Carole King. Many of the songs written in the institution appeared on
the superlative Sweet Baby James. The album eventually spent two years in
the US charts and contained a jewel of a song: "Fire And Rain".
In this, he encapsulated his entire life, problems and fears; it stands as
one of the finest songs of the era. Taylor received rave notices from
critics and he was quickly elevated to superstardom. The follow-up, Mud
Slide Slim And The Blue Horizon, consolidated the previous success and
contained the definitive reading of Carole King's "You've Got a
Friend". Now free of drugs, Taylor worked with the Beach Boys' Dennis
Wilson on the cult drag-race movie Two Lane Blacktop and released One Man
Dog which contained another hit, "Don't Let Me Be Lonely
Tonight". Fortunately Taylor was not lonely for long; he married
Carly Simon in the biggest showbusiness wedding since Burton and Taylor.
They duetted on a version of the Charlie And Inez Foxx hit,
"Mockingbird", which made the US Top 5 in 1974.
Taylor's albums began to form a pattern of mostly original compositions,
mixed with an immaculately chosen blend of R&B, soul and rock 'n' roll
classics. Ironically most of his subsequent hits were non-originals, such
as Holland/Dozier/Holland's "How Sweet It Is", Otis Blackwell's
"Handy Man" and Goffin/King's "Up On The Roof". Taylor
was also beginning to display a new confidence and sparkling onstage wit,
having a superb rapport with his audiences, where once his shyness was
excruciating. Simon filed for divorce a decade after their marriage, the
punishing touring and once again the recurring drug dependency were
blamed, but Taylor accepted the breakdown and carried on with his
profession. He continued to prosper as a hugely popular live act. A
tribute to the assured Taylor is captured on Pat Metheny's joyous
composition "James", recorded on his Offramp album in 1982.
After a spell of indifferent albums in 1985 Taylor released the immaculate
That's Why I'm Here. The reason he is here, as the lyric explains, is
"fortune and fame is such a curious game, perfect strangers can call
you by name, pay good money to hear 'Fire And Rain', again and again and
again". This one song says as much about James Taylor today as
"Fire And Rain" did many years ago. He has survived excess, his
brain cells are in order, he is happy, he is still creative and above all,
his concerts exude a cosy warmth that demonstrates he is genuinely
grateful to be able to perform.
In recent years Taylor continues to add his harmony vocals to all and
sundry as a session singer, in addition to regularly touring. He has
devoted much time to performing at benefits, especially in Brazil, a
country he fell in love with in the mid-80s. After a recording break of
nearly five years he returned with Hourglass in 1997. It was well received
by the critics and became one of his highest-charting records for many
years and received a Grammy award. Quite why is a mystery, because it was
no better or worse than his other most recent studio recordings.
Maybe
the critical wind of change has once again blown in his favour. The double
live album that was issued in 1993 is a necessary re-starting point for
those who stopped buying his records when they moved out of their
bedsitters in 1971. October Road was a truly magnificent album, very much
in the style of Sweet Baby James but with a polish of maturity that
observes the twilight years that have arrived. He has often reminded would
be musicians that one of the keys to starting out in the music business is
to "avoid a major drug habit". Taylor is now an elder statesman
of the classic singer-songwriter genre he remains one of the real
surviving stars of the post-hippie generation.
James Taylor Links
James
Taylor's Official Website |
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