The American musician James Taylor, whose name is forever inscribed in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, was very popular in the early 1970s of the last century. One of the artist's close friends is Mark Knopfler, a brilliant author and performer of his own compositions, one of the folk legends.
His compositions combine sensuality, energy and unchanging rhythm, "enveloping" the listener with a wave of touching sincerity that touches the depths of the soul.
Childhood and youth of James Taylor
James Taylor was born on March 12, 1948 to rising opera star Gertrude Woodart and physician Isaac Taylor. The talent of the mother was passed on to the boy. From the first conscious days of his life, he began to show interest in music. The violin was the first instrument of choice for music-making. However, tastes soon changed, and by 1960 James had mastered the guitar.
In 1963, the musician entered the Milton Academy, where he learned the intricacies of creativity for 16 years. During his studies, he managed to make friends with Danny Korchmar, who is an excellent guitar player. And soon the friends created a duet, performing compositions in the popular style of folk and blues.
At the age of 16, James graduated and created another group, where his brother Alex became his partner. The band took the name The Corsayers and performed in small local bars and cafes. The artist liked such a pseudo-tour life.
However, in 1965, the musician had to go to college and serious life trials, which ended in the treatment of depression in a psychiatric hospital.
The beginning of James Taylor's career
After a course of rehabilitation, James returned to New York. There, with Danny Korchmar, he created a new creative team, Flying Machine, whose repertoire was based on Taylor's compositions.
In early 1966, the team gained its first "portion" of popularity, performing in one of the prestigious institutions of Greenwich Village. Several released singles were not very successful, and soon James left the band. As he later recalled, there were a lot of drugs at that time.
The next period of rehabilitation and treatment for drug addiction forced the musician to reconsider his priorities. Traveling to London, he found Apple Records, through which he released his first solo album, modestly titled James Taylor.
The work did not receive positive reviews, and commercial success was again not achieved. Still suffering from addiction, the singer went to America to continue his treatment.
In 1969, the musician began performing on big stages. For the first time, he realized that the listeners were familiar with his songs, and even ready to endure any bad weather in order to meet his idol on stage.
Proof of this was the performance of the musician in Newport, where his appearance completed the concert program. In the same year, James ended up in a hospital bed as a result of a motorcycle accident. But he did not stop writing new songs.
The long-awaited popularity of James Taylor
In 1970, the second studio album by Sweet Baby James was released, recorded on the Warner Bros. label. records. The new work quickly "burst" into the top three of the Billboard chart and sold more than one and a half million copies. Such success increased the interest of the general public in the musician's work. And the first record also began to be a success.
In the same year, the musician was invited to act in films. The result of the experiment was a role in the film Two-Lane Blacktop. Critics received the film very coolly, and James decided not to spread himself on many projects, focusing on music. And the next work, which appeared in 1971, confirmed the correctness of the chosen path.
Several compositions from Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon took the top of the charts at once and received "gold" statuses. Thanks to the international hit You've Got a Friend, the artist received a well-deserved Grammy Award. Deciding not to stop there, the singer started recording the next disc.
In 1972, two significant events took place at once. The One Man Dog album was released, which almost immediately became gold, and there was information about the wedding of James Taylor with the popular singer Carly Simon. Since that time, the happy couple has periodically recorded compositions that were included in their solo projects.
New releases and tours of the musician
The musician's touring life was interrupted only to record new records. Walking Man came out in 1974 and Gorilla came out in 1975. Both albums immediately became "gold", the compositions were in rotation on radio stations. After the release of the seventh album In the Pocket, the composer stopped working with the Warner Bros. label. Records and moved under the wing of Columbia Records.
Thanks to the composition Handy Man from the JT album, the artist received a second Grammy Award. Then in 1979 he recorded another studio work, Flag. Then he started touring. A new album, Dad Loves His Work, was released in 1981. Since that time, the musician even more often had thoughts about ending his career. Not daring to leave the stage, he recorded the album Never Die Young, released in 1988.
With a small frequency released such records as: New Moon Shine (1991), Hourglass (1997), October Road (2002), Covers (2008) and Before This World (2015). The last work can be called the most successful in the entire career of a musician. After all, it was she who was able to get to the 1st position in the Billboard 200.
Personal life of James Taylor
After two not very successful marriages, from which the musician left two children, he finally found quiet family happiness with Karoline Smadwing and is raising twins born by a surrogate mother. The family lives in Massachusetts, in the city of Lenox. He does not seek to talk about his personal life.
