James Taylor is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist from Boston, active in country, folk, folk pop, folk rock, pop rock and rock. He is associated early in his career with the Mitchell / Taylor Boy-and-Girl Choir and The Flying Machine.

Career

Taylor is born in 1948 and develops a long recording career built around acoustic guitar and song-led material. He achieves a major breakthrough in 1970 with “Fire and Rain”, which reaches No. 3, and earns his first No. 1 single in 1971 with “You’ve Got a Friend”, written by Carole King. He later becomes known for both original songs, including “Sweet Baby James”, and cover versions such as “How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)” and “Handy Man”.

His 1976 compilation Greatest Hits is certified Diamond and sells 11 million copies in the United States, placing it among the best-selling albums in US history. After JT in 1977, he continues to attract a large audience, with every album he releases from 1977 to 2007 selling more than 1 million copies. His US album and single sales are certified at 33 million. He later experiences a commercial resurgence with albums including Hourglass, October Road and Covers, and achieves his first US number-one album in 2015 with Before This World.

Awards and recognition

Taylor is a six-time Grammy Award winner and is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

Film

He also plays the leading role in Monte Hellman’s 1971 film Two-Lane Blacktop.

Selected albums

His studio albums include James Taylor (1968), Sweet Baby James (1970), Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon (1971), One Man Dog (1972), Walking Man (1974), Gorilla (1975), In the Pocket (1976), JT (1977), Flag (1979), Dad Loves His Work (1981), That’s Why I’m Here (1985), Never Die Young (1988), New Moon Shine (1991), Hourglass (1997), October Road (2002), A Christmas Album (2004), James Taylor at Christmas (2006), Covers (2008), Before This World (2015) and American Standard (2020).