Editing James Taylor

{{short description|American musician (born 1948)}}
{{about|the solo musician|the Kool & the Gang member|James "J.T." Taylor|other persons with the same name|James Taylor (disambiguation)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = James Taylor
| image              = James Taylor - Columbia.jpg
| caption            = Taylor in 1977
| birth_name         = James Vernon Taylor
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1948|3|12}}
| birth_place        = [[Boston]], Massachusetts, U.S.
| occupation         = {{hlist|Singer-songwriter|guitarist}}
| years_active       = 1966–present
| spouse             = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|[[Carly Simon]]|1972|1983|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|[[Kathryn Walker]]|1985|1995|end=divorced}}
* {{marriage|Caroline Smedvig|2001}}
}}
| children           = 4, including [[Sally Taylor (musician)|Sally]]
| father             = [[Isaac M. Taylor]]
| relatives          = {{ubl|[[Alex Taylor (singer)|Alex Taylor]] (brother)|[[Kate Taylor]] (sister)|[[Livingston Taylor]] (brother)}}
| website            = {{URL|jamestaylor.com}}
| module             = {{Infobox musical artist|embed=yes
| background    = solo_singer
| genre         = {{hlist|[[Soft rock]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jamestaylor.com/tulsaworld-com-soft-rock-legend-james-taylor-brings-chill-factor-to-bok-center/|title=TULSAWORLD.COM — Soft rock legend James Taylor brings chill factor to BOK Center|website=JamesTaylor.com|access-date=March 11, 2022|archive-date=June 15, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210615122508/https://www.jamestaylor.com/tulsaworld-com-soft-rock-legend-james-taylor-brings-chill-factor-to-bok-center/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://bransontravelgroup.com/shows/james-taylor-soft-rock-of-the-70s-80s/|title=James Taylor & Soft Rock of the 70's & 80's – Branson Travel Group|date=May 4, 2021|website=Branson Travel Group|access-date=March 11, 2022|archive-date=March 14, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314172922/https://bransontravelgroup.com/shows/james-taylor-soft-rock-of-the-70s-80s/|url-status=live}}</ref>|[[folk rock]]<ref>{{cite book|title=The Making of Modern America - The Nation from 1945 to the Present|first=Gary|last=Donaldson|date=2012|publisher=Rowman & Littlefield|page=160|isbn=9781442209572|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0N1MezRCMxwC|access-date=October 11, 2022}}</ref>}}
| instrument    = {{hlist|Vocals|guitar}}
| discography   = [[James Taylor discography]]
| label         = {{hlist|[[Apple Records|Apple]]|[[Capitol Records|Capitol]]|[[EMI Records|EMI]]|[[Warner Records|Warner Bros.]]|[[Columbia Records|Columbia]]|[[Sony Music|Sony]]|[[Hear Music|Hear]]|[[Fantasy Records|Fantasy]]}}
}}
| signature          = James Taylor signature.svg
}}
'''James Vernon Taylor''' (born March 12, 1948) is an American [[singer-songwriter]] and guitarist. A six-time [[Grammy Award]] winner, he was inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 2000.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://rockhall.com/inductees/james-taylor/ |title=James Taylor: inducted in 2000 &#124; The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum |publisher=Rockhall.com |access-date=May 23, 2014 |archive-date=June 24, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140624042552/http://rockhall.com/inductees/james-taylor/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the {{numero|3}} single "[[Fire and Rain (song)|Fire and Rain]]" and had his first {{numero|1}} hit in 1971 with his recording of "[[You've Got a Friend]]", written by [[Carole King]] in the same year. His 1976 ''[[Greatest Hits (James Taylor album)|Greatest Hits]]'' album was certified [[RIAA certification#RIAA Diamond certifications|Diamond]] and has sold 11 million copies in the US alone, making it one of the [[List of best-selling albums in the United States#10–14 million copies|best-selling albums in US history.]] Following his 1977 album ''[[JT (James Taylor album)|JT]]'', he has retained a large audience over the decades. Every album that he released from 1977 to 2007 sold over 1 million copies. He enjoyed a resurgence in chart performance during the late 1990s and 2000s, when he recorded some of his most-awarded work (including ''[[Hourglass (James Taylor album)|Hourglass]]'', ''[[October Road (album)|October Road]]'', and ''[[Covers (James Taylor album)|Covers]]''). He achieved his first number-one album in the US in 2015 with ''[[Before This World]]''.<ref name=firstnum1album>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6605803/james-taylor-first-no-1-album-billboard-200 |title=James Taylor Earns His First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart After 45-Year Wait |magazine=Billboard |access-date=August 25, 2015 |archive-date=August 22, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150822094225/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6605803/james-taylor-first-no-1-album-billboard-200 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Taylor is also known for his covers, such as "[[How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)]]" and "[[Handy Man (song)|Handy Man]]", as well as originals such as "[[Sweet Baby James (song)|Sweet Baby James]]".<ref name=firstnum1album/> He played the leading role in [[Monte Hellman]]'s 1971 film ''[[Two-Lane Blacktop]]''.

==Early years==
James Vernon Taylor was born at [[Massachusetts General Hospital]] in [[Boston]] on March 12, 1948. His father, [[Isaac M. Taylor]], worked as a [[Resident (medicine)|resident]] physician at the hospital<ref name="cby-428">''Current Biography Yearbook 1972'', p. 428.</ref><ref>White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', p. 51.</ref> and came from a wealthy [[Southern United States|Southern]] family.<ref name="cby-428"/> Taylor is of English and Scottish descent from the Taylor family of the [[Montrose, Angus|Montrose]] area,<ref>{{Cite book |last=White |first=Timothy |title=Long Ago and Far Away: James Taylor – His Life and Music |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |date=October 1, 2001 |isbn=978-0711988033 |edition=1st}}</ref> with the former being rooted in [[Massachusetts Bay Colony]]; his ancestors include [[Edmund Rice (colonist)|Edmund Rice]], an English colonist who co-founded [[Sudbury, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://famouskin.com/family-group.php?name=91801+james+taylor&ahnum=5320|title=Ancestry of James Taylor|publisher=FamousKin.com|access-date=August 22, 2018|archive-date=August 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180822113622/https://famouskin.com/family-group.php?name=91801+james+taylor&ahnum=5320|url-status=live}}</ref> His mother, Gertrude (née Woodard; 1921–2015), studied singing with [[Marie Sundelius]] at the [[New England Conservatory of Music]] and was an aspiring opera singer before she married Isaac in 1946.<ref name="cby-428"/><ref>White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 50–51.</ref> Taylor is the younger brother of musician [[Alex Taylor (singer)|Alex Taylor]] (1947–1993) and the older brother of musicians [[Kate Taylor]] (born 1949) and [[Livingston Taylor]] (born 1950).<ref name="white">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 51, 52, 59.</ref> His youngest sibling, a brother named Hugh (born 1952), was also a musician; Hugh eventually left the music industry and has operated The Outermost Inn, a [[bed-and-breakfast]] in [[Aquinnah, Massachusetts]], with his wife since 1989.<ref name="white" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://outermostinn.com/our-story/|title=Our Story – Outermost Inn|access-date=October 14, 2021|archive-date=October 27, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027181813/https://outermostinn.com/our-story/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1951, Taylor and his family moved to [[Chapel Hill, North Carolina]],<ref name="nativeson">Susan Broili. "Native son coming to Carolina for tribute – Chapel Hill naming Morgan Creek bridge after James Taylor on April 26", ''The Chapel Hill Herald'' (Chapel Hill, NC), March 27, 2003, p. 1: "Even though Taylor was born in Boston on March 12, 1948, he moved to Chapel Hill when he was three and considers himself a North Carolinian."</ref> when Isaac took a job as an assistant professor of medicine at the [[University of North Carolina School of Medicine]].<ref>White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 55, 57.</ref> They built a house in the Morgan Creek area off the present Morgan Creek Road, which was sparsely populated.<ref name="white-61"/> Taylor later said, "Chapel Hill, the Piedmont, the outlying hills, were tranquil, rural, beautiful, but quiet. Thinking of the red soil, caused by local copper mining [Taylor's later song, "Copperline" was a nostalgic salute to that area where Taylor grew up], plus the seasons, the way things smelled down there, I feel as though my experience of coming of age there was more a matter of landscape and climate than people."<ref name="white-61">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', p. 61.</ref> James attended a [[Public education|public]] primary school in Chapel Hill.<ref name="cby-428"/> Isaac's career prospered, but he was frequently away from home on [[military service]] at [[Bethesda Naval Hospital]] in [[Maryland]] or as part of [[Operation Deep Freeze]] in [[Antarctica]] in 1955 and 1956.<ref>White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 68–69.</ref> Isaac Taylor later rose to become [[dean (education)|dean]] of the [[UNC School of Medicine]] from 1964 to 1971.<ref name="jtmuseum">[http://www.chapelhillmuseum.org/Exhibits/Ongoing/JamesTaylorExhibit/ "Carolina on my mind: The James Taylor story"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090815074724/http://www.chapelhillmuseum.org/Exhibits/Ongoing/JamesTaylorExhibit/ |date=August 15, 2009 }}, exhibit at the Chapel Hill Museum, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Information retrieved December 24, 2007.</ref> Beginning in 1953, the Taylors spent summers on [[Martha's Vineyard]].<ref>White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 68.</ref>

Taylor took cello lessons as a child in [[North Carolina]], before learning the guitar in 1960.<ref>White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 93, 98.</ref> His guitar style evolved, influenced by [[hymn]]s, [[carol (music)|carols]], and the music of [[Woody Guthrie]], and his technique derived from his [[bass clef]]-oriented cello training and from experimenting on his sister Kate's keyboards: "My style was a finger-picking style that was meant to be like a piano, as if my thumb were my left hand, and my first, second, and third fingers were my right hand."<ref name="white-106">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 106–107.</ref>  Spending summer holidays with his family on [[Martha's Vineyard]], he met [[Danny Kortchmar]], an aspiring teenage guitarist from [[Larchmont, New York]].<ref>White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 102, 103.</ref> The two began listening to and playing [[blues]] and [[folk music]] together, and Kortchmar felt that Taylor's singing had a "natural sense of phrasing, every syllable beautifully in time. I knew James had that ''thing''."<ref>White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', p. 105.</ref> Taylor wrote his first song on guitar at 14, and he continued to learn the instrument effortlessly.<ref name="white-106"/> By the summer of 1963, he and Kortchmar were playing coffeehouses around the Vineyard, billed as "Jamie & Kootch".<ref>White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', p. 111.</ref>

In 1961, Taylor went to [[Milton Academy]], a [[University-preparatory school|preparatory]] boarding school in Massachusetts. He faltered during his junior year, feeling uneasy in the high-pressure [[University-preparatory school#United States and Canada|college prep environment]] despite having a good scholastic performance.<ref name="white-112"/> The Milton headmaster later said, "James was more sensitive and less goal-oriented than most students of his day."<ref name="time-cover-story">{{cite magazine | url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,878920-1,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230325222142/https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,878920-1,00.html#federation=archive.wikiwix.com&tab=url | archive-date=March 25, 2023 | title=James Taylor: One Man's Family of Rock | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=March 1, 1971 | url-status=bot: unknown | access-date=March 26, 2023 }}{{void|comment|link to archive of article as originally published: https://web.archive.org/web/20081221202826/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,878920,00.html }}{{cbignore}}</ref> He returned home to North Carolina to finish out the semester at [[Chapel Hill High School (Chapel Hill, North Carolina)|Chapel Hill High School]].<ref name="white-112">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 111–112, 114.</ref> There he joined a band formed by his brother Alex called The Corsayers (later The Fabulous Corsairs), playing electric guitar; in 1964, they cut a single in [[Raleigh, North Carolina|Raleigh]] that featured James's song "Cha Cha Blues" on the [[B-side]].<ref name="white-112"/> Having lost touch with his former school friends in North Carolina, Taylor returned to Milton for his senior year,<ref name="white-112"/> where he started applying to colleges to complete his education.<ref name="nytmag-71"/> But he felt part of a "life that [he was] unable to lead", and he became [[Major depressive disorder|depressed]]; he slept 20 hours each day, and his grades collapsed.<ref name="white-112"/><ref name="bg112601"/> In late 1965 he committed himself to [[McLean Hospital|McLean]], a psychiatric hospital in [[Belmont, Massachusetts]],<ref name="white-112"/> where he was treated with [[chlorpromazine]], and where the organized days began to give him a sense of time and structure.<ref name="time-cover-story"/><ref name="bg112601"/> As the [[Vietnam War]] escalated, Taylor received a psychological rejection from the [[Selective Service System]], when he appeared before them, uncommunicative, with two white-suited McLean assistants.<ref name="white-115"/> Taylor earned a high school diploma in 1966 from the hospital's associated [[Arlington School]].<ref name="white-115">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', p. 115.</ref> He later viewed his nine-month stay at McLean as "a lifesaver... like a pardon or like a reprieve",<ref name="bg112601">{{cite news | url = http://www.james-taylor.com/text/globe-1-2002.shtml | title = Shrink Wrapped Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll Were Regular Features of Life at McLean Psychiatric Hospital in Belmont | access-date = April 12, 2008 | date = November 26, 2001 | last = Beam | first = Alex | work = [[The Boston Globe]] | archive-date = April 20, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080420190609/http://www.james-taylor.com/text/globe-1-2002.shtml | url-status = deviated | via = James Taylor Online }}</ref> and both his brother Livingston and his sister Kate later were patients and students there as well.<ref name="time-cover-story"/> As for his mental health struggles, Taylor thought of them as innate and said: "It's an inseparable part of my personality that I have these feelings."<ref name="nytmag-71">{{cite news | url=https://select.nytimes.com/mem/archive/pdf?res=F30916F73B5F127A93C3AB1789D85F458785F9 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013112717/http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30916F73B5F127A93C3AB1789D85F458785F9 | archive-date=October 13, 2013 | access-date=March 26, 2023 | title=James Taylor, a New Troubadour | last=Braudy | first=Susan | author-link=Susan Braudy | magazine=[[The New York Times Magazine]] | date=February 21, 1971}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

==Career==
===1966–1969: Early career===
At Kortchmar's urging, Taylor checked himself out of McLean and attended [[Elon University]] for a semester before he moved to New York City to form a band.<ref name="white-115"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=((Rocketman5000)) |date=2021-05-01 |title=Inside the Rock Era: James Taylor, the #46 Artist of the Rock Era Part One |url=https://top5000-rocketman5000.blogspot.com/2021/03/james-taylor-43-artist-of-rock-era.html |access-date=2024-08-28 |website=Inside the Rock Era}}</ref> They recruited Joel O'Brien, formerly of Kortchmar's old band [[King Bees (band)|King Bees]] to play drums, and Taylor's childhood friend Zachary Wiesner (son of academic [[Jerome Wiesner]]) to play bass. After Taylor rejected the notion of naming the group after him, they called themselves the Flying Machine.<ref name="time-cover-story"/><ref name="white-116">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', p. 116.</ref> They played songs that Taylor had written at and about McLean, such as "[[Knocking 'Round the Zoo]]", "Don't Talk Now", and "The Blues Is Just a Bad Dream".<ref name="bg112601"/><ref name="white-116"/> In some other songs, Taylor romanticized his life, but he was plagued by self-doubt.<ref name="nyt-palmer-1981"/> By summer 1966, they were performing regularly at the high-visibility Night Owl Cafe in [[Greenwich Village]], alongside acts such as [[the Turtles]] and [[Lothar and the Hand People]].<ref name="white-117">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', p. 117.</ref>

Taylor associated with a motley group of people and began using heroin, to Kortchmar's dismay.<ref name="time-cover-story"/><ref name="white-117"/> In a late 1966 hasty recording session, the group cut a single, Taylor's "[[Night Owl (James Taylor song)|Night Owl]]", backed with his "Brighten Your Night with My Day".<ref name="white-118">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 118–119.</ref> Released on Rainy Day Records, distributed by [[Jubilee Records]], it received some radio airplay in the Northeast,<ref name="white-118"/> but only charted at {{numero|102}} nationally.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.acousticmusic.com/fame/p00456.htm | title=James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine – 1967 | author=Dexter, Kerry | publisher=Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange | year=1997 | access-date=December 26, 2008 | archive-date=October 10, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010210837/http://www.acousticmusic.com/fame/p00456.htm | url-status=live }}</ref> Other songs had been recorded during the same session, but Jubilee declined to go forward with an album.<ref name="white-118"/> After a series of poorly chosen appearances outside New York, culminating with a three-week stay at a failing nightspot in [[Freeport, Bahamas]] for which they were never paid, the Flying Machine broke up.<ref name="white-118"/> (A [[The Flying Machine (band)|UK band with the same name]] emerged in 1969 with the hit song "[[Smile a Little Smile for Me]]". The Flying Machine was briefly referenced in Taylor's song "[[Fire and Rain (song)|Fire and Rain]]", and following his success as a solo artist, the band's recordings were later released in 1971 as ''[[James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine]]''.)

Taylor would later say of this New York period, "I learned a lot about music and too much about drugs."<ref name="nyt-palmer-1981">{{cite news | url=https://select.nytimes.com/search/restricted/article?res=F30611FB3A5D0C7B8CDDAD0894D9484D81 | title=Taylor: After the Turmoil and Wanderlust | author=[[Robert Palmer (American writer)|Palmer, Robert]] | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=April 8, 1981 | access-date=February 9, 2017 | archive-date=March 14, 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220314172915/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/04/08/arts/the-pop-life-taylor-after-the-turmoil-and-wanderlust.html | url-status=live }}</ref> Indeed, his drug use had developed into full-blown [[heroin addiction]] during the final Flying Machine period: "I just fell into it, since it was as easy to get high in the Village as get a drink."<ref name="white-118"/> He hung out in [[Washington Square Park, New York|Washington Square Park]], playing guitar to ward off depression and then passing out, letting runaways and criminals stay at his apartment.<ref name="white-120">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 120–123.</ref> Finally out of money and abandoned by his manager, he made a desperate call one night to his father. Isaac Taylor flew to New York and staged a rescue, renting a car and driving all night back to North Carolina with James and his possessions.<ref name="white-120"/> Taylor spent six months getting treatment and making a tentative recovery; he also required a throat operation to fix vocal cords damaged from singing too harshly.<ref>White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', p. 126.</ref>

Taylor decided to try being a solo act with a change of scenery. In late 1967, funded by a small family inheritance, he moved to London, living in various areas: [[Notting Hill]], [[Belgravia]], and [[Chelsea, London|Chelsea]].<ref name="white-128">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 127–129.</ref> After recording some demos in [[Soho]], his friend Kortchmar gave him his next big break. Kortchmar used his association with the King Bees (who once opened for [[Peter and Gordon]]), to connect Taylor to [[Peter Asher]]. Asher was [[A&R]] head for [[the Beatles]]' newly formed label [[Apple Records]].<ref name="white-135">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 134–135.</ref> Taylor gave a demo tape of songs, including "[[Something in the Way She Moves]]", to Asher,<ref name=Asher>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDliZ42yoFA&list=PL78DA37F91244192E&index=5 "James Taylor & Carole King: Live at the Troubadour"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210315165330/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDliZ42yoFA&list=PL78DA37F91244192E&index=5 |date=March 15, 2021 }}, 2007</ref> who then played the demo for Beatles [[Paul McCartney]] and [[George Harrison]]. McCartney remembers his first impression: "I just heard his voice and his guitar and I thought he was great ... and he came and played live, so it was just like, 'Wow, he's ''great''.'"<ref name="white-135"/> Taylor became the first non-British act signed to Apple,<ref name="white-135"/> and he credits Asher for "opening the door" to his singing career.<ref name=Asher/> Taylor said of Asher, who later became his manager, "I knew from the first time that we met that he was the right person to steer my career. He had this determination in his eye that I had never seen in anybody before."<ref name=Halperin/>{{rp|70}}
Living chaotically in various places with various women, Taylor wrote additional material, including "[[Carolina in My Mind]]", and rehearsed with a new backing band.<ref name="white-136">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 136–137.</ref> Taylor recorded what would become his first album from July to October 1968, at [[Trident Studios]], at the same time the Beatles were recording ''[[The Beatles (album)|The White Album]]''.<ref name="white-136"/><ref>{{cite book | last=Lewisohn | first=Mark | author-link=Mark Lewisohn | title=The Beatles: Recording Sessions | publisher=[[Harmony Books]] | year=1988 | isbn=0-517-57066-1}} p. 146.</ref> McCartney and an uncredited [[George Harrison]] guested on "Carolina in My Mind", whose lyric "holy host of others standing around me" referred to the Beatles, and the title phrase of Taylor's "Something in the Way She Moves" provided the lyrical starting point for Harrison's classic "[[Something (Beatles song)|Something]]".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kerns |first1=William |title=Legendary performer Taylor opens tour with intimate Lubbock concert |url=https://www.lubbockonline.com/story/entertainment/local/2016/04/09/legendary-performer-taylor-opens-tour-intimate-lubbock-concert/14921381007/ |access-date=March 8, 2023 |work=[[Lubbock Avalanche-Journal]] |date=April 9, 2016}}</ref> McCartney and Asher brought in arranger [[Richard Anthony Hewson]] to add both orchestrations to several of the songs and unusual "link" passages between them; they would receive a mixed reception, at best.<ref name="white-139">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 137–140.</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.beatles-discography.com/song-by-song/?s=something |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040603010101/http://www.beatles-discography.com/song%2Dby%2Dsong/?s%3Dsomething|title=Beatles songs – S |last=Cross |first=Craig |year=2004 |archive-date=June 3, 2004 |access-date=June 3, 2004}}</ref><ref name="rs-apple-review">{{cite news | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/jamestaylor/albums/album/113822/review/5945820/james_taylor | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070602164839/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/jamestaylor/albums/album/113822/review/5945820/james_taylor | archive-date=June 2, 2007 | title=Album Reviews: James Taylor | author=[[Jon Landau|Landau, Jon]] | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | date=April 19, 1969}}</ref>

{{quote box|align=right|width=25em|bgcolor = Cornsilk|quote=James had been through so much by the time he was twenty that he had so much to express in his music. Other young artists of his age whom I worked with sang about how good or bad life was but really had no idea what they were singing about. James was already singing with the conviction of a singer much older than himself. Everything that he had already been through was evident in his songwriting.|source= —[[Peter Asher]], Taylor's manager<ref name=Halperin>Halperin, Ian. ''Fire and Rain: The James Taylor Story'', Citadel Press (2003)</ref>{{rp|66}}}}

During the recording sessions, Taylor fell back into his drug habit by using heroin and [[methedrine]].<ref name="white-139"/> He underwent [[physeptone]] treatment in a British program, returned to New York and was hospitalized there, and then finally committed himself to the [[Austen Riggs Center]] in [[Stockbridge, Massachusetts]], which emphasized cultural and historical factors in trying to treat difficult psychiatric disorders.<ref name="white-142">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 142–144.</ref> Meanwhile, Apple released his debut album, ''[[James Taylor (album)|James Taylor]]'', in December 1968 in the UK and February 1969 in the US.<ref name="white-142"/> Critical reception was generally positive, including a complimentary review in ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' by [[Jon Landau]], who said that "this album is the coolest breath of fresh air I've inhaled in a good long while. It knocks me out."<ref name="rs-apple-review"/> The record's commercial potential suffered from Taylor's inability to promote it because of his hospitalization, and it sold poorly; "Carolina in My Mind" was released as a single but failed to chart in the UK and only reached {{numero|118}} on the U.S. charts.<ref name="white-142"/>

In July 1969, Taylor headlined a six-night<!--TODO need cite on this --> stand at [[The Troubadour (Los Angeles)|the Troubadour]] in Los Angeles. On July 20, he performed at the [[Newport Folk Festival]] as the last act and was cheered by thousands of fans who stayed in the rain to hear him.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/dt/james-taylor-fine-art-print/FFN690720-02-FP.html | title=James Taylor Fine Art Print | publisher=[[Wolfgang's Vault]] | access-date=December 26, 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090112144627/http://www.wolfgangsvault.com/dt/james-taylor-fine-art-print/FFN690720-02-FP.html | archive-date=January 12, 2009 | df=mdy-all }}</ref><ref name="cby-429">''Current Biography Yearbook 1972'', p. 429.</ref> His set at Newport was cut short after 15 minutes, when festival co-founder [[George Wein]] announced on stage that the [[Apollo 11]] astronauts had landed on the moon.<ref name="newport69">{{cite magazine |last1=Hodenfield |first1=Jan |title=Newport 1969 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/newport-1969-71017/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=July 28, 2023 |date=August 23, 1969}}</ref> Shortly thereafter, Taylor broke both hands and both feet in a motorcycle accident on Martha's Vineyard and was forced to stop playing for several months.<ref name="white-144">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', p. 144–145, 147.</ref> However, while recovering, he continued to write songs and in October 1969 signed a new deal with [[Warner Bros. Records]].<ref name="white-144"/>

===1970–1972: Warner Bros. and career breakthrough===
[[File:James taylor publicity photo.jpg|thumb|A publicity photograph of Taylor for his second studio album ''[[Sweet Baby James]]'', December 1969|249x249px]]
Once he had recovered, Taylor moved to California, keeping Asher as his manager and record producer. In December 1969, he held the recording sessions for his second album there. Titled ''[[Sweet Baby James]]'', and featuring the participation of [[Carole King]], the album was released in February 1970 and was Taylor's critical and popular breakthrough, buoyed by the single "[[Fire and Rain (song)|Fire and Rain]]", a song about both Taylor's experiences attempting to break his drug habit by undergoing treatment in psychiatric institutions and the suicide of his friend Suzanne Schnerr. Both the album and the single reached {{numero|3}} on the ''Billboard'' charts, with ''Sweet Baby James'' selling more than 1.5&nbsp;million copies in its first year<ref name="time-cover-story"/> and eventually more than 3 million in the United States alone. ''Sweet Baby James'' was received at its time as a folk-rock masterpiece, an album that effectively showcased Taylor's talents to the mainstream public, marking a direction he would take in following years. It earned several Grammy Award nominations including one for [[Grammy Award for Album of the Year|Album of the Year]]. It went on to be listed at {{numero|103}} on [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]] in 2003, with "Fire and Rain" listed as {{numero|227}} on [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time]] in 2004.

During the time that ''Sweet Baby James'' was released, Taylor appeared with [[Dennis Wilson]] of [[the Beach Boys]] in a [[Monte Hellman]] film, ''[[Two-Lane Blacktop]]''. In October 1970, he performed with his then partner [[Joni Mitchell]], [[Phil Ochs]], and the Canadian band [[Chilliwack (band)|Chilliwack]] at a [[Vancouver]] benefit concert that funded [[Greenpeace]]'s protests of [[Amchitka#Milrow and Cannikin tests|1971 nuclear weapons tests]] by the [[US Atomic Energy Commission]] at [[Amchitka]], [[Alaska]]; this performance was released in album format in 2009 as ''[[Amchitka (album)|Amchitka, The 1970 Concert That Launched Greenpeace]]''. In January 1971, sessions for Taylor's next album began.

He appeared on ''[[The Johnny Cash Show (TV series)|The Johnny Cash Show]]'', singing "Sweet Baby James", "Fire and Rain", and "Country Road", on February 17, 1971. His career success at this point and appeal to female fans of various ages piqued tremendous interest in him, prompting a March 1, 1971, ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine cover story of him as "the face of new rock".<ref name="time-cover-story"/> It compared his strong-but-brooding persona to that of ''[[Wuthering Heights]]''{{'}} [[Heathcliff (Wuthering Heights)|Heathcliff]] and to ''[[The Sorrows of Young Werther]]'', and said, "Taylor's use of elemental imagery—darkness and sunlight, references to roads traveled and untraveled, to fears spoken and left unsaid—reaches a level both of intimacy and controlled emotion rarely achieved in purely pop music."<ref name="time-cover-story"/> One of the writers described his look as "a cowboy Jesus", to which Taylor later replied, "I thought I was trying to look like George Harrison."<ref>''CBS Early This Morning'', musician James Taylor, December 5, 2016</ref>
[[File:James Taylor Billboard 1971.jpg|left|thumb|293x293px|Taylor in a publicity photograph for his 1971 studio album ''[[Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon]]'']]
Released in April 1971, ''[[Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon]]'' also gained critical acclaim and contained Taylor's biggest hit single in the US, a version of Carole King's new "[[You've Got a Friend]]" (featuring backing vocals by [[Joni Mitchell]]), which reached {{numero|1}} on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in late July. The follow-up single, "[[Long Ago and Far Away (James Taylor song)|Long Ago and Far Away]]", also made the Top 40 and reached {{numero|4}} on the ''Billboard'' [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|Adult Contemporary]] chart. The album itself reached {{numero|2}} on the album charts, which would be Taylor's highest position ever until the release of his 2015 album, ''Before This World'', which went to {{numero|1}} superseding [[Taylor Swift]]. In early 1972, Taylor won his first Grammy Award for [[Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance|Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male]], for "You've Got a Friend"; King also won [[Grammy Award for Song of the Year|Song of the Year]] for the same song in that ceremony. The album went on to sell 2.5&nbsp;million copies in the United States.

November 1972 heralded the release of Taylor's fourth album, ''[[One Man Dog]]''. A [[concept album]] primarily recorded in his home recording studio, it featured a cameo by [[Linda Ronstadt]] along with Carole King, Carly Simon, and [[John McLaughlin (musician)|John McLaughlin]]. The album consisted of eighteen short pieces of music put together. Reception was generally lukewarm and, despite making the Top 10 of the ''Billboard'' Album Charts, its overall sales were disappointing. The lead single, "[[Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight]]", peaked at {{numero|14}} on the Hot 100, and the follow-up, "[[One Man Parade]]", barely reached the Top 75. Almost simultaneously, Taylor married fellow singer-songwriter [[Carly Simon]] on November 3, in a small ceremony at her [[Murray Hill, Manhattan]] apartment.<ref name="white-208">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', p. 208.</ref> A post-concert party following a Taylor performance at [[Radio City Music Hall]] turned into a large-scale wedding party, and the Simon-Taylor marriage would find much public attention over the following years.<ref name="white-208"/> They had two children, [[Sally Taylor (musician)|Sarah Maria "Sally" Taylor]], born January 7, 1974, and Benjamin Simon "Ben" Taylor, born January 22, 1977.<ref>White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 216, 243.</ref> During their marriage, the couple would guest on each other's albums and have two hit singles as duet partners: a cover of Inez & Charlie Foxx's "[[Mockingbird (Inez & Charlie Foxx song)#1970s: Carly Simon and James Taylor|Mockingbird]]" and a version of The Everly Brothers' "[[Devoted to You (song)#Carly Simon and James Taylor version|Devoted to You]]".

===1973–1976: Continued success and ''Greatest Hits''===
Taylor spent most of 1973 enjoying his new life as a married man and did not return to the recording studio until January 1974, when sessions for his fifth album began. ''[[Walking Man]]'' was released in June and featured appearances of Paul and [[Linda McCartney]] and guitarist [[David Spinozza]]. The album was a critical and commercial disaster and was his first album to miss the Top 5 since his contract with Warner. It received poor reviews and sold only 300,000 copies in the United States. The title track failed to appear on the Top 100.

[[File:James Taylor and Carly Simon, 1975.jpg|thumb|Taylor and Simon in concert, 1975]]
However, Taylor's artistic fortunes spiked again in 1975 when the Gold album ''[[Gorilla (James Taylor album)|Gorilla]]'' reached {{numero|6}} and provided one of his biggest hit singles, a version of [[Marvin Gaye]]'s "[[How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)]]", featuring wife Carly on backing vocals and reached {{numero|5}} in America and {{numero|1}} in Canada. On the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart, the track also reached the top, and the follow-up single, the feelgood "Mexico", featuring a guest appearance by [[Crosby & Nash]], also reached the Top 5 of that list. A well-received album, ''Gorilla'' showcased Taylor's electric, lighter side that was evident on ''Walking Man''. However, it was arguably a more consistent and fresher-sounding Taylor, with songs such as "Mexico", "Wandering" and "Angry Blues". It also featured a song about his daughter Sally, "Sarah Maria".

''Gorilla'' was followed in 1976 by ''[[In the Pocket (James Taylor album)|In the Pocket]]'', Taylor's last studio album to be released under [[Warner Bros. Records]]. The album found him with many colleagues and friends, including [[Art Garfunkel]], [[David Crosby]], [[Bonnie Raitt]], and [[Stevie Wonder]] (who co-wrote a song with Taylor and contributed a harmonica solo). A melodic album, it was highlighted with the single "[[Shower the People]]", an enduring song that hit {{numero|1}} on the Adult Contemporary chart and hit 22 on the Pop Charts. However, the album was not well received, reaching {{numero|16}} and being criticized, particularly by ''Rolling Stone''. Still, ''In The Pocket'' went on to be certified gold.

With the close of Taylor's contract with Warner, in November, the label released ''[[Greatest Hits (James Taylor album)|Greatest Hits]]'', the album that comprised most of his best work between 1970 and 1976. With time, it became his best-selling album ever. It was certified 11× Platinum in the US, earned a Diamond certification by the [[RIAA]], and eventually sold close to 20 million copies worldwide.

===1977–1981: Move to Columbia Records===
In 1977 Taylor signed with [[Columbia Records]]. Between March and April, he quickly recorded his first album for the label. ''[[JT (James Taylor album)|JT]]'', released that June, gave Taylor his best reviews since ''Sweet Baby James'', earning a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year in 1978. Peter Herbst of ''Rolling Stone'' was particularly favorable to the album, of which he wrote in its August 11, 1977, issue, "''JT'' is the least stiff and by far the most various album Taylor has done. That's not meant to criticize Taylor's earlier efforts. ... But it's nice to hear him sounding so healthy."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Herbst |first=Peter |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/jt-19770811 |title=James Taylor JT Album Review |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=August 11, 1977 |access-date=August 25, 2015 |archive-date=August 28, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150828000231/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/jt-19770811 |url-status=live }}</ref> ''JT'' reached {{numero|4}} on the ''Billboard'' charts and sold more than 3 million copies in the United States alone. The album's Triple Platinum status ties it with ''Sweet Baby James'' as Taylor's all-time biggest-selling studio album. It was propelled by [[Jimmy Jones (singer)|Jimmy Jones]]'s and [[Otis Blackwell]]'s "[[Handy Man (song)|Handy Man]]", which hit {{numero|1}} on ''Billboard'''s Adult Contemporary chart and reached {{numero|4}} on the Hot 100, earning Taylor another [[Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance]]. The song also topped the Canadian charts. The success of the album propelled the release of two further singles; the up-tempo pop "[[Your Smiling Face]]", an enduring live favorite, reached the American Top 20; however, "[[Honey Don't Leave L.A.]]", which [[Danny Kortchmar]] wrote and composed for Taylor, did not enjoy much success, reaching only {{numero|61}}.

Back in the forefront of popular music, Taylor guested with [[Paul Simon]] on Art Garfunkel's recording of [[Sam Cooke]]'s "[[Wonderful World (Sam Cooke song)|Wonderful World]]", which reached the Top 20 in the U.S. and topped the [[CCM AC chart|AC charts]] in early 1978. After briefly working on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], he took a one-year break, reappearing in the summer of 1979, with the cover-studded Platinum album titled ''[[Flag (James Taylor album)|Flag]]'', featuring a Top 30 version of [[Gerry Goffin]]'s and Carole King's "[[Up on the Roof (song)|Up on the Roof]]". (Two selections from ''Flag'', "[[Millworker]]" and "Brother Trucker" were featured on the PBS production of [[Working (musical)|the Broadway musical]] based on [[Studs Terkel]]'s non-fiction book ''[[Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do|Working]]'', which Terkel himself hosted. Taylor himself appeared in that production as a trucker; he performed "Brother Trucker" in character.) Taylor also appeared on the [[Musicians United for Safe Energy|No Nukes]] concert in Madison Square Garden, where he made a memorable live performance of "Mockingbird" with his wife Carly. The concert appeared on both the [[No Nukes (album)|''No Nukes'' album]] and [[No Nukes (film)|film]].

On December 7, 1980, Taylor had an encounter with [[Mark David Chapman]] who would [[Murder of John Lennon|murder John Lennon]] just one day later. Taylor told the BBC in 2010: "The guy had sort of pinned me to the wall and was glistening with maniacal sweat and talking some freak speak about what he was going to do and his stuff with how John was interested, and he was going to get in touch with John Lennon. And it was surreal to actually have contact with the guy 24 hours before he shot John." The next night, Taylor, who lived in a building next-door to Lennon, heard the assassination occur. Taylor commented: "I heard him shoot—five, just as quick as you could pull the trigger, about five explosions."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11926898 |title=Lennon's death: I was there – BBC News |work=BBC News |date=December 8, 2010 |access-date=June 17, 2015 |archive-date=April 6, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150406123437/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11926898 |url-status=live }}</ref>

In March 1981, Taylor released the album ''[[Dad Loves His Work]]'' whose themes concerned his relationship with his father, the course his ancestors had taken, and the effect that he and Simon had on each other.<ref>White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 275–276.</ref> The album was another Platinum success, reaching {{numero|10}} and providing Taylor's final real hit single in a duet with [[JD Souther]], "[[Her Town Too]]", which reached {{numero|5}} on the Adult Contemporary chart and {{numero|11}} on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.

===1981–1996: Troubled times and new beginnings===
[[File:James Taylor - Winterfest.jpg|thumb|Taylor at [[Winterfest]], 1985|251x251px]]
Simon announced her separation from Taylor in September 1981 saying, "Our needs are different; it seem[s] impossible to stay together" and their divorce finalized in 1983.<ref>White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 279–280, 286.</ref> Their breakup was highly publicized.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.grabow.biz/Book-James_Taylor-Booking-Information-893.html |title=James Taylor Booking Agent – Corporate Event Booking Agent |publisher=Grabow.biz |access-date=June 17, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150608134148/http://www.grabow.biz/Book-James_Taylor-Booking-Information-893.html |archive-date=June 8, 2015 }}</ref> At the time, Taylor was living on [[West End Avenue]] in Manhattan and on a [[methadone]] maintenance program to cure him of his [[drug addiction]].<ref name="white-281">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 281–286.</ref> Over the course of four months starting in September 1983, spurred on in part by the deaths of his friends [[John Belushi]] and [[Dennis Wilson]] and in part by the desire to be a better father to his children [[Sally Taylor (musician)|Sally]] and Ben, he discontinued methadone and overcame his heroin habit.<ref name="white-281"/>

Taylor had thoughts of retiring by the time he played the [[Rock in Rio]] festival in [[Rio de Janeiro]] in January 1985.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/sting/3799 | title=Sting and James Taylor get Rock in Rio off to a gentle start |author=[[Valeria Rossi|Rossi, Valeria]] |author2=[[:pt:Luciano Vianna|Vianna, Luciano]] |work=[[NME]] | date=January 13, 2001 | access-date=March 17, 2009 | archive-date=December 2, 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091202113706/http://www.nme.com/reviews/sting/3799 | url-status=live }}</ref> He was encouraged by the nascent democracy in Brazil at the time, buoyed by the positive reception he got from the large crowd and other musicians, and musically energized by the sounds and nature of [[Brazilian music]].<ref name="white-287">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 287–288.</ref> "I had ... sort of bottomed-out in a drug habit, my marriage with Carly had dissolved, and I had basically been depressed and lost for a while", he recalled in 1995:

{{blockquote|I sort of hit a low spot. I was asked to go down to Rio de Janeiro to play in this festival down there. We put the band together and went down and it was just an amazing response. I played to 300,000 people. They not only knew my music, they knew things about it and were interested in aspects of it that to that point had only interested me. To have that kind of validation right about then was really what I needed. It helped get me back on track.<ref>"James Taylor: At home on the road", by Ron Thibodeaux, ''The Times-Picayune'', New Orleans, May 4, 1995.</ref>}}

The song "Only a Dream in Rio" was written in tribute to that night, with lines like "I was there that very day and my heart came back alive."<ref name="white-287"/> The October 1985 album, ''[[That's Why I'm Here]]'', from which that song came, started a series of studio recordings that, while spaced further apart than his previous records, showed a more consistent level of quality and fewer [[cover version|covers]], most notably the [[Buddy Holly]] song "[[Everyday (Buddy Holly song)|Everyday]]", released as a single reached {{numero|61}}. On the album track "Only One", the backing vocals were performed by an all-star duo of Joni Mitchell and Don Henley.{{citation needed|date=December 2022}}

Taylor's next albums were partially successful; in 1988, he released ''[[Never Die Young]]'', highlighted with the charting title track, and in 1991, the platinum ''[[New Moon Shine]]'' provided Taylor some popular songs with "Copperline" and "(I've Got to) Stop Thinkin' About That", both hit singles on Adult Contemporary radio. In the late 1980s, he began touring regularly, especially on the summer [[amphitheater]] circuit. His later concerts feature songs spanning his career and are marked by the musicianship of his band and backup singers. The 1993 two-disc ''[[Live (James Taylor album)|Live]]'' album captures this, with a highlight being [[Arnold McCuller]]'s [[descant]]s in the [[coda (music)|codas]] of "[[Shower the People]]" and "I Will Follow". He provided a guest voice to ''[[The Simpsons]]'' episode "[[Deep Space Homer]]", and also appeared later on in the series when the family put together a jigsaw puzzle with his face as the missing final piece. In 1995, Taylor performed the role of the Lord in ''[[Randy Newman's Faust]]''.

===1997–present: Current ventures===

==== 1997–2008 ====
[[File:JamesTaylor 02.jpg|thumb|Taylor in concert at DeVos Hall, Grand Rapids, Michigan – April 2006]]
In 1997, after six years since his last studio album, Taylor released ''[[Hourglass (James Taylor album)|Hourglass]]'', an introspective album that gave him the best critical reviews in almost twenty years. The album had much of its focus on Taylor's troubled past and family. "Jump Up Behind Me" paid tribute to his father's rescue of him after The Flying Machine days, and the long drive from New York City back to his home in Chapel Hill.<ref>White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', p. 318.</ref> "Enough To Be on Your Way" was inspired by the alcoholism-related death of his brother Alex earlier in the decade.<ref>White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', p. 306.</ref> The themes were also inspired by Taylor and Walker's divorce, which took place in 1996.<ref name="White, p. 301">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', p. 301.</ref> ''Rolling Stone Magazine'' found that "one of the themes of this record is disbelief", while Taylor told the magazine that it was "spirituals for agnostics".<ref>"In 'Up From Your Life', you sing, "For an unbeliever like you/ There's not much they can do." In "Gaia", you call yourself a 'poor, wretched unbeliever'." Interview, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'', June 24, 1997.</ref> Critics embraced the dark themes on the album, and ''Hourglass'' was a commercial success, reaching {{numero|9}} on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] (Taylor's first Top 10 album in sixteen years) and also provided a big adult contemporary hit on "Little More Time With You". The album also gave Taylor his first Grammy since ''JT'', when he was honored with [[Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album|Best Pop Album]] in 1998.

Flanked by two greatest hit releases, Taylor's Platinum-certified ''[[October Road (album)|October Road]]'' appeared in 2002 to a receptive audience. It featured a number of quiet instrumental accompaniments and passages. Overall, it found Taylor in a more peaceful frame of mind; rather than facing a crisis now, Taylor said in an interview that "I thought I'd passed the midpoint of my life when I was 17."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/entertainment/2002/08/13/2002-08-13_taylor_s__road__to_happiness.html | title=Taylor's 'Road' to Happiness | first=David | last=Hinckley | newspaper=[[New York Daily News]] | date=August 13, 2002 | access-date=March 17, 2009 }}{{Dead link|date=July 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The album appeared in two versions, a single-disc version and a "[[limited edition]]" two-disc version which contained three extra songs including a duet with [[Mark Knopfler]], "[[Sailing to Philadelphia]]", which also appeared on Knopfler's album by the same name. Also in 2002, Taylor teamed with bluegrass musician [[Alison Krauss]] in singing "[[The Boxer]]" at the [[Kennedy Center Honors]] Tribute to [[Paul Simon]]. They later recorded the [[Louvin Brothers]] duet, "How's the World Treating You?" In 2004, after he chose not to renew his record contract with Columbia/Sony, he released ''[[James Taylor: A Christmas Album]]'' with distribution through [[Hallmark Cards]].

[[File:James Taylor at Tanglewood.jpg|thumb|240px|Taylor performing at [[Tanglewood]] in 2008]]
Always visibly active in [[Political ecology|environmental]] and liberal causes, in October 2004, Taylor joined the [[Vote for Change]] tour playing a series of concerts in American [[swing states]]. These concerts were organized by [[MoveOn.org]] with the goal of mobilizing people to vote for [[John Kerry]] and against [[George W. Bush]] in that year's presidential campaign. Taylor's appearances were joint performances with the [[Dixie Chicks]].

Taylor performed "[[The Star-Spangled Banner]]" at Game 2 of the [[World Series]] in Boston on October 24, 2004, on October 25, 2007, both the anthem and "America" for the game on October 24, 2013, and Game 1 on October 23, 2018. He also performed at Game 1 of the [[2008 NBA Finals]] in Boston on June 5, 2008, and at the [[2010 NHL Winter Classic|NHL's Winter Classic]] game between the [[Philadelphia Flyers]] and [[Boston Bruins]].{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

In December 2004, he appeared as himself in an episode of ''[[The West Wing (TV series)|The West Wing]]'' entitled "[[A Change Is Gonna Come (The West Wing)|A Change Is Gonna Come]]". He sang [[Sam Cooke]]'s classic "[[A Change Is Gonna Come (song)|A Change Is Gonna Come]]" at an event honoring an artist played by Taylor's wife Caroline. Later on, he appeared on [[Country Music Television|CMT]]'s ''Crossroads'' alongside the Dixie Chicks. In early 2006, [[MusiCares]] honored Taylor with performances of his songs by an array of notable musicians. Before a performance by the Dixie Chicks, lead singer [[Natalie Maines]] acknowledged that he had always been one of their musical heroes and had, for them, lived up to their once-imagined reputation of him.<ref name="dxchicks">{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKka3yYpBaE| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130729161611/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKka3yYpBaE| archive-date=July 29, 2013|title=Musicares Honoring James Taylor|last=Dixie Chicks|year=2006|work=Video of Stage Performance|publisher=Grammy Award Sponsored Musicares|access-date=December 31, 2008}}</ref> They performed his song, "Shower the People", with a surprise appearance by [[Arnold McCuller]], who has sung backing vocals on Taylor's live tours and albums for many years.{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

In the fall of 2006, Taylor released a repackaged and slightly different version of his Hallmark Christmas album, now entitled ''James Taylor at Christmas'', and distributed by Columbia/Sony. In 2006, Taylor performed [[Randy Newman]]'s song "[[Our Town (Randy Newman song)|Our Town]]" for the [[Disney]] animated film ''[[Cars (film)|Cars]]''. The song was nominated for the 2007 [[Academy Award]] for the Best Original Song. On January 1, 2007, Taylor headlined the inaugural concert at the [[Times Union Center]] in [[Albany, New York]] honoring newly sworn in [[Governor of New York]] [[Eliot Spitzer]].

Taylor's next album, ''[[One Man Band (James Taylor album)|One Man Band]]'' was released on CD and DVD in November 2007 on [[Starbucks]]' [[Hear Music]] Label, where he joined with [[Paul McCartney]] and [[Joni Mitchell]]. The introspective album grew out of a three-year tour of the United States and Europe called the One Man Band Tour, featuring some of Taylor's most beloved songs and anecdotes about their creative origins—accompanied solely by the "one man band" of his longtime pianist/keyboardist, [[Larry Goldings]]. The [[Surround sound#5.1 Channel Surround (3-2 Stereo) (digital discrete: Dolby Digital, DTS, SDDS, Penteo)|digital discrete 5.1 surround sound]] mix of ''One Man Band'' won a [[TEC Awards|TEC Award]] for best surround sound recording in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://legacy.tecawards.org/tec/08winners.html |title=The 2008 TEC Awards Winners |publisher=Legacy.tecawards.org |access-date=August 25, 2015 |archive-date=March 4, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304120303/http://legacy.tecawards.org/tec/08winners.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:You've Got a Friend JT CK 2010.jpg|thumb|left|Taylor and [[Carole King]] performing "[[You've Got a Friend]]" together during their [[Troubadour Reunion Tour]] in 2010]]
On November 28–30, 2007, Taylor accompanied by his original band and Carole King, headlined a series of six shows at the Troubadour. The appearances marked the 50th anniversary of the venue, where Taylor, King and many others, such as [[Tom Waits]], [[Neil Diamond]], and [[Elton John]], performed early in their music careers. Proceeds from the concert went to benefit the Natural Resources Defense Council, MusiCares, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, and the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank (a member of [[America's Second Harvest]], the nation's Food Bank Network). Parts of the performance shown on ''[[CBS Sunday Morning]]'' in the December 23, 2007, broadcast showed Taylor alluding to his early drug problems by saying, "I played here a number of times in the 70s, allegedly". Taylor has used versions of this joke on other occasions, and it appears as part of his ''One Man Band'' DVD and tour performances.

In December 2007, ''James Taylor at Christmas'' was nominated for a Grammy Award.  In January 2008, Taylor recorded approximately 20 songs by others for a new album with a band including [[Luis Conte]], [[Michael Landau]], [[Lou Marini]], [[Arnold McCuller]], [[Jimmy Johnson (bassist)|Jimmy Johnson]], [[David Lasley]], Walt Fowler, [[Andrea Zonn]], [[Kate Markowitz]], [[Steve Gadd]] and [[Larry Goldings]]. The resulting live-in-studio album, named ''[[Covers (James Taylor album)|Covers]]'', was released in September 2008.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/music_news/2008/09/james_taylor_makes_new_cd_unsigned_artist |title=James Taylor makes a new CD as an unsigned artist |newspaper=Boston Herald |date=September 26, 2008 |access-date=August 25, 2015 |archive-date=September 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923222947/http://www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/music/music_news/2008/09/james_taylor_makes_new_cd_unsigned_artist |url-status=live }}</ref> The album forays into country and soul while being the latest proof that Taylor is a more versatile singer than his best-known hits might suggest. The Covers sessions stretched to include "Oh What a Beautiful Morning", from the musical Oklahoma!, a song that his grandmother had caught him singing over and over at the top of his lungs when he was seven years old.<ref>Hiatt, Brian. "James Taylor's Country Soul" Rolling Stone. Iss. 1062.</ref> Meanwhile, in summer 2008, Taylor and this band toured 34 North American cities with a tour entitled James Taylor and His Band of Legends. An additional album, called ''[[Other Covers]]'', came out in April 2009, containing songs that were recorded during the same sessions as the original ''Covers'' but had not been put out to the full public yet.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://store.jamestaylor.com/others-covers-2009cd |title=JamesTaylor.com. Other Covers [2009/CD&#93; |publisher=Store.jamestaylor.com |access-date=August 25, 2015 |archive-date=September 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150912143555/http://store.jamestaylor.com/others-covers-2009cd |url-status=live }}</ref>

==== Barack Obama's 2008 campaign and inaugural celebration ====
[[File:James Taylor receiving his National Medal of Arts. (5492693444).jpg|thumb|240x240px|Taylor with U.S. President [[Barack Obama]] in 2011, preparing to be awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]]]
During October 19–21, 2008, Taylor performed a series of free concerts in five North Carolina cities in support of [[Barack Obama]]'s presidential bid.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2008/10/16/james_taylor_schedules_5_free_concerts_f | title=James Taylor Schedules 5 Free Concerts For Obama | agency=[[Associated Press]] | publisher=Starpulse.com | date=October 16, 2008 | access-date=March 17, 2009 | archive-date=June 6, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606175112/http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2008/10/16/james_taylor_schedules_5_free_concerts_f | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20081021/ARTICLES/810210255/0/NEWS | title=Concert Review: James Taylor sings Obama's praises | author=Staton, John | newspaper=[[The Star-News]] | date=October 21, 2008 | access-date=March 17, 2009 | archive-date=July 25, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725110420/http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20081021/ARTICLES/810210255/0/NEWS | url-status=live }}</ref>
On Sunday, January 18, 2009, he performed at the [[We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial]], singing "Shower the People" with [[John Legend]] and [[Jennifer Nettles]] of [[Sugarland]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.variety.com/review/VE1117939371.html?categoryid=1264&cs=1|title=We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration|access-date=February 8, 2009|date=January 18, 2009|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|author=Gallo, Phil|archive-date=January 30, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090130032241/http://variety.com/review/VE1117939371.html?categoryid=1264&cs=1|url-status=live}}</ref>
On May 29, 2009, Taylor performed on the final episode of the original 17-year run of ''[[The Tonight Show with Jay Leno]]''.

==== 2009–2011 ====
On September 8, 2009, Taylor made an appearance at the 24th-season premiere block party of ''[[The Oprah Winfrey Show]]'' on Chicago's [[Michigan Avenue (Chicago)|Michigan Avenue]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Oprah thanks city for Michigan Avenue party|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-bn-xpm-2009-09-09-28504464-story.html|last=Tribune|first=Chicago|date=September 9, 2009|website=chicagotribune.com|language=en-US|access-date=May 19, 2020|archive-date=February 26, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200226113122/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-bn-xpm-2009-09-09-28504464-story.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Taylor appeared briefly in the 2009 movie ''[[Funny People]]'', where he played "[[Carolina in My Mind]]" for a MySpace corporate event as the opening act for the main character.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2009/01/08/here_comes_the_bride/?page=2|title=Taylors turn to film|first1=Mark|last1=Shanahan|date=January 8, 2009|newspaper=[[The Boston Globe]]|access-date=January 25, 2009|first2=Paysha|last2=Rhone|archive-date=August 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810174714/http://www.boston.com/ae/celebrity/articles/2009/01/08/here_comes_the_bride/?page=2|url-status=live}}</ref>

On January 1, 2010, Taylor sang the American national anthem at the [[2010 NHL Winter Classic|NHL Winter Classic]] at [[Fenway Park]], while [[Daniel Powter]] sang the [[O Canada|Canadian national anthem]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Pre-game ceremonies set the tone at Fenway|url=https://www.nhl.com/news/pre-game-ceremonies-set-the-tone-at-fenway/c-511958|website=NHL.com|language=en-US|access-date=May 19, 2020|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802015831/https://www.nhl.com/news/pre-game-ceremonies-set-the-tone-at-fenway/c-511958|url-status=live}}</ref>

On March 7, 2010, Taylor sang [[the Beatles]]' "[[In My Life]]" in tribute to deceased artists at the [[82nd Academy Awards]].

[[File:20111016 James Taylor at the MLK Memorial dedication concert.jpg|thumb|Taylor at the October 16, 2011, [[Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial]] dedication concert]]
In March 2010, he commenced the [[Troubadour Reunion Tour]] with Carole King and members of his original band, including [[Russ Kunkel]], [[Leland Sklar]], and [[Danny Kortchmar]].  They played shows in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and North America with the final night being at the Honda Center, in Anaheim, California. The tour was a major commercial success and in some locations found Taylor playing arenas instead of his usual theaters or amphitheaters. Ticket sales amounted to over 700,000 and the tour grossed over $59&nbsp;million. It was one of the most successful tours of the year.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/957335/james-taylor-and-carole-king-craft-seasons-hottest-tour |title=James Taylor and Carole King Craft Season's Hottest Tour |magazine=Billboard.com |date=September 14, 2009 |access-date=March 3, 2011 |archive-date=July 30, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730083403/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/957335/james-taylor-and-carole-king-craft-seasons-hottest-tour |url-status=live }}</ref>

He appeared in 2011 in the [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]] comedy ''[[Mr. Sunshine (2011 TV series)|Mr. Sunshine]]'' as the ex-husband of the character played by [[Allison Janney]], and he performs a duet of sorts on [[Leon Russell]]'s 1970 classic "[[A Song for You]]".{{citation needed|date=July 2022}}

On September 11, 2011, Taylor performed "[[You Can Close Your Eyes]]" in New York City at the [[National September 11 Memorial & Museum]] for the 10th anniversary of the [[9/11 attacks]].

On November 22, 2011, Taylor performed "Fire and Rain" with [[Taylor Swift]], who was named after him,<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://parade.com/404291/walterscott/what-famous-pop-star-is-named-after-james-taylor/|title=What Famous Pop Star Is Named After James Taylor?|magazine=Parade|publisher=Athlon Media Group|first=Walter|last=Scott|date=June 11, 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161015232256/https://parade.com/404291/walterscott/what-famous-pop-star-is-named-after-james-taylor/|archive-date=October 15, 2016|access-date=December 12, 2018}}</ref> at the last concert of her [[Speak Now World Tour]] in [[Madison Square Garden]]. They also sang Swift's song, "Fifteen". Then, on July 2, 2012, Swift appeared as Taylor's special guest in a concert at [[Tanglewood]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Moorhouse|first=Donnie|title=Taylor Swift joins James Taylor at Tanglewood|url=http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2012/07/taylor_swift_joins_james_taylo.html|access-date=July 8, 2012|newspaper=Masslive.com|date=July 2, 2012|archive-date=July 7, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120707031937/http://www.masslive.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2012/07/taylor_swift_joins_james_taylo.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== Barack Obama's 2012 campaign and second inauguration ====
He was active in support of Barack Obama's [[Barack Obama presidential campaign, 2012|2012 reelection campaign]] and opened the [[2012 Democratic National Convention]] singing three songs. He performed "[[America the Beautiful]]" at the President's [[Second inauguration of Barack Obama|second inauguration]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/01/inauguration_2013_schedule_tim.html|title=Inauguration 2013 Schedule: Times and events for Obama's celebration|date=January 21, 2013|newspaper=nj.com|access-date=January 21, 2013|archive-date=January 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130123070147/http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/01/inauguration_2013_schedule_tim.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

==== 2013–present ====
On April 24, 2013, Taylor performed at the memorial service for slain MIT police officer [[Sean Collier]], who was killed by [[Tamerlan Tsarnaev|Tamerlan]] and [[Dzhokhar Tsarnaev]], the men responsible for the [[Boston Marathon bombing]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/24/us/boston-cop-memorial-service/ |title=Biden eulogizes slain MIT cop, says "terrorism as a weapon is losing" |publisher=CNN |date=April 24, 2013 |access-date=June 19, 2013 |archive-date=May 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529150947/http://www.cnn.com/2013/04/24/us/boston-cop-memorial-service |url-status=live }}</ref> Taylor was accompanied by the MIT Symphony Orchestra and three MIT [[a cappella]] groups while performing his songs "The Water is Wide" and "Shower the People".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/officer-sean-collier-memorial-0424.html |title={{-'}}He was truly one of us{{'-}} |publisher=MIT News Office |date=April 24, 2013 |access-date=June 19, 2013 |archive-date=May 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130529190047/http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/officer-sean-collier-memorial-0424.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
[[File:James-Taylor-Kim Taylor-2020.jpg|thumb|Kim and James Taylor in 2020]]
On September 6 and 7, 2013, he performed with the [[Utah Symphony]] and the [[Mormon Tabernacle Choir]] in the Thirtieth Anniversary [[O.C. Tanner Gift of Music]] Gala Concert at the [[LDS Conference Center|Conference Center]] in Salt Lake City.<ref>[http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment2/56836820-223/choir-taylor-tabernacle-music.html.csp "James Taylor performs with Tabernacle Choir, Utah Symphony"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130908150342/http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/entertainment2/56836820-223/choir-taylor-tabernacle-music.html.csp|date=September 8, 2013}}, ''The Salt Lake Tribune'', September 6, 2013.</ref> He called the choir "a national treasure"<ref>"[https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/james-taylor-teams-mormon-tabernacle-choir-20190081 James Taylor Teams up With Mormon Tabernacle Choir] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130914131323/http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/james-taylor-teams-mormon-tabernacle-choir-20190081 |date=September 14, 2013 }}" Abcnews.go.com September 8, 2013</ref> In addition to the symphony and choir he was backed by some of his touring band: pianist Charles Floyd, bassist [[Jimmy Johnson (bassist)|Jimmy Johnson]] and percussionist [[Nicholas Halley|Nick Halley]].

After a 45-year wait, James earned his first {{numero|1}} album on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart with ''[[Before This World]]''. The album, which was released on June 16 through [[Concord Records]], arrived on top the chart of July 4, 2015, more than 45 years after Taylor arrived on the list with ''[[Sweet Baby James]]'' (on the March 14, 1970, list). The album launched atop the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] with 97,000 equivalent album units earned in the week ending June 21, 2015, according to Nielsen Music. Of its start, pure album sales were 96,000 copies sold, Taylor's best debut week for an album since 2002's ''October Road''.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=After 45-Year Wait, James Taylor Earns His First {{numero|1}} Album on Billboard 200 Chart|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6605803/james-taylor-first-no-1-album-billboard-200|access-date=June 25, 2015|magazine=Billboard.com|date=June 24, 2015|archive-date=June 26, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150626032540/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6605803/james-taylor-first-no-1-album-billboard-200|url-status=live}}</ref>

Taylor cancelled his 2017 concert in Manila as a protest to the extrajudicial killings of suspects in the [[Philippine Drug War]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/21/16/james-taylor-cancels-manila-show-cites-drug-war|title=James Taylor cancels Manila show, cites drug war|work=ABS-CBN News|date=December 21, 2016|access-date=December 18, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181212034228/https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/12/21/16/james-taylor-cancels-manila-show-cites-drug-war|archive-date=December 12, 2018}}</ref>

In January 2020, Taylor released his audio memoir ''Break Shot: My First 21 Years'' on the streaming service [[Audible (service)|Audible]].<ref name=":0" />

Taylor's album ''[[American Standard (James Taylor album)|American Standard]]'' was released on February 28, 2020. ''American Standard'' debuted at No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart, making Taylor the first act to earn a top 10 album in each of the last six decades.<ref name="Billboard">{{cite news | url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9330443/james-taylor-first-act-top-10-albums-each-last-six-decades | title=James Taylor Becomes First Act With Top 10 Albums in Each of Last Six Decades | first=Keith | last=Caulfield | magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] | date=March 8, 2020 | access-date=April 25, 2020 | archive-date=April 1, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200401140414/https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/chart-beat/9330443/james-taylor-first-act-top-10-albums-each-last-six-decades | url-status=live }}</ref> In May 2020, James Taylor and Jackson Browne rescheduled their 2020 tour dates to 2021 due to the COVID-19 crisis.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=billboard.com |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/business/touring/9323647/concerts-canceled-coronavirus-list |access-date=May 22, 2020 |archive-date=April 10, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200410124726/http://www.billboard.com/articles/business/touring/9323647/concerts-canceled-coronavirus-list |url-status=live }}</ref> On November 24, 2020, the album was nominated for a [[Grammy]] in the category of "[[Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album]]".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2021-grammys-complete-nominees-list#general|title=2021 GRAMMYs: Complete Nominees List'|date=November 24, 2020|access-date=November 27, 2020|archive-date=November 24, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124174828/https://www.grammy.com/grammys/news/2021-grammys-complete-nominees-list#general|url-status=live}}</ref> At the [[63rd Annual Grammy Awards|63rd Grammy Awards]], the album won the award, the first for James Taylor after being nominated in the same category in the [[50th Annual Grammy Awards|50th Grammy Awards]] in 2008 for [[James Taylor at Christmas]].

On August 20, 2022, Taylor performed at Tanglewood in celebration of [[John Williams]]' 90th birthday,<ref>{{cite web |title=John Williams – The Tanglewood 90th Birthday Celebration |url=https://www.bso.org/events/john-williams-90th |website=bso.org |access-date=28 August 2024}}</ref> where he sang "Getting to Know You", "Sweet Baby John" and "Your Smiling Face". Taylor appeared with Carole King in the 2022 documentary ''Carole King and James Taylor: Just Call Out My Name''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.caroleking.com/news/carole-king-and-james-taylor-documentary-just-call-out-my-name-coming-hbo-max|title=Carole King and James Taylor Documentary 'Just Call Out My Name' Coming to HBO Max &#124; Carole King|website=www.caroleking.com}}</ref>

Taylor performed multiple songs, including "[[America the Beautiful]]", "[[Sweet Baby James (song)|Sweet Baby James]]", and "[[You've Got a Friend]]" at a rally held by [[Tim Walz]] on October 24, 2024 in [[Wilmington, North Carolina]] as part of the [[Kamala Harris 2024 presidential campaign]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-10-24 |title=WATCH LIVE: Walz holds campaign rally with James Taylor in Wilmington, North Carolina |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/watch-live-walz-holds-campaign-rally-with-james-taylor-in-wilmington-north-carolina |access-date=2024-10-25 |website=PBS News |language=en-us}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:James Taylor and Kim Smedvig at Met Opera.jpg|thumb|170px|Taylor and Smedvig in September 2008]]
Taylor married singer [[Carly Simon]] in November 1972, in a low-key ceremony at Simon's home in New York. Taylor was 24 and Simon 29; they divorced in 1983.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://honey.nine.com.au/latest/carly-simon-james-taylor-love-story/7926bd56-5513-4c7a-ad67-b4cd7a345d84#:~:text=Their%20wedding%20on%20November%203,in%20Simon's%20New%20York%20apartment |title=Love Stories: Carly Simon made James Taylor an offer he couldn't resist |work=Honey |last=Preston |first=Kahla |date=June 5, 2021 |access-date=April 19, 2022}}</ref> Their children, [[Sally Taylor (musician)|Sally]] and Ben, are also musicians.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/names/2013/08/28/ben-and-sally-taylor-pay-tribute-their-mom-and-dad/R5GX19idwl5NbhHbsIiCpO/story.html |title=Ben, Sally Taylor Pay Tribute to Parents by Mark Shanahan and Meredith Goldstein |publisher=Boston Globe |date=August 28, 2013 |accessdate=July 24, 2023 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Taylor married actress [[Kathryn Walker]] at the [[Cathedral of St. John the Divine]] on December 14, 1985.<ref>White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', p. 288.</ref> She helped him fight his heroin addiction, but they divorced in 1996.<ref name="White, p. 301"/>

In 1995, Taylor began dating Caroline "Kim" Smedvig, the director of public relations and marketing for the [[Boston Symphony Orchestra]].<ref name="white-310">White, ''Long Ago and Far Away'', pp. 310–311.</ref> They had met when he performed with [[John Williams]] and the [[Boston Pops]] orchestra.<ref name="white-310"/> They were married at the [[Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Boston|Emmanuel Episcopal Church]] in [[Boston]] on February 18, 2001. Part of their relationship was worked into the 2002 album ''[[October Road (album)|October Road]]'', specifically on the songs "On the 4th of July" and "Caroline I See You".<ref name="pm-oct-rd">{{cite magazine | url=https://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/t/taylorjames-october.shtml | title=James Taylor: October Road | author=Glauber, Gary | magazine=[[PopMatters]] | date=August 13, 2002 | access-date=March 17, 2009 | archive-date=August 25, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070825154354/http://www.popmatters.com/music/reviews/t/taylorjames-october.shtml | url-status=dead }}</ref> Following the birth of their twin sons Rufus and Henry in April 2001,<ref name="white-310"/><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,621850,00.html | title=James Taylor: Twins! | author=Silverman, Stephen M. | magazine=[[People (magazine)|People]] | access-date=December 21, 2013 | archive-date=December 24, 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224093026/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,621850,00.html | url-status=dead }}</ref> they settled in [[Lenox, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hamptonterrace.com/james-taylor-live-berkshires/ |title=Why Does James Taylor Live in the Berkshires? |date=April 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180212084241/https://www.hamptonterrace.com/james-taylor-live-berkshires/ |archive-date=February 12, 2018 |access-date=May 5, 2017}}</ref> Their son Henry has toured as a backing vocalist with his father as of 2021.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

==Awards and recognition==
{{BLP sources section|date=July 2022}}

===Grammy Awards===
{| class="wikitable"
|+<ref>{{Cite web |title=James Taylor {{!}} Artist {{!}} GRAMMY.com |url=https://grammy.com/artists/james-taylor/17476 |access-date=2024-02-06 |website=grammy.com}}</ref>
|-
! Year !! Category !! Nominated Work !! Result
|-
| rowspan="5" |[[1971 Grammies|1971]]|| [[Album of the Year (Grammy)|Album of the Year]]|| rowspan="2" | ''[[Sweet Baby James]]''|| {{nom}}
|-
| Best Contemporary Vocal Performance, Male || {{nom}}
|-
| Best Contemporary Song || rowspan="3" | [[Fire and Rain (song)|"Fire and Rain"]]|| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Record Of The Year|Record of the Year]]|| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Grammy Award for Song of the Year|Song of the Year]]|| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[14th Annual Grammy Awards|1972]]|| [[Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance|Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male]]|| rowspan="2" | "[[You've Got a Friend]]"|| {{won}}
|-
| [[Grammy Award for Record of the Year|Record of the Year]]|| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[20th Annual Grammy Awards|1978]]|| [[Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance|Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male]]|| "Handy Man" || {{won}}
|-
| [[Album of the Year (Grammy)|Album of the Year]]|| ''[[JT (James Taylor album)|JT]]''|| {{nom}}
|-
| [[22nd Annual Grammy Awards|1980]]|| [[Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance|Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male]]|| "Up On The Roof" ||{{nom}}
|-
| [[40th Annual Grammy Awards|1998]]|| [[Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album|Best Pop Album]]|| ''[[Hourglass (James Taylor album)|Hourglass]]''|| {{won}}
|-
| [[44th Annual Grammy Awards|2002]]|| [[Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance|Best Male Pop Vocal Performance]]|| "[[Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight]]"|| {{won}}
|-
| [[45th Annual Grammy Awards|2003]]|| [[Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance|Best Male Pop Vocal Performance]]|| [[October Road (album)|"October Road"]]|| {{nom}}
|-
| [[46th Annual Grammy Awards|2004]]|| [[Best Country Collaboration with Vocals|Best Country Collaboration With Vocals]]|| "How's The World Treating You" with [[Alison Krauss]]|| {{won}}
|-
| [[50th Annual Grammy Awards|2008]]|| [[Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album|Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album]]|| ''[[James Taylor at Christmas|James Taylor At Christmas]]''|| {{nom}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | [[51st Annual Grammy Awards|2009]]|| [[Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album|Best Pop Vocal Album]]|| [[Covers (James Taylor album)|''Covers'']]|| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance|Best Male Pop Vocal Performance]]|| "Wichita Lineman" || {{nom}}
|-
| [[58th Annual Grammy Awards|2016]]|| [[Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album|Best Pop Vocal Album]]|| "[[Before This World]]"|| {{nom}}
|-
| 2021 || [[Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album|Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album]]|| [[American Standard (James Taylor album)|American Standard]]|| {{won}}
|}
In 2006, Taylor was the [[Grammy Award]]-sponsored [[MusiCares]] Person of the Year. At a [[black tie]] ceremony held in Los Angeles, musicians from several eras paid tribute to Taylor by performing his songs, often prefacing them with remarks on his influence on their decisions to become musicians. Artists include [[Carole King]], [[Bruce Springsteen]], [[Sting (musician)|Sting]], [[Taj Mahal (musician)|Taj Mahal]], [[Dr. John]], [[Bonnie Raitt]], [[Jackson Browne]], [[David Crosby]], [[Sheryl Crow]], [[India.Arie]], [[The Chicks]], [[Jerry Douglas (musician)|Jerry Douglas]], [[Alison Krauss]], and [[Keith Urban]]. [[Paul Simon]] performed as well, although he was not included in the televised program; Taylor's brother Livingston appeared on stage as a "backup singer" for the finale, along with Taylor's twin boys, Rufus and Henry.

===Other recognition===
[[File:James Taylor Bridge 080526.JPG|thumb|right|220px|James Taylor Bridge, Chapel Hill, North Carolina]]
* 1995: Honorary doctorate of music from the [[Berklee College of Music]], Boston, 1995.
* 2000: Inducted into the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]], 2000.
* 2000: Inducted into the [[Songwriters Hall of Fame]], 2000.
* 2003: The [[Chapel Hill Museum]] in [[Chapel Hill, North Carolina]] opened a permanent exhibit dedicated to Taylor. At the same occasion the [[U.S. Route 15|US-15]]-[[U.S. Route 501|501]] highway bridge over Morgan Creek, near the site of the Taylor family home and mentioned in Taylor's song "Copperline", was named in honor of Taylor.
* 2004: [[UCLA Spring Sing The George and Ira Gershwin Award|George and Ira Gershwin Award]] for Lifetime Musical Achievement, [[UCLA Spring Sing]].<ref>{{cite web | title = Calendar & Events: Spring Sing: Gershwin Award | publisher = UCLA | url = http://www.uclalumni.net/CalendarEvents/springsing/Gershwin/winners.cfm | access-date = December 26, 2006 | archive-date = September 27, 2007 | url-status = usurped | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927221758/http://www.uclalumni.net/calendarevents/springsing/Gershwin/winners.cfm }}</ref>
* 2004: Ranked 84th in ''[[Rolling Stone]]'''s list of "[[Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Artists of All Time|100 Greatest Artists of All Time]]".<ref>{{cite magazine| title = The Immortals: The First Fifty| magazine = Rolling Stone |issue=946| url =https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5939214/the_immortals_the_first_fifty| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20060316103016/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/5939214/the_immortals_the_first_fifty/| archive-date =March 16, 2006}}</ref>
* 2009: Honorary Doctorate of Music from [[Williams College]], [[Williamstown, Massachusetts]].
* 2009: Inducted into the [[North Carolina Music Hall of Fame]] in 2009.<ref>{{cite web|title=2009 Inductees|url=http://northcarolinamusichalloffame.org/category/inductees/2009-inductees/|publisher=North Carolina Music Hall of Fame|access-date=September 10, 2012|archive-date=March 22, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190322222813/https://northcarolinamusichalloffame.org/category/inductees/2009-inductees/|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2010: Inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame
* 2012: Received the Montréal Jazz Spirit Award
* 2012: Named "Chevalier de l'[[Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]]" by the Ministry of Culture & Communication of France.<ref>{{cite web|title=James Taylor to be given French cultural honor|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a403104/james-taylor-to-be-given-french-cultural-honor.html|work=Digital Spy|date=September 2012|access-date=January 23, 2013|archive-date=September 3, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120903041624/http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a403104/james-taylor-to-be-given-french-cultural-honor.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
* 2015: [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]<ref>{{cite web |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom |title=President Obama Names Recipients of the Presidential Medal of Freedom |access-date=November 16, 2015 |via=[[NARA|National Archives]] |work=[[whitehouse.gov]] |date=November 16, 2015 |archive-date=December 5, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161205112245/https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/11/16/president-obama-names-recipients-presidential-medal-freedom |url-status=live }}</ref>
* 2016: [[Kennedy Center Honors]]
* 2022: Honorary doctorate of music from the [[New England Conservatory]], Boston, 2022.<ref>{{cite news |author=Jeannie Maschino |date=May 20, 2022 |url=https://www.berkshireeagle.com/news/community-news/boston-james-taylor-delivering-commencement-speech-at-new-england-conservatory/article_d349ac66-d863-11ec-a30b-ff24d4a090a2.html |title=Boston: James Taylor delivering commencement speech at New England Conservatory |newspaper=The Berkshire Eagle}}</ref>
* 2024: The Boston Symphony Orchestra awarded James Taylor the 2024 Tanglewood Medal in recognition of his extraordinary accomplishments as a singer-songwriter and performer as well as his many significant contributions to the BSO and Berkshires communities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bso.org/press/bso-to-honor-james-taylor-with-2024-tanglewood-medal-on-his-50th-anniversary|title=BSO to Honor James Taylor with 2024 Tanglewood Medal on his 50th…|website=Bso.org|access-date=August 10, 2024}}</ref>

==Discography==
{{Main|James Taylor discography}}

===Studio albums===
{{div col}}
* ''[[James Taylor (album)|James Taylor]]'' (1968)
* ''[[Sweet Baby James]]'' (1970)
* ''[[Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon]]'' (1971)
* ''[[One Man Dog]]'' (1972)
* ''[[Walking Man]]'' (1974)
* ''[[Gorilla (James Taylor album)|Gorilla]]'' (1975)
* ''[[In the Pocket (James Taylor album)|In the Pocket]]'' (1976)
* ''[[JT (James Taylor album)|JT]]'' (1977)
* ''[[Flag (James Taylor album)|Flag]]'' (1979)
* ''[[Dad Loves His Work]]'' (1981)
* ''[[That's Why I'm Here]]'' (1985)
* ''[[Never Die Young]]'' (1988)
* ''[[New Moon Shine]]'' (1991)
* ''[[Hourglass (James Taylor album)|Hourglass]]'' (1997)
* ''[[October Road (album)|October Road]]'' (2002)
* ''[[A Christmas Album (James Taylor album)|A Christmas Album]]'' (2004)
* ''[[James Taylor at Christmas]]'' (2006)
* ''[[Covers (James Taylor album)|Covers]]'' (2008)
* ''[[Before This World]]'' (2015)
* ''[[American Standard (James Taylor album)|American Standard]]'' (2020)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://fantasyrecordings.com/releases/american-standard/ |title=American Standard |publisher=Fantasy Recordings |access-date=January 30, 2020 |archive-date=January 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200130020858/https://fantasyrecordings.com/releases/american-standard/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
{{div col end}}

== See also ==
* [[Charles H. Taylor (publisher)]]
* [[John I. Taylor]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book | editor-last=Moritz | editor-first=Charles  | title=[[Current Biography Yearbook|Current Biography Yearbook 1972]] | publisher=[[H. W. Wilson Company|The H. W. Wilson Company]] |location=New York | year=1973 |edition=33rd |pages=428–? |isbn=9780824204938}}
* {{cite book | last=Risberg | first=Joel | title=The James Taylor Encyclopedia: An Unofficial Compendium for JT's Biggest Fans | publisher= GeekTV Press | year= 2005 | isbn= 1-4116-3477-2 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=Xp9uFagdTW0C |oclc=184869540}}
* {{cite book | last=White | first=Timothy | author-link=Timothy White (editor) | title=Long Ago and Far Away: James Taylor, His Life and Music | publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] | year= 2002 |location=London | isbn= 0-7119-9193-6 | url = https://archive.org/details/jamestaylor00timo | url-access=registration |oclc=48153598}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{Commons category}}
* {{IMDb name|0852510}}
* {{official website}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/user/jamestaylorvideo YouTube Channel]

{{James Taylor}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for James Taylor
|list =
{{Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance}}
{{Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album}}
{{Kennedy Center Honorees 2010s}}
{{MusiCares Person of the Year}}
{{National Medal of Arts recipients 2010s}}
{{2000 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame}}
}}
{{Apple Corps}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, James}}
[[Category:James Taylor| ]]
[[Category:1948 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American composers]]
[[Category:20th-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century American singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:21st-century American guitarists]]
[[Category:21st-century American male musicians]]
[[Category:21st-century American singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:American acoustic guitarists]]
[[Category:American male guitarists]]
[[Category:American expatriates in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:American country singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:American country rock singers]]
[[Category:American folk guitarists]]
[[Category:American folk rock musicians]]
[[Category:American folk singers]]
[[Category:American harmonica players]]
[[Category:American male singer-songwriters]]
[[Category:American people of Scottish descent]]
[[Category:American people of English descent]]
[[Category:American pop guitarists]]
[[Category:American male pop singers]]
[[Category:American rock guitarists]]
[[Category:American rock singers]]
[[Category:American rock songwriters]]
[[Category:American soft rock musicians]]
[[Category:Apple Records artists]]
[[Category:Austen Riggs Center patients]]
[[Category:Capitol Records artists]]
[[Category:Chapel Hill High School (North Carolina) alumni]]
[[Category:Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]]
[[Category:Columbia Records artists]]
[[Category:American fingerstyle guitarists]]
[[Category:Folk musicians from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Folk musicians from North Carolina]]
[[Category:Grammy Award winners]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Los Angeles]]
[[Category:Guitarists from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Guitarists from North Carolina]]
[[Category:McLean Hospital patients]]
[[Category:Milton Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Musicians from Boston]]
[[Category:New York (state) Democrats]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from California]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Singer-songwriters from North Carolina]]
[[Category:Simon family (publishing)]]
[[Category:Taylor family (show business)]]
[[Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients]]
[[Category:Warner Records artists]]
[[Category:Writers from Manhattan]]
[[Category:Kennedy Center honorees]]