5-time Grammy Award winner, Rock of Roll Hall of FamerJames Taylor, member of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, has had a long and distinguished career. The multi-talented American musical genius shot to fame with his 1970 single “Fire and Rain,” which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and also earned him his first Grammy nomination.
Taylor is also known for performing successful covers of popular songs, including his early No. 1 hit “You’ve Got a Friend” (1970), as well as Marvin Gaye’s “How Sweet (1974)”. Fourteen of the singer’s more than 30 albums have gone platinum or above and with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, James Taylor is undoubtedly one of the most bankable artists of all time.
James Taylor’s Biography, Age
James Vernon Taylor was born March 12, 1948, in Boston, Massachusetts, to Gertrude (née Woodard), a singer, and Isaac M. Taylor, a physician from a wealthy family with Scottish roots. He was raised next to 4 siblings; Alex, Livingston, Hugh and Kate. The family moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina when James was still a child.
Taylor acquired a keen interest in music during a young age and after experimenting with different instruments, he eventually settled down with the guitar. As a teenager, he formed a music duo “Jamie & Kootch” with fellow budding guitarist Danny Kortchmar. During his high school year at Milton Academy, James Taylor fell into depression, and in 1965 he was hospitalized at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. He eventually completed his high school diploma during his nine-month stay at the facility.
He moved to New York where he formed the “Flying Machine” music group alongside his old friend Kortchmar, bassist Zachary Wiesner and drummer Joel O’Brien. The group performs regularly and also records several songs, most of which were written by Taylor. However, Taylor fell into a heroin addiction followed by a series of bad career decisions, all of which resulted in the band breaking up. Taylor managed to clean himself up with the help of his father, after which he returned to the music scene as a solo act in 1967.
James Taylor moved to London at the end of 1967 and with the help of his friend Danny Kortchmar he signed a recording contract with Apple Records. As her music career continued to blossom, Taylor quickly relapsed into the insane habits of women and drugs. His debut album James Taylor (1968) did not fully exploit its commercial potential, as he was in rehab at the time of its release and had been unable to promote it.
He signed with Warner Bros. Records in October 1969, after which he moved to California. In February 1970, the talented singer released the album Sweet Baby James his debut single, “Fire and Rain,” which reached number three on the chart. Graphics billboard . It was the beginning of what has now become one of the most successful musical careers of his generation. James Taylor also received his first Grammy nominations in 1970 for the album Sweet Baby James and the single “Fire and Rain.”
James Taylor triumphed over the success of his Sweet Baby James with several other subsequent releases. The talented singer was also devoted to heroin addiction and maintained a stable career for nearly five decades. Besides his immense commercial success and other accolades, James Taylor has received 5 Grammy Awards out of 18 nominations.
Woman, children
James Taylor is currently married to his wife of nearly two decades, Caroline Smedvig, former director of public relations at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The couple met in 1995 when Taylor performed at the Boston Pops Orchestra. They were married on February 18, 2001, in a ceremony held at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Boston. They have 2 children together. Just two months after tying the knot, the couple welcomed their first children. Their twin sons, Rufus and Henry, were born via surrogate on April 5, 2001.
Prior to his current union, James Taylor had been married twice. He married musician Carly Simon on November 3, 1972. They had 2 children together during their union of more than 10 years. They welcomed their first child, daughter Sarah Maria Taylor, on January 7, 1974. They welcomed their second child, son Benjamin Simon Taylor, on January 22, 1977. James Taylor and Carly Simon divorced in 1983.
Taylor was also married to theatre, television, and film actress, Kathryn Walker. The couple married in New York on December 14, 1985 at Saint-Jean-le-Divin Cathedral. Taylor credits his second wife, Walker, with helping him kick his heroin addiction. However, their union ended in divorce in 1996.
James Taylor has 4 children and a steadily growing number of grandchildren. His first two children, Sally and Ben, followed their famous father’s path into showbiz. Sally Taylor is a singer-songwriter and social activist. Her brother, Ben, is also a musician and actor. Ben and Sally Taylor frequently collaborate with music. However, the youngest Taylor children, Rufus and Henry, have so far shown no interest in music.
Other facts about James Taylor
Brothers Alex, Livingston, Hugh and Kate, all siblings of James Taylor, were involved in music at some point in their lives. Each of them also recorded studio albums.
Taylor became the first non-British artist to sign a contract with Apple Records, founded by the Beatles.
The singer’s most successful album is his 1976 Greatest Hits album which achieved Diamond certification (over 10x Platinum). All of Taylor’s albums released between 1977 and 2007 have sold at least 1 million copies.
James Taylor was inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame (SHOF) in 2000. In 2010, he received the United States National Medal of Arts from the President of the United States of the time, Barack Obama. In 2015, Taylor was also awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.