Categories: folkMusic Calendar

Today: James Taylor is 66

When people use the term “singer/songwriter” (often modified by the word “sensitive”) in praise or in criticism, they’re thinking of James Taylor.
~William Ruhlmann (allmusic.com)

That’s the motivation of an artist – to seek attention of some kind.
~James Taylor

In concert – BBC Studios 1970 (ca 50min):


I believe musicians have a duty, a responsibility to reach out, to share your love or pain with others.
~James Taylor

Fire & Rain – Live 1970
)

Birth name James Vernon Taylor
Born March 12, 1948 (age 66)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Origin Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Genres Folk rock, rock, pop, soft rock, country
Occupations Singer-songwriter, musician
Instruments Vocals, guitar, harmonica
Years active 1966–present
Labels Apple, Capitol, EMI, Warner Bros., Columbia, SME, Hear Music
Associated acts Carole King, Carly Simon, Eric Clapton, Joe Walsh, Joni Mitchell, J.D. Souther, Stevie Wonder, Art Garfunkel, Linda Ronstadt, Bonnie Raitt, David Crosby, Don Henley
Website www.jamestaylor.com

James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the No. 3 single “Fire and Rain” and had his first No. 1 hit the following year with “You’ve Got a Friend”, a recording of Carole King’s classic song. His 1976 Greatest Hits album was certified Diamond and has sold 12 million US copies. Following his 1977 album, JT, he has retained a large audience over the decades. His commercial achievements declined slightly until a resurgence during the late 1990s and 2000s, when some of his best-selling and most-awarded albums (including HourglassOctober Road and Covers) were released.

Wikipedia

We all have to face pain, and pain makes us grow.
~James Taylor

You’ve Got A Friend (Live on North Sea Jazz Festival 2009)

Awards & Recognition:

Grammy Awards

  • 1971: Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, “You’ve Got a Friend”
  • 1977: Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, “Handy Man”
  • 1998: Best Pop Album, Hourglass
  • 2001: Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight”
  • 2003: Best Country Collaboration With Vocals, “How’s the World Treating You” with Alison Krauss
  • 2006: Grammy Award-sponsored MusiCares Person of the Year.

Other

  • 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 US-15-501 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: George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement, UCLA Spring Sing.
  • 2004: Ranked 84th in Rolling Stone’s list of “The Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time”.
  • 2009: Honorary Doctorate of Music from Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts.
  • 2009: Inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009.
  • 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.

Album of the day

Sweet Baby James (1970)

Full album – youtube:

Spotify:

Other March 12

  • Charles “Charlie” Parker, Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), also known as “Yardbird” and “Bird”, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Miles Davis once said, “You can tell the history of jazz in four words: Louis Armstrong. Charlie Parker.”
  • The Velvet Underground & Nico is the debut album by American rock band The Velvet Underground and vocal collaborator Nico. It was originally released in March 1967 by Verve Records. Recorded in 1966 during Andy Warhol‘s Exploding Plastic Inevitable multimedia event tour, The Velvet Underground & Nico would gain notoriety for its experimentalist performance sensibilities, as well as the focus on controversial subject matter expressed in many of their songs.
  • Leonard Chess (March 12, 1917 – October 16, 1969) was a record company executive and the founder of Chess Records. He was influential in the development of electric blues.
  • Bill Payne (born March 12, 1949, Waco, Texas, USA) co-founded, with Lowell George, the American rock band Little Feat. He is considered by many other piano rock musicians, including Elton John, to be one of the finest American piano rock and blues music artists. In addition to his trademark barrelhouse blues piano, he is noted for his work on other keyboard instruments, particularly theHammond B3 organ. Payne is also an accomplished songwriter whose credits include co-writing, with Lowell George, the Little Feat classic, “Oh, Atlanta.”

-Egil

Egil

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