When someone mentions James Taylor, images of a soft acoustic guitar and mellow ballads ring in people's heads. Taylor is known as much for his style as he is for his hits, but few understand the trials and tribulations he overcame throughout his life on his way to becoming one of the most recognizable singers and songwriters in history. A look at his life will allow those who are lucky enough to see Taylor live understand the entire story he tells every time he takes the stage.



Early Life

James Vernon Taylor was born on March 12, 1948 in Boston. His parents were successful people, as his father was selected the dean of the University of North Carolina Medical School in 1951. The family's lifestyle was such that the Taylor's spent the academic year in North Carolina and their summers on Martha's Vineyard, giving James Taylor exposure to two distinct sub-cultures.

Taylor was musically inclined, as were his four siblings: Alex, Livingston, Hugh, and Kate. All of them were “in the business” at some point, and James got his start in music by learning the cello. Taylor soon became disinterested in the cello, though, and began to learn the guitar when he was 12.

James Taylor enrolled in Milton Academy, a prep school in Massachusetts, in 1963, and this is where he became heavily involved in his music. During the first summer after Taylor's initial year at Milton, he met fellow guitarist Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar while staying on Martha's Vineyard and the two formed a folk duo. From there, Taylor essentially dedicated himself to his musical talent.

At 16, Taylor dropped out of school, formed another band with brother Alex and soon moved to New York. It was in New York where James Taylor faced his first of many struggles - he was diagnosed with depression and checked into a hospital for treatment. This hospital stay turned out to be an inspiration for many of his early works.

After his hospital stay, Taylor formed another band, The Flying Machine, and they performed all over Greenwich Village in an attempt to build a loyal local following. They enjoyed a modicum of success, as they were signed to a small record contract, but their first release was a failure and the band broke up.

Continued Struggle

This failure presented another challenge to Taylor, as by 1968, he had become addicted to heroin. His father came to New York and drove him back to North Carolina for treatment. In an attempt to fully escape the clutches of the drug, Taylor moved to London and began to release demo tapes while working at Apple Records.

One of Taylor's demo tapes caught executives' attention, and he released his first album, James Taylor, in the US in early 1969. The album was not a commercial success, but that was of little consequence at the time, as it became known that Taylor was still addicted to heroin. He finally checked into Austin Riggs Hospital in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and got himself clean. As a result, he stayed in the United States and continued with his music.

Taylor began to play regularly in Los Angeles, and was building a fan base. However, in the summer of 1969, he was involved in a motorcycle accident and broke both of his hands, and he couldn't play for months. After he finally recovered, he signed a record deal with Warner Brothers and began to produce huge hits.

His album Sweet Baby James was an enormous success, and set the stage for many more to follow, including his greatest commercial success, the 1976 release of Greatest Hits, which sold over 11 million copies. Taylor was now firmly entrenched as a musical star.

Final Tragedy

This success did not free Taylor from his troubles, however. Even though he had become a recording star, he had suffered through a divorce with Carly Simon and had other problems. These problems paled in comparison to what happened in 1993, however, when his brother Alex died of a heart attack that was at least partially caused by his own drug and alcohol problems.

Taylor persevered, though, and continues to mesmerize crowds with his mellow style and acoustic talent. He truly finds sanctuary on the stage, and many of his songs tell the tragic stories that are part of his life.