Happy Birthday James Taylor

James Vernon Taylor was born March 12, 1948 in Boston, Mass.! Taylor is a five-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide. And he’s a lot of fun at parties.

James was born the sixth of five children, into a wealthy Boston family. His father Sigmund was a psychiatrist and his mother Elizabeth was an aspiring opera singer.

Meet The Taylor’s

The Taylor’s were a wacky bunch and all the kids spent time at the renowned McLean NutHouse in Belmont, Massachusetts. They enjoyed a hefty multi patient family discount. That is where James wrote “Fire and Rain’.

Happy Birthday James Taylor — James Taylor Illustration By Paul King Art

By the summer of 1966, Taylor was living and playing in Greenwich Village. He began hanging out with a motley group of people and began using heroin. Life is cheap to that sort.

Taylor moved to London, and was signed to Apple Records by The Beatles. His debut album did not do well and James fell back into Heroin. He broke both hands and feet in a motorcycle accident. Once recovered he moved to California. He once commented that his motorcycle accident was more enjoyable than listening to Yoko sing.

“Sweet Baby James” was released in 1970 and was a huge success. The album and “Fire and Rain” went to #3. The rest is history. Hit after hit followed. “Country Road”, “You’ve Got a Friend”, “How Sweet it Is”, “Mexico”, “Shower the People”, “Handy Man” and many more.

Mock Yeah!

James famously married and divorced Carly Simon, and was married 3 times. He is currently married and living in Massachusetts. Sally and Ben, his children with Carly Simon, have also embarked on musical careers. “Mock, Yeah, Ing, Yeah, Bird, Yeah… Cheers James!