History Music / JamesTaylor

'''James Taylor''' (b. 1948) is an American Musician distinguished by his uniquely sweet-sounding voice, and pleasant folk-rock tunes.

-->''I've seen fire and I've seen rain, I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end.\\

'''James Taylor''' (b. 1948) is an American Musician distinguished by his uniquely sweet-sounding voice, and somewhat bland but pleasant folk-rock tunes.

James Taylor (b. 1948) is an American Musician distinguished by his uniquely sweet-sounding voice, and somewhat bland but pleasant folk-rock tunes.

His eponymous first record for Apple Records (1968) did not do well; he subsequently signed onto Creator/WarnerBrosRecords and released the album ''Sweet Baby James'', which spanned the hit singles "Fire and Rain" and "Country Road" and was significantly more successful than his previous album. He followed it up with ''Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon'' in 1971, which was another success, producing the hit cover of Music/CaroleKing's "You've Got a Friend", and ushered in a more R&B oriented sound which he maintained well into the 70's. His next record, ''One Man Dog'', was nearly two years in the making and was ultimately a severe letdown; made up of 18 brief pieces, it failed to reach the success of his previous two records. ''Walking Man'' followed in 1974 and did little to change his career. In 1975, he released ''Gorilla'', an album drastically LighterAndSofter than his previous materials but which returned him to the success he'd enjoyed earlier in the decade, largely due to the SillyLoveSong hit "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", which featured backing vocals by Carly Simon, his wife at the time. ''In the Pocket'', the sequel to ''Gorilla'', followed in 1976, in addition to a GreatestHitsAlbum that became the best selling record of his career.

* CareerResurrection: ''Gorilla'' was this in the mid-70's, and from the 90's onward he's been making a comeback.
* CreatorBreakdown: "Fire and Rain" was inspired by the suicide of a woman he'd become close to when they were in rehab together. And oddly enough, fans started an urban legend that a completely different one was involved, where his band secretly arranged for his girlfriend to visit him on tour, only for her plane to crash.

* MinimalistCoverArt: His 1976 album is distinctly this, only including his name, the album title, and the list of tracks in plan, italic black print over a bland white background. His 2000 one ended up looking nearly identical, albeit with a "2" behind the list of tracks.

!Tropes that apply to James Taylor include:

* MinimalCoverArt: His 1976 album is distinctly this, only including his name, the album title, and the list of tracks in plan, italic black print over a bland white background. His 2000 one ended up looking nearly identical, albeit with a "2" behind the list of tracks.

* SignatureSong: "Fire and Rain".

His eponymous first record for Apple Records (1968) did not do well; he subsequently signed onto Creator/WarnerBrosRecords and released the album ''Sweet Baby James'', which spanned the hit singles "Fire and Rain" and "Country Road" and was significantly more successful than his previous album. He followed it up with ''Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon'' in 1971, which was another success, producing the hit cover of Carol King's "You've Got a Friend", and ushered in a more R&B oriented sound which he maintained well into the 70's. His next record, ''One Man Dog'', was nearly two years in the making and was ultimately a severe letdown; made up of 18 brief pieces, it failed to reach the success of his previous two records. ''Walking Man'' followed in 1974 and did little to change his career. In 1975, he released ''Gorilla'', an album drastically LighterAndSofter than his previous materials but which returned him to the success he'd enjoyed earlier in the decade, largely due to the SillyLoveSong hit "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", which featured backing vocals by Carly Simon, his wife at the time. ''In the Pocket'', the sequel to ''Gorilla'', followed in 1976, in addition to a GreatestHitsAlbum that became the best selling record of his career.

In 1977, Taylor released his first album on Creator/ColumbiaRecords, ''JT'', which spawned the hit ''Your Smiling Face'' and was a success. This was followed by a rather long period during which Taylor was rather unsuccessful. He ended up divorcing Carly Simon in the early 80's; the title of his 1981 album ''Dad Loves His Work'' came, in fact, from the response Taylor gave to an ultimatum Simon had given him if he wanted their marriage to continue.

* CareerRessurection: ''Gorilla'' was this in the mid-70's, and from the 90's onward he's been making a comeback.

[[caption-width-right:200:[-He's seen fire, and he's seen rain.]]-]

His eponymous first record for Apple Records (1968) did not do well; he subsequently signed onto Warner Bros. Records and released the album ''Sweet Baby James'', which spanned the hit singles "Fire and Rain" and "Country Road" and was significantly more successful than his previous album. He followed it up with ''Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon'' in 1971, which was another success, producing the hit cover of Carol King's "You've Got a Friend", and ushered in a more R&B oriented sound which he maintained well into the 70's. His next record, ''One Man Dog'', was nearly two years in the making and was ultimately a severe letdown; made up of 18 brief pieces, it failed to reach the success of his previous two records. ''Walking Man'' followed in 1974 and did little to change his career. In 1975, he released ''Gorilla'', an album drastically LighterAndSofter than his previous materials but which returned him to the success he'd enjoyed earlier in the decade, largely due to the SillyLoveSong hit "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)", which featured backing vocals by Carly Simon, his wife at the time. ''In the Pocket'', the sequel to ''Gorilla'', followed in 1976, in addition to a GreatestHitsAlbum that became the best selling record of his career.

In 1977, Taylor released his first album on Columbia Records, ''JT'', which spawned the hit ''Your Smiling Face'' and was a success. This was followed by a rather long period during which Taylor was rather unsuccessful. He ended up divorcing Carly Simon in the early 80's; the title of his 1981 album ''Dad Loves His Work'' came, in fact, from the response Taylor gave to an ultimatum Simon had given him if he wanted their marriage to continue.

* SignatureSong: "Fire and Rain"

[[quoteright:200:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/332383/James+Taylor.jpg]][[caption-width-right:200:[-He's seen fire, and he's seen rain.]]-]

[[quoteright:200:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/332383/James+Taylor.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:200:[-He's seen fire, and he's seen rain.]]-]

[[quoteright:200:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/332383/James+Taylor.jpg]][[caption-width-right:200:[-He's seen fire, and he's seen rain.]]-]

[[quoteright:200:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/James taylor publicity photo.jpg]][[caption-width-right:200:[-He's seen fire, and he's seen rain.]]-]

[[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/James Taylor - Winterfest.jpg]][[caption-width-right:200:[-He's seen fire, and he's seen rain.]]-]

[[quoteright:310:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/James Taylor - Winterfest.jpg]][[caption-width-right:200:[-He's seen fire, and he's seen rain.]]-]

[[http://foglobe.com/data_images/main/james-taylor/james-taylor-02.jpg]]

[[caption-width-right:200:[-He's seen fire, and he's seen rain.]]-]

[[quoteright:200:[[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/james-taylor-02.jpg]]]]

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