James Taylor, The #46 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Three

 

(Continued from Part Two)

In 1981, Taylor released the album Dad Loves His Work.

The album coincided with a separation from Carly, with the two finalizing a divorce in 1983.  James continued to battle his drug addiction and underwent a methadone maintenance program.  Affected by the deaths of friends Dennis Wilson and John Belushi, James finally kicked his heroin habit.

 Taylor's single "Her Town Too", sung with J.D. Souther, represented his personal feelings about the divorce.  The song peaked at #5 AC and #11 overall, another of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs*.

 

One can tell that summer is JT's favorite season from the joyfulness he portrays throughout "Summer's Here", a solid track on the album.

 

In 1985, Taylor played before 300,000 at the Rock in Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro, and the response from fans rekindled his spirit and desire to continue recording.  James covered the Buddy Holly song "Everyday", which became a #3 Adult smash.

 

The title song from the album That's Why I'm Here refers to this experience.  

 

In 1988, James released the album Never Die Young, which contained the #3 title smash among adults.  

 

In 1991, James released the album New Moon Shine, which went Platinum.  "Copperline" is about a town near Chapel Hill, North Carolina where JT grew up. 

 

 

"Like Everyone She Knows" is one of Taylor's best songs from the latter part of his career.

 

Taylor released the album Hourglass in 1997.  The single "Little More Time With You" rose to #3 on the Adult Contemporary chart and helped the album win a Grammy Award for Best Pop Album.

James excels at writing simple, melodic songs about love and family, such as "Enough To Be On Your Way". 

In 2000, Taylor was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.  

 

In 2002, Taylor released another album that went on to sell over one million copies, October Road.  James was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male at the Grammy Awards and also was honored with the ASCAP Founders Award.  JT tells how McCartney told him what he thought of "Mean Old Man":

     Paul McCartney called me up and said that when he'd

     first heard it, he assumed it was Frank Loesser or Cole             Porter. I was, of course, absolutely thrilled. At one point,           Bob Dylan told me that he'd been listening to [Taylor's               song] "Frozen Man" and really thought it was great, and           that's enough for me. Ten critics can savage me, but I'll 

     be fine as long as every once in a while, someone like 

     Bob Dylan or Paul McCartney says, "Keep going, kid." 

The next year, the Chapel Hill Museum in North Carolina opened a permanent exhibit dedicated to James and the US-15-501 highway bridge over Morgan Creek, near the site of his family home, was named in honor of Taylor.  Morgan Creek is mentioned in his song "Copperline".

 

In 2003, Taylor joined Country star Alison Krauss to record "How's The World Treating You" and the pair received a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.

James released the album James Taylor:  A Christmas Album in 2004.  It featured a #5 AC Hit with James' version of "Deck The Halls".  Taylor earned another Grammy nomination for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

In 2004, James performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" prior to Games 2 and 3 of the World Series, a feat he replicated in 2013 and 2018.  In 2005, James received an honorary doctorate of music from the Berkee College of Music.  In 2006, Taylor recorded the song "Our Town" for the animated movie Cars.  It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.

Taylor released the album One Man Band in 2007 through Starbucks.  James performed at the We Are One:  The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Taylor recorded the album Covers in 2008 and received kudos at the Grammy Awards with nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male for his version of the Glen Campbell hit "Wichita Lineman".

In 2009, Taylor received an honorary doctorate of music from Williams College in Willamstown, Massachusetts.

In 2010, Taylor and Carole King embarked on a Troubadour Reunion Tour that took the two superstars to North America, Australia, New Zealand and Japan.  The tour grossed over $59 million, one of the most successful of the year.

In 2012, James received the "Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres" from the Ministry of Culture & Communication of France.

In 2015, Taylor released the album Before This World on Concord Records, which became his only #1 album and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album.  Also that year, James received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Barack Obama, above.

JT has scored 22 career hits, with five Top 10 songs and one #1 on the Popular chart although, as noted above, several songs we now know to be highly underrated.  His popularity, however, has always been strongest with adults, which of course make up the vast majority of the Rock Era audience, and on the Adult chart, James has chalked up 38 career hits, with an amazing 24 of those landing in the Top 10 and four going to #1.  

Taylor has sold over 100 million albums throughout the world.  He had an incredible streak from 1977 to 2007 when he sold over a million copies of every album released during that time.

James has won five Grammy Awards from 11 nominations and one ASCAP Award.