James Taylor Biography

Fast Facts

• Learned how to play the guitar at the age of 12 after studying cello when he was younger
• Dropped out of school at 16 to form his first band
• Released his self-titled debut solo album in the UK at the end of 1968, and in the U
• S
• in February 1969
• Released his second album, Sweet Baby James, in February of 1970, which garnered much critical acclaim and spawned the hit "Fire and Rain
• " Heralded as the founder of the singer-songwriter movement in pop music, he appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1971
• Forayed into acting with Beach Boy Dennis Wilson in the unsuccessful but well-reviewed film Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
• Was honored by Billboard Magazine with the Century Award, their highest accolade, in October of 1998
• Inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2000
• Has received honorary doctorates of music from the Berklee College of Music (1995) and Williams College (2009)
• A long-standing member of the Natural Resources Defense Council's board of trustees
• Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015