James Taylor (born 12th March 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, born in Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where his father Isaac Taylor was the dean of the University of North Carolina Medical School. His family summered on Martha's Vineyard. Taylor's career began in the mid-1960s, and was the first artist signed to The Beatles's Apple Records. He found further success in the early 1970s, singing sensitive and gentle acoustic songs. He was part of a wave of soft singer-songwriters of the time that also included Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills & Nash, John Denver, Jackson Browne, and Carly Simon (whom he later married). His 1976 Greatest Hits album was certified Diamond and has sold 12 million US copies. Following his 1977 album, JT, he has retained a large audience over the decades. Every album that he released from 1977 to 2006 sold over a million copies. In March 2010 he commenced the Troubadour Reunion Tour with Carole King and members of his original band, including Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar, and Danny Kortchmar. They played shows in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and North America, including the final event at Pittsburgh's Mellon Arena. The tour was a major commercial success, and in some locations found Taylor playing arenas instead of his usual theatres or amphitheatres. With an average capacity of 95% for the shows, the tour raised millions for various charities of Taylor and King's choice. His 2015 album Before This World became his first number one.
