ARTIST SPOTLIGHT = James Taylor (4 songs)

This singer-songwriter-guitarist is a 5-time Grammy Award winner & was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame (2000).

#1
1 of my 2 favorites of his, this song (which he wrote) is his 1st Billboard Hot 100 Top 10. Released February 1970 from his 2nd album ‘Sweet Baby James’, the single reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 & #7 on the Adult Contemporary charts. It also reached #2 in Canada. Carole King is the pianist.

#2
This song, written by Carole King, was 1st recorded by King & covered by many artists since. However, the best-known version is Taylor’s, which was released in 1971 from his album ‘Mud Slide Slim’ & claimed #1 on both the Billboard Hot 100 & Adult Contemporary charts. It also won Grammy Awards for Taylor (Best Male Pop Vocal Performance) & King (Song Of The Year). For Taylor, it was his only Billboard Hot 100 chart topper & 1st of several #1 hits on the Adult Contemporary chart.

#3
After Adult Contemporary Top 10 hits in 1971’s “Long Ago & Far Away” (#4) & 1972’s “Don’t Let Me Be Lonely Tonight” (#3), he dropped off the charts for the most part in 1973 & 1974. Then came his 1975 album ‘Gorilla’. This, the lead single from that album, is a cover of Marvin Gaye’s 1964 hit. For Taylor, it notched at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 & claimed #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart. It sparked a run of 3 straight Top 5s on the Adult Contemporary chart, followed by 1975’s “Mexico” (#5) & 1976’s “Shower The People” (#1).

#4
He had Top 10 success on the Adult Contemporary chart through the late 1970s & 1980s, including 1977’s “Handy Man” (#1), 1979’s “Up On The Roof” (#7), 1985’s “Everyday” (#3) & 1988’s “Never Die Young” (#3). In 2006, he performed this poignant tune (written by Randy Newman) for the movie ‘CARS’. It is 1 of my 2 favorites of his.