The James Taylor Encyclopedia An unofficial compendium for JT’s biggest fans Joel Risberg GeekTV Press Copyright 2005 by Joel Risberg All rights reserved Published 2005 Printed in the United States of America James Taylor Online www.james-taylor.com
[email protected] Cover photo by Joana Franca. This book is not approved or endorsed by James Taylor, his record labels, or his management. For Sandra, who brings me snacks. CONTENTS BIOGRAPHY 1 TIMELINE 16 SONG ORIGINS 27 STUDIO ALBUMS 31 SINGLES 43 WORK ON OTHER ALBUMS 44 OTHER COMPOSITIONS 51 CONCERT VIDEOS 52 SINGLE-SONG MUSIC VIDEOS 57 APPEARANCES IN OTHER VIDEOS 58 MISCELLANEOUS WORK 59 NON-U.S. ALBUMS 60 BOOTLEGS 63 CONCERTS ON TELEVISION 70 RADIO APPEARANCES 74 MAJOR LIVE PERFORMANCES 75 TV APPEARANCES 76 MAJOR ARTICLES AND INTERVIEWS 83 SHEET MUSIC AND MUSIC BOOKS 87 SAMPLE SET LISTS 89 JT’S FAMILY 92 RECORDINGS BY JT ALUMNI 96 POINTERS 100 1971 Time cover story – and nearly every piece of writing about James Taylor since then – characterized the musician Aas a troubled soul and the inevitable product of a family of means that expected quite a lot of its kids. To some extent, it was true. James did find inspiration for much of his life’s work in his emotional torment and the many years he spent fighting drug addiction and depression. And he did hail from an affluent, musically talented family that could afford to send its progeny to exclusive prep schools and expensive private mental hospitals. But now James Taylor in his fifties has the benefit of hindsight to moderate any lingering grudges against a press that persistently pigeonholed him – first as a sort of Kurt Cobain of his day, and much later as a sleepy crooner with his most creative years behind him.