James Taylor is a singer-songwriter who has been writing pop and rock hits since the early 1970s. Taylor was born in 1948 in Boston but lived most of his childhood in North Carolina. Taylor's mother and his other siblings were all musically apt. Taylor first learned how to play the cello and later learned how to play the guitar when he was 12.

In 1965, depression struck Taylor and he checked into McLean Psychiatric Hospital and stayed there for nine months. Taylor has expressed how checking into the hospital was a choice that saved his life. While he was there, he worked on his songwriting. After Taylor left the hospital, he formed a band, The Flying Machine.

In 1968, Taylor became addicted to heroin and tried to kick his addiction when he moved to London. He was signed to The Beatles' Apple Records where he recorded his first solo album, "James Taylor." At first, the album was not recognized and sold poorly, even though it was well-received by critics. Taylor was still battling his heroin addiction and because of it, he moved back to the United States and checked into another psychiatric hospital, the Austin Riggs Hospital in Massachusetts.

After separating from Apple Records, he signed to Warner Bros and recorded his second album, "Sweet Baby James" in 1970. One song on the album, "Fire and Rain," was a hit that was inspired by his life in mental hospitals. This song helped bring this album great success. His second album, "Mud Slime Slim and the Blue Horizon," featured a cover of a song written by Carole King, titled "You've Got a Friend." That single hit number one, went gold, and Taylor received a Grammy for his performance of the song.

Some of Taylor's other influential songs include "Country Road," "Something in the Way She Moves," "Mexico," "Shower the People," "Your Smiling Face," "Carolina In My Mind," and many others. He has won 40 gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards and five Grammys across his albums including "James Taylor"(1968), "Sweet Baby James" (1970), "Hourglass" (1997), and "October Road" (2002).

Taylor has also received the 1998 Century Award for distinguished creative achievement, was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriter's Hall of Fame, a National Medal of the Arts, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.