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James Taylor is touring the country this summer music season, traveling to a number of theaters and pavilions for the type of outdoor summer shows that fans have come to know and love. He is traveling behind his first live album in more 13 years, "One Man Band."
James Taylor is one of the best known American singer-songwriters of his time, known for his sensitive lyrics and gentle acoustic sound. He paved the way for many artists after him, and saw massive commercial success - his "Greatest Hits" album sold more than 11 million copies.
Taylor grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where his father was the dean of the University Of North Carolina School Of Medicine. Taylor started off playing the cello and moved to guitar in 1960. He began performing folk music and joined a number of bands.
After moving to New York City, Taylor developed a drug addiction and many of his most famous songs were written while he was getting clean. Taylors second album, "Sweet Baby James" was his breakthrough, and included the massive hit "Fire and Rain." This brought attention to his self-titled debut, which also became a hit and included the popular single "Carolina in My Mind."
Taylor married fellow artist Carly Simon in 1972 and continued to release hits, including "Youve Got a Friend," "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" and "Handy Man." During this time he also collaborated with Art Garfunkel, including "Me and Julio Down by the School Yard" and "Sounds of Silence."
The successful artist fell back into his drug habits in the early 1980s, and divorced Simon in 1983. After a successful performance at Rock in Rio in 1985, Simon decided to get his life back in order - by later year he was sober and says that he has been ever since.
In the past decade, Taylor has found renewed success - "James Taylor: A Christmas Album," was a popular holiday album, and in 2006 he showed his talents to the country world with the Dixie Chicks on Country Music Televisions "Crossroads."
Over the years, Taylor has won five Grammy Awards, including "Best Pop Vocal Performance," for "Youve Got a Friend," "Dont Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" and "Handy Man," "Best Pop Album" for "Hourglass" and "Best Country Collaboration with Vocals" for "Hows the World Treating You" with Alison Krauss.
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