Artist Information
As a recording and touring artist, James Taylor has touched people with his warm baritone voice and distinctive style of guitar-playing for more than 50 years, while setting a precedent to which countless young musicians have aspired. Over the course of his celebrated songwriting and performing career, Taylor has sold more than 100 million albums, earning gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards for classics ranging from Sweet Baby James in 1970 to October Road in 2002. In addition to multiple Grammy awards, Taylor has been inducted into both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the prestigious Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2012, Taylor was awarded the distinguished Chevalier of the Order of Arts and Letters by the French government and the National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama in a White House ceremony. In November 2015, Taylor was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor. In December 2016 Taylor received the Kennedy Center Honors, which are presented annually to individuals who have enriched American culture by distinguished achievement in the performing arts.
In 2015, Taylor released Before This World, his first new studio album in thirteen years, which earned him his first-ever #1 album on the Billboard Charts and was nominated for a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Album. In early 2020 Taylor released his audio-only Audible Original titled Break Shot, a deeply personal and authentic memoir detailing his first 21 years. He also released his newest album, American Standard, his 19th studio album, which earned Taylor the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album and gave him the honor of being the first artist to have a Billboard Top 10 album in each of the past six decades.
