James Taylor - one of the most successful singers of the 1970's - didn't just emerge with an instant-selling album ("Sweet Baby James") and monster single ("Fire And Rain"). His distinctive style was slow to grow, and foremost among those stepping stones was "James Taylor", his only LP release on Apple Records.
James was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 12, 1948, and was encouraged at an early age (along with the other Taylor siblings - Livingston, Kate, Hugh, and Alex) to study some form of music. James started with the cello but eventually switched to guitar.
While attending Milton Academy (near Boston), James met up with a fellow student, Danny Kortchmar. James and "Kootch" (as Danny became known) hit it off right away, and soon began to play folk gigs locally. With James on guitar and "Kootch" on harmonica, the vocal duo did pretty well, winning the occasional hootenanny contest.
When music did a turnaround in 1964, James left school (and Danny) and joined up with his older brother Alex in his band, The Fabulous Corsairs. In the meantime, "Kootch" and drummer Joel O'Brien formed The King Bees, and when that didn't pan out, they called on James to put together another conglomeration: The Flying Machine.
The group landed a label deal with Chip Taylor and Al Gorgoni, who were forming a new label (eventually named Rainy Day, after one of James' songs). They released one single as The Flying Machine, "Night Owl" b/w "Brighten Your Night With My Day". The record didn't sell and the label was short-lived, so James and the guys called it quits.
(When James finally broke big in 1970, Jubilee Records, the company that distributed Rainy Day, issued a large chunk of the recording sessions as an album on their Euphoria subsidiary. Included were both sides of the single, plus early versions of "Knocking 'Round The Zoo" and "Rainy Day Man", as well as a backing track for the unfinished "Something's Wrong". The versions can't compete with the polished Apple recordings but are important historically.)
In 1968, James went to England and recorded some demos of his songs. His friend and mentor Peter Asher, head of A&R at Apple Records, had no hesitation in bringing the demo to the enthusiastic new company where James was immediately and warmly welcomed by Paul McCartney and assembled staff. James was the first artist signed by Apple.
Of course Peter Asher would produce James Taylor himself. Peter felt that strings and brass would complement James' simple acoustic arrangements, so orchestral arranger Richard Hewson was brought in (Hewson would later re-connect with Paul McCartney when he arranged and conducted an instrumental version of Paul's "Ram" album as Percy " Thrills" Thrillington).
The song that was favoured as the most potential hit was "Carolina In My Mind". Paul played bass on the tune, and James and Peter sang back-up vocals. It became the featured track when the LP, "James Taylor", was released in December 1968. "Carolina In My Mind" was issued as a single in the U.S., but like the LP, it sold poorly. This all changed when James' next album, "Sweet Baby James" (on Warner Bros.), made the top ten in 1970, followed by the "Fire And Rain" hit single. Since then, sales of the Apple discs soared and almost all the album's tracks have become FM radio favourites.
This Apple album is a concept album of sorts, with several link tracks connecting the songs. All parties concerned felt that this concept should not be broken by adding bonus songs to the package, so any remaining James Taylor gems will have to wait for an Apple Records "rarities" compilation. Among the treasures still to be released are an early version of "Fire And Rain" (with female gospel singers) and a gorgeous acoustic demo of "Carolina In My Mind". It'll be worth the wait.