James Taylor is thought of as the original “singer/songwriter”. Many people believe that his style of music with his acoustic guitar and calm singing helped bring the nation out of the tumultuous 60s and into the 70s. Taylor had three brothers and a sister to Dr. Isaac and Gertrude Taylor. Taylor was born in Boston, Massachusetts, where he attended a prep school until he dropped out at the age of 16 to form a band with his brother, Alex. When Taylor moved to New York to further his career as a musician, he began to suffer from depression and decided to check himself into McLean Psychiatric Hospital back in Massachusetts, where he also completed his high school work to obtain his diploma. This stay in the psychiatric hospital is what inspired some of his earlier songs (MTV). …show more content…
The band only released one single, which was unsuccessful and lead to their breakup in 1967. By 1968, Taylor became addicted to heroin, so in order to try and combat his addiction, he moved to London. In London, he signed on with Apple Records to record his solo album “James Taylor”. Through his move though, Taylor was not able to combat his addiction to heroin, along with the release of his first solo album not receiving the attention he had hoped, Taylor moved back to Massachusetts and checked himself into the Austin Riggs Hospital. After he recovered, Taylor made a debut in Los Angeles at the Troubadour club. Shortly afterwards, he broke both of his hands in a motorcycle accident