James started writing music in the mid 1960's as a student at a New England boarding school, far removed from his family and friends in the Piedmont Hills of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. After early episodes of depression and restlessness, James decided to pursue his own path as a songwriter and musician, moving to New York City joining a band. Subsequently moving to London to further his career, James was introduced to Paul McCartney by his soon to be producer/manager, Peter Asher, and signed to the Beatles' Apple record label. Although Taylor's 1968 self-titled debut was critically well received, offering the future classics "Carolina In My Mind" and "Something In The Way She Moves," Apple records suffered from poor financial management and soon went bankrupt.
Undeterred, James packed up his notebook and guitar and headed home back across the Atlantic. He was quickly picked up by Warner Brothers Records, for whom he recorded six albums. His first release in 1970, Sweet Baby James, was his introduction to the music world at large, and it proved to be a truly monumental recording, containing the title track "Sweet Baby James," "Country Road" and his most enduring hit, the sadly cathartic "Fire and Rain." He followed up on his debut with Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon in 1971, on which he demonstrated his agility in moving between melancholic mementos ("Soldiers," "Hey Mister, That's Me Up On The Jukebox"), pleasant lullabies ("Isn't It Nice To Be Home Again"), .....
