Livingston Taylor
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Livingston Taylor (born November 21, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter, originally from Boston, Massachusetts. He grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where his father was a medical professor at the University of North Carolina.
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[edit] Overview
Taylor's four siblings, James, Alex, Hugh and Kate, have also been musicians with recorded albums. His sister Kate has returned to a more active career, after a two-decade long sabbatical. Alex is deceased, and Hugh now runs a bed-and-breakfast with his wife. James remains a leading figure in the music industry.
Taylor's best selling single, "I Will Be In Love With You," rose no higher than the thirtieth position on the Billboard charts, and he has not released a Top-40 single since 1980. On the other hand, Taylor's personality and warm stage presence have allowed him to maintain a busy concert schedule.
[edit] Early career
As a youngster, Taylor experienced many emotional problems. At school he suffered from such severe depression that he hospitalized himself at the same psychiatric hospital, McLean Hospital, in Belmont, Massachusetts, where his brother James had been admitted earlier. Part of Taylor's therapy involved playing guitar and singing. After his release, Taylor remained in the Boston area and began performing in local clubs and coffeehouses.
[edit] 1970s
Taylor's break occurred when he was discovered by Jon Landau, (a record producer who would later go on to manage Bruce Springsteen). Taylor was one of the first artists to sign with Capricorn Records in 1970. His debut album, Livingston Taylor, produced by Landau, included the song "Carolina Day," an original, personal song which helped set the tone for Taylor's intimate and laid-back musical style.
His second album, Liv, also produced by Landau, included the minor hit "Get Out of Bed". His third album, Over the Rainbow, was released in 1973, but did not sell well.
Taylor left Capricorn Records for his next album, Three Way Mirror, released in 1978. In addition to featuring the aforementioned "I Will Be In Love With You," his highest charting song, the album included "Going Around One More Time," a song that would later be covered by Livingston's brother James on his album That's Why I'm Here in 1985. Taylor promoted the album by touring as the opening act for Linda Ronstadt during her "Living in the USA" national tour.
In 1979, Capricorn Records released Echoes, a "greatest hits" sampler of songs from Taylor's first three albums.
[edit] 1980s
As the 1980s opened, Taylor released his second album on the Epic label, Man's Best Friend. The album contained two notable songs: "First Time Love," and "Pajamas" (sometimes known as "I've Got My Pajamas On"), a childish number that has become a fan favourite and that was later adapted into a children's book by Taylor and his wife, Maggie.
During the 1980s, Taylor took up hosting a nationally syndicated television show, This Week's Music, and began teaching performance at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. His next album Life Is Good appeared in 1988.
[edit] 1990s
The 1990s saw a renewed frequency in recording: 1991's Our Turn To Dance, 1993's Good Friends and 1996's Bicycle. Ink, a cover album, was released in 1997. A concert album, Unsolicited Material, was released in 1994, and in 1998, an eighteen track retrospective of the first decade of Taylor's career, Carolina Day: The Livingston Taylor Collection was released. The decade closed with a second live album, 1999's Snapshot.
[edit] 2000s
A second retrospective was released in 2005 with 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Livingston Taylor. The year ended with an album of all-new material, There You Are Again.
Taylor has been artist-in-residence at Lowell House at Harvard College since 2000.
[edit] Discography
- Livingston Taylor (1970)
- Liv (1971)
- Over the Rainbow (1973)
- Three Way Mirror (1978)
- Echoes (1979)
- Man's Best Friend (1980)
- Life Is Good (1988)
- Our Turn to Dance (1993)
- Good Friends (1993)
- Unsolicited Material (1994)
- Bicycle (1996)
- Ink (1997)
- Carolina Day: The Livingston Taylor Collection (1998)
- Snapshot (1999)
- 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Livingston Taylor (2005)
- There You Are Again (2005)
