American folk musician James Taylor is pictured holding the ends of his mustache in this playful photo in 1969.
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Taylor and Joni Mitchel recording backing vocals for Carole King's album, "Tapestry." The 1971 album won Grammy Awards for album of the year and best pop vocal performance, among numerous other acknowledgments.
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Taylor poses with actress Laurie Bird and Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson for "Two-Lane Blacktop," a 1971 road film. The movie is about drag-racers and Taylor plays the driver.
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On "The Johnny Cash Show" in 1971, Taylor played "Fire and Rain," "Country Road" and "Sweet Baby James."
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Taylor and singer-songwriters Carole King in London to perform at the Royal Festival Hall in 1971. The pair have been friends for more than 50 years. "You and I probably have the same musical DNA," Taylor said to King about their connection.
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Singer-songwriter Carly Simon and Taylor pose for a portrait at their New York home in October 1971. Taylor married Simon in 1972.
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Taylor poses at a piano piled high with books and a cat named Pudding in 1972. This photo was taken by his manager and record producer Peter Asher in Los Angeles.
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Taylor, Sen. George McGovern, Barbra Streisand, Quincy Jones, Eleanor McGovern and King at a benefit for McGovern, a stalwart liberal from South Dakota. They tried to turn out young voters in Inglewood, California, in 1972.
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Taylor poses for a portrait holding a pocket watch in 1974.
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Taylor, Simon, Yoko Ono and John Lennon stand together in New York in 1977.
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Simon and Taylor are pictured singing in 1980. The pair sang several songs together including, "Mockingbird," "Devoted To You" and "Close Your Eyes."
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In 1981, musical legend Taylor indulges in a blue bicycle fantasy ride in Malibu, California.
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Taylor, second from right, and members of the Taylor family share a laugh in August 1981 prior to their concert at New York's South Street Seaport Museum to benefit the museum's Save Our Ships Fund.
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Simon and Taylor with their son Benjamin Taylor and daughter Sarah Taylor outside their apartment in New York in November 1981.
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Taylor having fun backstage in Los Angeles in the early 1980s.
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"Whenever I see your grouchy face it makes me want to smile because I like you, just a little bit," Taylor sang to Oscar the Grouch on "Sesame Street" in 1983. "When you give me that nasty little frown, it turns me upside down." Oscar declares their duet is "rotten."
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Taylor rides on a sailboat and pulls on a rope.
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Taylor backstage at The Fruitmarket music venue in Glasgow, Scotland, 1994.
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Paul McCartney hands Taylor his award during induction ceremonies of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March 2000. Taylor was inducted along with Eric Clapton, Earth, Wind & Fire, the Lovin' Spoonful, the Moonglows and Bonnie Raitt. "I love him. He's a really beautiful guy. We had a lot of really good times back then," McCartney said.
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"How tough is James Taylor? He's tough enough to make a career out of being sensitive," said Taylor's brother, Livingston Taylor. Taylor, shown here, rowing near his home in the Berkshires, Massachusetts, in 2006.
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King and Taylor rehearse at the Troubadour Tavern for a performance in 2007 in West Hollywood, California.
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John Legend, Taylor, Jennifer Nettles and backup singers perform "Shower the People" during the We Are One: Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington on January 18, 2009.
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In 2011, Taylor hugs his wife, Caroline Smedvig, after receiving the National Medal of Arts. President Obama presented him the award in Washington.
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Taylor Swift performs with Taylor at Madison Square Garden in New York in 2011 as part of her Speak Now World Tour. She had two sold-out shows at the venue. Before this performance, Taylor Swift told the audience she's named after James Taylor. She also mentions Taylor in her song "Begin Again."
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Taylor performed for the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2012. The singer said at the time that President Obama is his favorite president bar none.
"I think he is an intelligent public servant, who's focused. He's level-headed. He's a cool hand on the helm. I think he is a deeply compassionate man," Taylor said. "I'm fiercely proud of my country for electing this man."
"I think he is an intelligent public servant, who's focused. He's level-headed. He's a cool hand on the helm. I think he is a deeply compassionate man," Taylor said. "I'm fiercely proud of my country for electing this man."
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The Dalai Lama, Tibetan spiritual leader, shakes hands with Taylor following a talk titled "Beyond Religion: Ethics, Values and Wellbeing" in Boston in 2012.
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Taylor photographed at Kensington Garden Hotel in London while promoting his new album, "Before This World," in 2015. The album is his first to hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. "I was surprised at how much it meant to me to have a success like this. It used to be sort of uncool to be motivated by sales and by chart position and stuff like that," Taylor told Billboard after he learned his album had hit No. 1.
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On "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Taylor and host Jimmy Fallon played a skit called "Two James Taylors on a Seesaw." "You got up while I go down and this old world keeps spinning round," Taylor sang on the show in 2015.
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Taylor and his wife Caroline Smedvig perform during the 94th Annual National Christmas Tree Lighting ceremony near the White House in 2016. Taylor and Smedvig married in 2001.
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President Obama awards Taylor the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House.
"I'm proud to call the next honoree a friend as well," said Obama. "The truth is a lot of people say that about James Taylor. That's what happens when you spend four decades telling people, 'Just call out my name, and I'll come running.'"
"I'm proud to call the next honoree a friend as well," said Obama. "The truth is a lot of people say that about James Taylor. That's what happens when you spend four decades telling people, 'Just call out my name, and I'll come running.'"
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Taylor waves as he is greeted at the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington in 2016. Taylor, Al Pacino, the surviving members of the Eagles (Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmidt and Joe Walsh), pianist Martha Argerich and gospel singer Mavis Staples were all honored for their influence on American culture.
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King, actress Jane Fonda and Taylor blow out the candles at Fonda's 80th birthday party in 2017. The "Eight Decades of Jane" fundraiser raised money for an Atlanta-based non-profit that focuses on teen pregnancy prevention and adolescent health.
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Taylor and his son Henry Taylor are introduced before singing the national anthem before the inaugural game at Polar Park between the Red Sox and the Mets in 2021. It was the first game ever played at Polar Park in Worcester, Massachusetts.
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Taylor performs at BB&T Pavilion in Camden, New Jersey. Jackson Browne and Taylor toured together in 2021.
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