James Taylor’s Life in Songs: Family, Love, and Escapism

Can you just picture James Taylor on a chilly afternoon, building a fire in a vast barn, feeding logs of wood into an antique fireplace? Yeah, I can too. But that’s exactly what he does on a frequent basis. In fact, he calls it a “ritual.” Taylor’s barn sits on a compound he owns in western Massachusetts – a space whose ceilings reach over 27 feet that doubles as his private recording studio. It’s the studio in which he cut parts of his past five albums, including American Standard, his latest.

 American folk singer and songwriter Kate Taylor and her brothers, singer-songwriters Alex Taylor, Hugh Taylor, and Levingston Taylor / Singer-songwriter Carole King showing James Taylor through chord charts during the recording of her album 'Tapestry' at A&M Records Recording Studio / American singer-songwriter James Taylor performing at the Crystal Palace Garden Party festival / Singer/songwriter couple Carly Simon and James Taylor pose for a portrait session at their home / Portrait of American musician James Taylor as he poses with his acoustic guitar in his studio.

Photo by Ira Wyman, Sygma, Getty Images / Jim McCrary, Redferns, Getty Images / Michael Putland, Getty Images / Michael Ochs Archives, Getty Images / Jack Vartoogian, Getty Images

The title is fitting because the album salutes the Great American Songbook with the singer’s signature take on songs from the 1920s through the ’50s. The album was also aptly timed: It was the 50th anniversary of Sweet Baby James, the album that made Taylor a superstar at the age of 21. He became part of the singer-songwriter movement of the early ’70s, and the man is still going strong.