When people use the term "singer/songwriter" (often modified by the word "sensitive"), in praise or in criticism, it's James Taylor that they're thinking of. Yet in a career now extending three decades, Taylor's biggest hits have come with his cover versions of other people's songs. Go figure. Taylor grew up in Massachusetts and North Carolina, forming the Flying Machine with guitarist Danny Kortchmar in 1967. He was signed as a solo artist by the Beatles' Apple label in 1968 and released his debut album, James Taylor. But it was his 1970 Warner Brothers LP, the triple-platinum Sweet Baby James, with its understated, autobiographical Top Ten hit "Fire and Rain," that was his commercial breakthrough. Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon (1971) was another million-seller and contained the number one single "You've Got a Friend," written by Carole King. Taylor married Carly Simon in 1972, around the time that the gold One Man Dog was released. Walking Man (1974) was less successful, but Taylor scored a gold Top Ten single the same year by covering the old Inez and Charlie Foxx hit "Mockingbird" in a duet with his wife. Gorilla (1975) did better, spurred by Taylor's Top Ten remake of Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)." In the Pocket (1976) was Taylor's last album for Warner Brothers; he moved to Columbia Records for JT (1977), a double-platinum comeback that featured a Top Ten cover of Jimmy Jones's "Handy Man." Flag (1979) and Dad Loves His Work (1981) were Top Ten gold albums. In 1983, Taylor and Simon divorced (Taylor remarried in 1985). That's Why I'm Here (1985), released after a gap of four and a half years, was only modestly successful, but Never Die Young (1988) and New Moon Shine (1991) were gold-sellers. Responding to the success of his annual tours, Taylor released the double-disc (Live) (1993), which went platinum.