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. He briefly attended the Westtown School in Pennsylvania. He is the brother of famous singer-songwriter James Taylor and is currently on the faculty of Berklee College of Music.
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LIVINGSTON TAYLOR TICKETS
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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 Taylor remains a leading figure in the music industry.
Liv Taylor's best selling single, "I Will Be In Love With You," rose to the 30th position on the
Billboard
charts, and he has not released a Top-40 single since 1980. Taylor's personality and warm stage presence have allowed him to maintain a busy concert schedule.
Childhood and teenage years
Taylor was born on November 21, 1950 in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. 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.
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 Round One More Time," a song that would later be covered by Livingston's brother James, with a slight title change (Going Around One More Time) 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.
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.
1990s
The 1990s saw a renewed frequency in recording: 1991's
Our Turn To Dance
, 1993's
Good Friends
and 1996's
Bicycle
."Boatman" a song Livingston wrote from the "Bicycle" album was later covered by brother James on his "Hourglass" album in 1997.
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
.
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. He is also a professor at the
Berklee College of Music.
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)