Livingston Taylor
b. 21 November 1950, Boston, Massachusetts, but raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA. Taylor was one of five brothers and sisters, four of whom also played guitar and sang. After a troubled adolescence, Taylor turned to music for therapy. He graduated to playing coffee houses in Boston, where he attracted the interest of rock critic Jon Landau. His first two albums for Phil Walden's Capricorn label were produced by Landau and contained the minor hits "Carolina Day", and "Get Out Of Bed", both written by Taylor. His acoustic style was reminiscent of the work of his brother, James Taylor, but retained a bluesier edge. James Taylor and Carly Simon sang on Over The Rainbow, but after its release Livingston was dropped by Capricorn. He continued to tour regularly throughout the 70s and after signing to Epic, he had Top 40 hits with the Nick de Caro-produced "I Will Be In Love With You" (1979) and "First Time Love" (1980), produced by John Boylan and Jeff "Skunk" Baxter, formerly of the Doobie Brothers. Although he added television and teaching work to his CV, Taylor continued to issue low-key recordings during the 80s and 90s, scoring a minor hit with "Loving Arms', a duet with Leah Kunkel. Most of his work is spent as a lecturer at Berklee College Of Music where his specialist subject is in performing arts. He continues to occasionally perform to a loyal following at US colleges and folk clubs, captured on 1994"s Unsolicited Material. In 1998, Razor & Tie issued a fine compilation covering Taylor's career.
Listen to Livingston Taylor
at Finetune.
Albums
- (2005) Best Of Livingston Taylor 20th Century Masters The Millennium Collection
- (1999) Over The Rainbow
- (1999) Liv
- (1998) Livingston Taylor
Top Tracks
- Somewhere Over The Rainbow
- Carolina Day
- If I Needed Someone
- Get Out Of Bed
- Six Days On The Road
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