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110-529: The Blossom Music Center is named after the families of Dudley S. Blossom Sr., and Dudley S. Blossom Jr. The former had served as the president of the Musical Arts Association from 1936 to 1938, and his widow Elizabeth and daughter-in-law Emily continued to support the Musical Arts Association after Dudley Jr.’s death in 1961. The Board’s president, Frank E. Joseph, felt that the Blossom family

220-589: A bed-and-breakfast in Aquinnah, Massachusetts , with his wife since 1989. In 1951, Taylor and his family moved to Chapel Hill, North Carolina , when Isaac took a job as an assistant professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine . They built a house in the Morgan Creek area off the present Morgan Creek Road, which was sparsely populated. Taylor later said, "Chapel Hill,

330-465: A methadone maintenance program to cure him of his drug addiction . Over the course of four months starting in September 1983, spurred on in part by the deaths of his friends John Belushi and Dennis Wilson and in part by the desire to be a better father to his children Sally and Ben, he discontinued methadone and overcame his heroin habit. Taylor had thoughts of retiring by the time he played

440-632: A neoclassical style matching the other Group Plan buildings, it was the largest of its kind when opened, then seating 11,500. The auditorium cornerstone was laid October 20, 1920, and the completed building was dedicated April 15, 1922. Smith & Oby was one local company involved in the project, at the time the largest convention hall in the United States. The main arena floor is 300 ft × 215 ft (91 m × 66 m) and 80 ft (24 m) high. No columns were used in its construction. With all its removable seats in place on

550-723: A public primary school in Chapel Hill. Isaac's career prospered, but he was frequently away from home on military service at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland or as part of Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica in 1955 and 1956. Isaac Taylor later rose to become dean of the UNC School of Medicine from 1964 to 1971. Beginning in 1953, the Taylors spent summers on Martha's Vineyard . Taylor took cello lessons as

660-586: A "natural sense of phrasing, every syllable beautifully in time. I knew James had that thing ." Taylor wrote his first song on guitar at 14, and he continued to learn the instrument effortlessly. By the summer of 1963, he and Kortchmar were playing coffeehouses around the Vineyard, billed as "Jamie & Kootch". In 1961, Taylor went to Milton Academy , a preparatory boarding school in Massachusetts. He faltered during his junior year, feeling uneasy in

770-656: A $ 17 million renovation intended to enhance a number of areas across the venue, including the sound system, stage, guest services, parking lots, and landscaping. In a transaction designed to give the Orchestra a financial boost and protect Blossom’s natural surroundings, the Musical Arts Association sold 580 acres of the site’s undeveloped land to the National Park Service in 2011. Blossom is also widely used for popular music events, especially folk, rock, and country. The largest recorded show attendance at Blossom

880-520: A $ 3.9 million renovation and restoration of Public Auditorium. The 1964 pavilion addition was demolished, and the building's west facade was restored. When the neighboring Crowne Plaza was sold and renovated as the Westin Hotel Cleveland in 2013, its new owners considered building a skywalk across East 6th Street connecting it to Public Auditorium. It was not constructed. Public Auditorium has hosted many notable events, including

990-684: A British program, returned to New York and was hospitalized there, and then finally committed himself to the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts , which emphasized cultural and historical factors in trying to treat difficult psychiatric disorders. Meanwhile, Apple released his debut album, James Taylor , in December 1968 in the UK and February 1969 in the US. Critical reception

1100-428: A Friend ", written by Carole King in the same year. His 1976 Greatest Hits album was certified Diamond and has sold 11 million copies in the US alone, making it one of the best-selling albums in US history. Following his 1977 album JT , he has retained a large audience over the decades. Every album that he released from 1977 to 2007 sold over 1 million copies. He enjoyed a resurgence in chart performance during

1210-527: A Friend"; King also won Song of the Year for the same song in that ceremony. The album went on to sell 2.5 million copies in the United States. November 1972 heralded the release of Taylor's fourth album, One Man Dog . A concept album primarily recorded in his home recording studio, it featured a cameo by Linda Ronstadt along with Carole King, Carly Simon, and John McLaughlin . The album consisted of eighteen short pieces of music put together. Reception

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1320-503: A Grammy nomination for Album of the Year in 1978. Peter Herbst of Rolling Stone was particularly favorable to the album, of which he wrote in its August 11, 1977, issue, " JT is the least stiff and by far the most various album Taylor has done. That's not meant to criticize Taylor's earlier efforts. ... But it's nice to hear him sounding so healthy." JT reached No. 4 on the Billboard charts and sold more than 3 million copies in

1430-466: A March 1, 1971, Time magazine cover story of him as "the face of new rock". It compared his strong-but-brooding persona to that of Wuthering Heights ' Heathcliff and to The Sorrows of Young Werther , and said, "Taylor's use of elemental imagery—darkness and sunlight, references to roads traveled and untraveled, to fears spoken and left unsaid—reaches a level both of intimacy and controlled emotion rarely achieved in purely pop music." One of

1540-535: A Taylor performance at Radio City Music Hall turned into a large-scale wedding party, and the Simon-Taylor marriage would find much public attention over the following years. They had two children, Sarah Maria "Sally" Taylor , born January 7, 1974, and Benjamin Simon "Ben" Taylor, born January 22, 1977. During their marriage, the couple would guest on each other's albums and have two hit singles as duet partners:

1650-785: A child in North Carolina , before learning the guitar in 1960. His guitar style evolved, influenced by hymns , carols , and the music of Woody Guthrie , and his technique derived from his bass clef -oriented cello training and from experimenting on his sister Kate's keyboards: "My style was a finger-picking style that was meant to be like a piano, as if my thumb were my left hand, and my first, second, and third fingers were my right hand." Spending summer holidays with his family on Martha's Vineyard , he met Danny Kortchmar , an aspiring teenage guitarist from Larchmont, New York . The two began listening to and playing blues and folk music together, and Kortchmar felt that Taylor's singing had

1760-408: A cocktail lounge, and a piano bar arranged around a central block. A corridor hugged the exterior wall of the old hall, providing access to the meeting rooms. This corridor had decorative stone panels on one side and painted wood on the other, and was lined with sturdy chair upholstered in luggage fabric. The old asphalt floor was covered with concrete, and then tiled and carpeted. Cove lighting lit

1870-610: A concert venue declined sharply after the completion of the Wolstein Center at Cleveland State University in 1991. The annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremonies have been held in Public Auditorium several times. In April 2009, it hosted the 24th induction ceremonies, the first open to the public. On April 14, 2012, the facility hosted the Hall of Fame's 27th induction ceremonies. On April 18, 2015,

1980-466: A cover of Inez & Charlie Foxx's " Mockingbird " and a version of The Everly Brothers' " Devoted to You ". Taylor spent most of 1973 enjoying his new life as a married man and did not return to the recording studio until January 1974, when sessions for his fifth album began. Walking Man was released in June and featured appearances of Paul and Linda McCartney and guitarist David Spinozza . The album

2090-484: A cream-colored travertine wainscoting topped by a band of polished stone. Fabric covered the walls above the bandk, and white wooden grills were used to help break up the space. A new terrazzo floor in pastel colors was also installed. Displays about where to eat, drink, and shop in downtown Cleveland were added to the lobby, as were several kiosks where airlines could assist convention-goers in making plane reservations. Six 20-foot (6.1 m) trees were planted inside

2200-537: A drink." He hung out in Washington Square Park , playing guitar to ward off depression and then passing out, letting runaways and criminals stay at his apartment. Finally out of money and abandoned by his manager, he made a desperate call one night to his father. Isaac Taylor flew to New York and staged a rescue, renting a car and driving all night back to North Carolina with James and his possessions. Taylor spent six months getting treatment and making

2310-619: A duet with JD Souther , " Her Town Too ", which reached No. 5 on the Adult Contemporary chart and No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. Simon announced her separation from Taylor in September 1981 saying, "Our needs are different; it seem[s] impossible to stay together" and their divorce finalized in 1983. Their breakup was highly publicized. At the time, Taylor was living on West End Avenue in Manhattan and on

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2420-878: A duet with Mark Knopfler , " Sailing to Philadelphia ", which also appeared on Knopfler's album by the same name. Also in 2002, Taylor teamed with bluegrass musician Alison Krauss in singing " The Boxer " at the Kennedy Center Honors Tribute to Paul Simon . They later recorded the Louvin Brothers duet, "How's the World Treating You?" In 2004, after he chose not to renew his record contract with Columbia/Sony, he released James Taylor: A Christmas Album with distribution through Hallmark Cards . Always visibly active in environmental and liberal causes, in October 2004, Taylor joined

2530-467: A late 1966 hasty recording session, the group cut a single, Taylor's " Night Owl ", backed with his "Brighten Your Night with My Day". Released on Rainy Day Records, distributed by Jubilee Records , it received some radio airplay in the Northeast, but only charted at No. 102 nationally. Other songs had been recorded during the same session, but Jubilee declined to go forward with an album. After

2640-592: A new backing band. Taylor recorded what would become his first album from July to October 1968, at Trident Studios , at the same time the Beatles were recording The White Album . McCartney and an uncredited George Harrison guested on "Carolina in My Mind", whose lyric "holy host of others standing around me" referred to the Beatles, and the title phrase of Taylor's "Something in the Way She Moves" provided

2750-480: A number of small trees in planters. A new Postmodern-style arch was constructed to mark the entrance to the north terrace. In 2008, all seats were replaced in the balcony. In 2010, the city sold the underground convention center to Cuyahoga County , which repurposed it to construct the new $ 465 million Cleveland Convention Center , connected to the Global Center for Health Innovation . The work included

2860-614: A psychiatric hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts , where he was treated with chlorpromazine , and where the organized days began to give him a sense of time and structure. As the Vietnam War escalated, Taylor received a psychological rejection from the Selective Service System , when he appeared before them, uncommunicative, with two white-suited McLean assistants. Taylor earned a high school diploma in 1966 from

2970-426: A receptive audience. It featured a number of quiet instrumental accompaniments and passages. Overall, it found Taylor in a more peaceful frame of mind; rather than facing a crisis now, Taylor said in an interview that "I thought I'd passed the midpoint of my life when I was 17." The album appeared in two versions, a single-disc version and a " limited edition " two-disc version which contained three extra songs including

3080-522: A second venue housed at the facility: the 3,000-capacity Music Hall , and as of 2024 serves as the home arena to the Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League . Although Public Auditorium was planned and funded prior to World War I , construction did not begin until 1920, and the building did not open until 1922. Designed by city architect J. Harold McDowell and Frank Walker of Walker and Weeks in

3190-507: A semester before he moved to New York City to form a band. They recruited Joel O'Brien, formerly of Kortchmar's old band King Bees to play drums, and Taylor's childhood friend Zachary Wiesner (son of academic Jerome Wiesner ) to play bass. After Taylor rejected the notion of naming the group after him, they called themselves the Flying Machine. They played songs that Taylor had written at and about McLean, such as " Knocking 'Round

3300-512: A series of poorly chosen appearances outside New York, culminating with a three-week stay at a failing nightspot in Freeport, Bahamas for which they were never paid, the Flying Machine broke up. (A UK band with the same name emerged in 1969 with the hit song " Smile a Little Smile for Me ". The Flying Machine was briefly referenced in Taylor's song " Fire and Rain ", and following his success as

3410-724: A series of six shows at the Troubadour. The appearances marked the 50th anniversary of the venue, where Taylor, King and many others, such as Tom Waits , Neil Diamond , and Elton John , performed early in their music careers. Proceeds from the concert went to benefit the Natural Resources Defense Council, MusiCares, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, and the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank (a member of America's Second Harvest ,

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3520-623: A single in Raleigh that featured James's song "Cha Cha Blues" on the B-side . Having lost touch with his former school friends in North Carolina, Taylor returned to Milton for his senior year, where he started applying to colleges to complete his education. But he felt part of a "life that [he was] unable to lead", and he became depressed ; he slept 20 hours each day, and his grades collapsed. In late 1965 he committed himself to McLean ,

3630-543: A solo artist, the band's recordings were later released in 1971 as James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine .) Taylor would later say of this New York period, "I learned a lot about music and too much about drugs." Indeed, his drug use had developed into full-blown heroin addiction during the final Flying Machine period: "I just fell into it, since it was as easy to get high in the Village as get

3740-469: A song about his daughter Sally, "Sarah Maria". Gorilla was followed in 1976 by In the Pocket , Taylor's last studio album to be released under Warner Bros. Records . The album found him with many colleagues and friends, including Art Garfunkel , David Crosby , Bonnie Raitt , and Stevie Wonder (who co-wrote a song with Taylor and contributed a harmonica solo). A melodic album, it was highlighted with

3850-494: A tentative recovery; he also required a throat operation to fix vocal cords damaged from singing too harshly. Taylor decided to try being a solo act with a change of scenery. In late 1967, funded by a small family inheritance, he moved to London, living in various areas: Notting Hill , Belgravia , and Chelsea . After recording some demos in Soho , his friend Kortchmar gave him his next big break. Kortchmar used his association with

3960-510: A tour entitled James Taylor and His Band of Legends. An additional album, called Other Covers , came out in April 2009, containing songs that were recorded during the same sessions as the original Covers but had not been put out to the full public yet. During October 19–21, 2008, Taylor performed a series of free concerts in five North Carolina cities in support of Barack Obama 's presidential bid. On Sunday, January 18, 2009, he performed at

4070-424: A while", he recalled in 1995: I sort of hit a low spot. I was asked to go down to Rio de Janeiro to play in this festival down there. We put the band together and went down and it was just an amazing response. I played to 300,000 people. They not only knew my music, they knew things about it and were interested in aspects of it that to that point had only interested me. To have that kind of validation right about then

4180-689: The 1924 and 1936 Republican National Conventions , General Eisenhower 's address on September 23, 1952, to 15,000 supporters immediately after Richard Nixon's successful Fund Speech , and the 1993 Cleveland Orchestra 75th anniversary concert. On December 14, 1936, 11,000 spectators watched as boxer Joe Louis fought and defeated Eddie Simms at the auditorium, with Louis knocking Simms out in only 26 seconds. In 1946, jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt made his American debut at Music Hall, accompanied by pianist Duke Ellington . Both Music Hall and Public Hall have served as venues for many rock and roll acts, including such legendary performers as Elvis Presley ,

4290-771: The 82nd Academy Awards . In March 2010, he commenced the Troubadour Reunion Tour with Carole King and members of his original band, including Russ Kunkel , Leland Sklar , and Danny Kortchmar . They played shows in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and North America with the final night being at the Honda Center, in Anaheim, California. The tour was a major commercial success and in some locations found Taylor playing arenas instead of his usual theaters or amphitheaters. Ticket sales amounted to over 700,000 and

4400-511: The Apollo 11 astronauts had landed on the moon. Shortly thereafter, Taylor broke both hands and both feet in a motorcycle accident on Martha's Vineyard and was forced to stop playing for several months. However, while recovering, he continued to write songs and in October 1969 signed a new deal with Warner Bros. Records . Once he had recovered, Taylor moved to California, keeping Asher as his manager and record producer. In December 1969, he held

4510-602: The Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, the track also reached the top, and the follow-up single, the feelgood "Mexico", featuring a guest appearance by Crosby & Nash , also reached the Top 5 of that list. A well-received album, Gorilla showcased Taylor's electric, lighter side that was evident on Walking Man . However, it was arguably a more consistent and fresher-sounding Taylor, with songs such as "Mexico", "Wandering" and "Angry Blues". It also featured

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4620-581: The Billboard Hot 100 in late July. The follow-up single, " Long Ago and Far Away ", also made the Top 40 and reached No. 4 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. The album itself reached No. 2 on the album charts, which would be Taylor's highest position ever until the release of his 2015 album, Before This World , which went to No. 1 superseding Taylor Swift . In early 1972, Taylor won his first Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male , for "You've Got

4730-584: The Buddy Holly song " Everyday ", released as a single reached No. 61. On the album track "Only One", the backing vocals were performed by an all-star duo of Joni Mitchell and Don Henley. Taylor's next albums were partially successful; in 1988, he released Never Die Young , highlighted with the charting title track, and in 1991, the platinum New Moon Shine provided Taylor some popular songs with "Copperline" and "(I've Got to) Stop Thinkin' About That", both hit singles on Adult Contemporary radio. In

4840-504: The New England Conservatory of Music and was an aspiring opera singer before she married Isaac in 1946. Taylor is the younger brother of musician Alex Taylor (1947–1993) and the older brother of musicians Kate Taylor (born 1949) and Livingston Taylor (born 1950). His youngest sibling, a brother named Hugh (born 1952), was also a musician; Hugh eventually left the music industry and has operated The Outermost Inn,

4950-674: The Rock in Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro in January 1985. He was encouraged by the nascent democracy in Brazil at the time, buoyed by the positive reception he got from the large crowd and other musicians, and musically energized by the sounds and nature of Brazilian music . "I had ... sort of bottomed-out in a drug habit, my marriage with Carly had dissolved, and I had basically been depressed and lost for

5060-742: The Vote for Change tour playing a series of concerts in American swing states . These concerts were organized by MoveOn.org with the goal of mobilizing people to vote for John Kerry and against George W. Bush in that year's presidential campaign. Taylor's appearances were joint performances with the Dixie Chicks . Taylor performed " The Star-Spangled Banner " at Game 2 of the World Series in Boston on October 24, 2004, on October 25, 2007, both

5170-687: The We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial , singing "Shower the People" with John Legend and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland . On May 29, 2009, Taylor performed on the final episode of the original 17-year run of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno . On September 8, 2009, Taylor made an appearance at the 24th-season premiere block party of The Oprah Winfrey Show on Chicago's Michigan Avenue . Taylor appeared briefly in

5280-534: The 2009 movie Funny People , where he played " Carolina in My Mind " for a MySpace corporate event as the opening act for the main character. On January 1, 2010, Taylor sang the American national anthem at the NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park , while Daniel Powter sang the Canadian national anthem . On March 7, 2010, Taylor sang the Beatles ' " In My Life " in tribute to deceased artists at

5390-464: The BBC in 2010: "The guy had sort of pinned me to the wall and was glistening with maniacal sweat and talking some freak speak about what he was going to do and his stuff with how John was interested, and he was going to get in touch with John Lennon. And it was surreal to actually have contact with the guy 24 hours before he shot John." The next night, Taylor, who lived in a building next-door to Lennon, heard

5500-705: The Beatles , The Doors , The Supremes , Jimi Hendrix , the Grateful Dead , Janis Joplin , and the Rolling Stones . Ozzy Osbourne 's live album Tribute was recorded at Music Hall in May 1981. Canadian hard rock band Triumph 's live album King Biscuit Flower Hour (In Concert) was recorded at Music Hall in October 1981. It also was the home for the Metropolitan Opera Spring Tour performances between 1924 and 1983. Its use as

5610-801: The Broadway musical based on Studs Terkel 's non-fiction book Working , which Terkel himself hosted. Taylor himself appeared in that production as a trucker; he performed "Brother Trucker" in character.) Taylor also appeared on the No Nukes concert in Madison Square Garden, where he made a memorable live performance of "Mockingbird" with his wife Carly. The concert appeared on both the No Nukes album and film . On December 7, 1980, Taylor had an encounter with Mark David Chapman who would murder John Lennon just one day later. Taylor told

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5720-750: The Canadian band Chilliwack at a Vancouver benefit concert that funded Greenpeace 's protests of 1971 nuclear weapons tests by the US Atomic Energy Commission at Amchitka , Alaska ; this performance was released in album format in 2009 as Amchitka, The 1970 Concert That Launched Greenpeace . In January 1971, sessions for Taylor's next album began. He appeared on The Johnny Cash Show , singing "Sweet Baby James", "Fire and Rain", and "Country Road", on February 17, 1971. His career success at this point and appeal to female fans of various ages piqued tremendous interest in him, prompting

5830-491: The Canadian charts. The success of the album propelled the release of two further singles; the up-tempo pop " Your Smiling Face ", an enduring live favorite, reached the American Top 20; however, " Honey Don't Leave L.A. ", which Danny Kortchmar wrote and composed for Taylor, did not enjoy much success, reaching only No. 61. Back in the forefront of popular music, Taylor guested with Paul Simon on Art Garfunkel's recording of Sam Cooke 's " Wonderful World ", which reached

5940-510: The Dixie Chicks. In early 2006, MusiCares honored Taylor with performances of his songs by an array of notable musicians. Before a performance by the Dixie Chicks, lead singer Natalie Maines acknowledged that he had always been one of their musical heroes and had, for them, lived up to their once-imagined reputation of him. They performed his song, "Shower the People", with a surprise appearance by Arnold McCuller , who has sung backing vocals on Taylor's live tours and albums for many years. In

6050-438: The King Bees (who once opened for Peter and Gordon ), to connect Taylor to Peter Asher . Asher was A&R head for the Beatles ' newly formed label Apple Records . Taylor gave a demo tape of songs, including " Something in the Way She Moves ", to Asher, who then played the demo for Beatles Paul McCartney and George Harrison . McCartney remembers his first impression: "I just heard his voice and his guitar and I thought he

6160-456: The Musical Arts Association decided to purchase 571 acres (231 ha) of land near in what was then Northampton Township , approximately 10 miles (16 km) north of Akron and about 30 miles (48 km) south of Cleveland. Eventually, more land was acquired to bring the total amount owned by the Musical Arts Association to 800 acres (320 ha). By 1967, the Musical Arts Association would launch its “Half Century Campaign” to raise money for

6270-427: The One Man Band Tour, featuring some of Taylor's most beloved songs and anecdotes about their creative origins—accompanied solely by the "one man band" of his longtime pianist/keyboardist, Larry Goldings . The digital discrete 5.1 surround sound mix of One Man Band won a TEC Award for best surround sound recording in 2008. On November 28–30, 2007, Taylor accompanied by his original band and Carole King, headlined

6380-407: The Piedmont, the outlying hills, were tranquil, rural, beautiful, but quiet. Thinking of the red soil, caused by local copper mining [Taylor's later song, "Copperline" was a nostalgic salute to that area where Taylor grew up], plus the seasons, the way things smelled down there, I feel as though my experience of coming of age there was more a matter of landscape and climate than people." James attended

6490-407: The Top 20 in the U.S. and topped the AC charts in early 1978. After briefly working on Broadway , he took a one-year break, reappearing in the summer of 1979, with the cover-studded Platinum album titled Flag , featuring a Top 30 version of Gerry Goffin 's and Carole King's " Up on the Roof ". (Two selections from Flag , " Millworker " and "Brother Trucker" were featured on the PBS production of

6600-406: The UK and only reached No. 118 on the U.S. charts. In July 1969, Taylor headlined a six-night stand at the Troubadour in Los Angeles. On July 20, he performed at the Newport Folk Festival as the last act and was cheered by thousands of fans who stayed in the rain to hear him. His set at Newport was cut short after 15 minutes, when festival co-founder George Wein announced on stage that

6710-416: The United States alone. The album's Triple Platinum status ties it with Sweet Baby James as Taylor's all-time biggest-selling studio album. It was propelled by Jimmy Jones 's and Otis Blackwell 's " Handy Man ", which hit No. 1 on Billboard' s Adult Contemporary chart and reached No. 4 on the Hot 100, earning Taylor another Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance . The song also topped

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6820-468: The Year . It went on to be listed at No. 103 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003, with "Fire and Rain" listed as No. 227 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004. During the time that Sweet Baby James was released, Taylor appeared with Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys in a Monte Hellman film, Two-Lane Blacktop . In October 1970, he performed with his then partner Joni Mitchell , Phil Ochs , and

6930-436: The Zoo ", "Don't Talk Now", and "The Blues Is Just a Bad Dream". In some other songs, Taylor romanticized his life, but he was plagued by self-doubt. By summer 1966, they were performing regularly at the high-visibility Night Owl Cafe in Greenwich Village , alongside acts such as the Turtles and Lothar and the Hand People . Taylor associated with a motley group of people and began using heroin, to Kortchmar's dismay. In

7040-495: The album and the single reached No. 3 on the Billboard charts, with Sweet Baby James selling more than 1.5 million copies in its first year and eventually more than 3 million in the United States alone. Sweet Baby James was received at its time as a folk-rock masterpiece, an album that effectively showcased Taylor's talents to the mainstream public, marking a direction he would take in following years. It earned several Grammy Award nominations including one for Album of

7150-480: The album that comprised most of his best work between 1970 and 1976. With time, it became his best-selling album ever. It was certified 11× Platinum in the US, earned a Diamond certification by the RIAA , and eventually sold close to 20 million copies worldwide. In 1977 Taylor signed with Columbia Records . Between March and April, he quickly recorded his first album for the label. JT , released that June, gave Taylor his best reviews since Sweet Baby James , earning

7260-558: The anthem and "America" for the game on October 24, 2013, and Game 1 on October 23, 2018. He also performed at Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals in Boston on June 5, 2008, and at the NHL's Winter Classic game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins . In December 2004, he appeared as himself in an episode of The West Wing entitled " A Change Is Gonna Come ". He sang Sam Cooke 's classic " A Change Is Gonna Come " at an event honoring an artist played by Taylor's wife Caroline. Later on, he appeared on CMT 's Crossroads alongside

7370-515: The arena floor and in the balcony, the hall could seat 13,000. The main stage is 140 ft × 60 ft (43 m × 18 m) with a 72 ft × 42 ft (22 m × 13 m) proscenium arch. A key attraction was a spectacular pipe organ, Opus 328, the largest ever built at one time by E.M. Skinner with 10,010 pipes and 150 direct speaking stops. Below ground, a basement Exhibition Hall provided more than 28,500 sq ft (2,650 m ) of exhibition space. This space

7480-459: The assassination occur. Taylor commented: "I heard him shoot—five, just as quick as you could pull the trigger, about five explosions." In March 1981, Taylor released the album Dad Loves His Work whose themes concerned his relationship with his father, the course his ancestors had taken, and the effect that he and Simon had on each other. The album was another Platinum success, reaching No. 10 and providing Taylor's final real hit single in

7590-502: The city constructed a new underground convention center . The ballroom/exhibition space below Mall B was demolished and a much larger "Great Hall" (the convention center) built in its place. A tunnel was constructed below Lakeside Avenue to connect the new "Great Hall" to the Lakeside Exhibition Hall. On the west side of Public Auditorium, a four-story (one source says three-and-a-half story) modern glass and metal entrance pavilion added new lobby space for both buildings. From 1983 to 1987,

7700-432: The construction of Blossom’s pavilion. The initial collaboration included Connecticut-based acoustician Christopher Jaffe and Cleveland architectural firm Shafer, Flynn and Van Dijk, which oversaw the modeling and building of the amphitheater. As construction proceeded, Jaffe was replaced by German recording engineer Heinrich Heilholz, whom Szell preferred. The fundraising campaign reached its goal of $ 6.6 million, and ground

7810-484: The convention center and Public Auditorium were both extensively renovated. The Exhibition Hall below Public Auditorium was radically changed, with a lobby/ballroom created out of former service space at the north end of the hall. A stone staircase was built in this area to connect the space to the hall above. This area could accommodate up to 2,000 people. The rest of the old Exhibition Hall was turned into 15 meeting rooms (ranging in size from 10 to 700 seats), office space,

7920-457: The corridor and meeting rooms. The Lakeside Exhibition Hall was converted into a ballroom with kitchen, and the north wall of the hall removed and replaced with a glass curtain wall that had views of Lake Erie . The bathrooms in Public Auditorium were renovated to make them accessible as well as modern, and all public spaces in Public Auditorium were retiled, repainted, and replastered, while furniture received new upholstery. The north terrace

8030-427: The countryside’s wooded surroundings distinguish it from other contemporary amphitheaters. For many years, members of The Cleveland Orchestra had struggled to gain year-round employment playing music. During the early 1950s, summer performances were held at Public Hall in downtown Cleveland and, on occasion, in the outfield of Cleveland Stadium before Indians ’ games. In the mid-1960s, music director George Szell

8140-510: The dark themes on the album, and Hourglass was a commercial success, reaching No. 9 on the Billboard 200 (Taylor's first Top 10 album in sixteen years) and also provided a big adult contemporary hit on "Little More Time With You". The album also gave Taylor his first Grammy since JT , when he was honored with Best Pop Album in 1998. Flanked by two greatest hit releases, Taylor's Platinum-certified October Road appeared in 2002 to

8250-511: The entrance to the pavilion hung a 40-foot (12 m) sculpture. Consisting of a number of metal flags, it spun in the wind. Around Public Auditorium, new streetlight lampposts, based on a 1922 design, were manufactured and installed. The terraces on the north and south ends of Public Auditorium were also refurbished. Both received new stone paving and new wooden benches for seating, and the plain aluminum railings were painted to look like copper . The terraces were made more friendly by also adding

8360-496: The facility hosted the 30th anniversary induction ceremonies. On April 14, 2018, the facility hosted the 33rd anniversary induction ceremonies. Public Auditorium was occasionally used as a home court for the Cleveland State Vikings men's basketball team between 1981 and 1989 until the opening of the Wolstein Center . The Mid-American Conference women's basketball tournament was held in the auditorium in 2000,

8470-526: The fall of 2006, Taylor released a repackaged and slightly different version of his Hallmark Christmas album, now entitled James Taylor at Christmas , and distributed by Columbia/Sony. In 2006, Taylor performed Randy Newman 's song " Our Town " for the Disney animated film Cars . The song was nominated for the 2007 Academy Award for the Best Original Song. On January 1, 2007, Taylor headlined

8580-445: The high-pressure college prep environment despite having a good scholastic performance. The Milton headmaster later said, "James was more sensitive and less goal-oriented than most students of his day." He returned home to North Carolina to finish out the semester at Chapel Hill High School . There he joined a band formed by his brother Alex called The Corsayers (later The Fabulous Corsairs), playing electric guitar; in 1964, they cut

8690-498: The hospital's associated Arlington School . He later viewed his nine-month stay at McLean as "a lifesaver... like a pardon or like a reprieve", and both his brother Livingston and his sister Kate later were patients and students there as well. As for his mental health struggles, Taylor thought of them as innate and said: "It's an inseparable part of my personality that I have these feelings." At Kortchmar's urging, Taylor checked himself out of McLean and attended Elon University for

8800-638: The inaugural concert at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York honoring newly sworn in Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer . Taylor's next album, One Man Band was released on CD and DVD in November 2007 on Starbucks ' Hear Music Label, where he joined with Paul McCartney and Joni Mitchell . The introspective album grew out of a three-year tour of the United States and Europe called

8910-481: The late 1980s, he began touring regularly, especially on the summer amphitheater circuit. His later concerts feature songs spanning his career and are marked by the musicianship of his band and backup singers. The 1993 two-disc Live album captures this, with a highlight being Arnold McCuller 's descants in the codas of " Shower the People " and "I Will Follow". He provided a guest voice to The Simpsons episode " Deep Space Homer ", and also appeared later on in

9020-451: The late 1990s and 2000s, when he recorded some of his most-awarded work (including Hourglass , October Road , and Covers ). He achieved his first number-one album in the US in 2015 with his recording Before This World . Taylor is also known for his covers, such as " How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) " and " Handy Man ", as well as originals such as " Sweet Baby James ". He played

9130-399: The latest proof that Taylor is a more versatile singer than his best-known hits might suggest. The Covers sessions stretched to include "Oh What a Beautiful Morning", from the musical Oklahoma!, a song that his grandmother had caught him singing over and over at the top of his lungs when he was seven years old. Meanwhile, in summer 2008, Taylor and this band toured 34 North American cities with

9240-877: The leading role in Monte Hellman 's 1971 film Two-Lane Blacktop . James Vernon Taylor was born at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston on March 12, 1948. His father, Isaac M. Taylor , worked as a resident physician at the hospital and came from a wealthy Southern family. Taylor is of English and Scottish descent from the Taylor family of the Montrose area, with the former being rooted in Massachusetts Bay Colony ; his ancestors include Edmund Rice , an English colonist who co-founded Sudbury, Massachusetts . His mother, Gertrude (née Woodard; 1921–2015), studied singing with Marie Sundelius at

9350-430: The lobby to make it more inviting, and new paving and exterior lighting were installed outside the pavilion. A number of changes were made to the landscape around Public Auditorium. New signage with contemporary graphics were installed throughout the area. The pedestrian bridge over E. Mall Drive, which connected the upper level of the reception pavilion to Mall B, was reconfigured into a small plaza with flagpoles. Over

9460-446: The long drive from New York City back to his home in Chapel Hill. "Enough To Be on Your Way" was inspired by the alcoholism-related death of his brother Alex earlier in the decade. The themes were also inspired by Taylor and Walker's divorce, which took place in 1996. Rolling Stone Magazine found that "one of the themes of this record is disbelief", while Taylor told the magazine that it was "spirituals for agnostics". Critics embraced

9570-459: The lyrical starting point for Harrison's classic " Something ". McCartney and Asher brought in arranger Richard Anthony Hewson to add both orchestrations to several of the songs and unusual "link" passages between them; they would receive a mixed reception, at best. James had been through so much by the time he was twenty that he had so much to express in his music. Other young artists of his age whom I worked with sang about how good or bad life

9680-420: The nation's Food Bank Network). Parts of the performance shown on CBS Sunday Morning in the December 23, 2007, broadcast showed Taylor alluding to his early drug problems by saying, "I played here a number of times in the 70s, allegedly". Taylor has used versions of this joke on other occasions, and it appears as part of his One Man Band DVD and tour performances. In December 2007, James Taylor at Christmas

9790-536: The nearby Wolstein Center after three seasons. James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the No. 3 single " Fire and Rain " and had his first No. 1 hit in 1971 with his recording of " You've Got

9900-630: The plaques it has awarded in the lobby at the Lakeside Avenue entrance to the Cleveland Public Auditorium. In 1928, the Music Hall and Little Theater were added at the south end of Public Auditorium, and a terrace added to the north end. The stage between the main hall and Music Hall was shared by both halls by employing a curtain system. In 1936, two underground spaces were added to Public Auditorium. The ballroom

10010-495: The recording sessions for his second album there. Titled Sweet Baby James , and featuring the participation of Carole King , the album was released in February 1970 and was Taylor's critical and popular breakthrough, buoyed by the single " Fire and Rain ", a song about both Taylor's experiences attempting to break his drug habit by undergoing treatment in psychiatric institutions and the suicide of his friend Suzanne Schnerr. Both

10120-625: The series when the family put together a jigsaw puzzle with his face as the missing final piece. In 1995, Taylor performed the role of the Lord in Randy Newman's Faust . In 1997, after six years since his last studio album, Taylor released Hourglass , an introspective album that gave him the best critical reviews in almost twenty years. The album had much of its focus on Taylor's troubled past and family. "Jump Up Behind Me" paid tribute to his father's rescue of him after The Flying Machine days, and

10230-466: The single " Shower the People ", an enduring song that hit No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and hit 22 on the Pop Charts. However, the album was not well received, reaching No. 16 and being criticized, particularly by Rolling Stone . Still, In The Pocket went on to be certified gold. With the close of Taylor's contract with Warner, in November, the label released Greatest Hits ,

10340-535: The tournament's first year in Cleveland. Public Hall hosted two athletic events in 2014, the first being a Fed Cup series between the United States and Italy in February, followed by the 2014 NCAA Division II Wrestling Championships in March. The Cleveland Charge of the NBA G League announced on June 4, 2024, they would be moving their home games to Public Auditorium beginning with the 2024–25 season, leaving

10450-478: The writers described his look as "a cowboy Jesus", to which Taylor later replied, "I thought I was trying to look like George Harrison." Released in April 1971, Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon also gained critical acclaim and contained Taylor's biggest hit single in the US, a version of Carole King's new " You've Got a Friend " (featuring backing vocals by Joni Mitchell ), which reached No. 1 on

10560-778: Was a critical and commercial disaster and was his first album to miss the Top 5 since his contract with Warner. It received poor reviews and sold only 300,000 copies in the United States. The title track failed to appear on the Top 100. However, Taylor's artistic fortunes spiked again in 1975 when the Gold album Gorilla reached No. 6 and provided one of his biggest hit singles, a version of Marvin Gaye 's " How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You) ", featuring wife Carly on backing vocals and reached No. 5 in America and No. 1 in Canada. On

10670-505: Was broken on July 2, 1967. The Blossom Festival’s inaugural concert, featuring Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony conducted by Szell, took place on July 19, 1968, with a live television broadcast on WKYC-TV3 . Soloists in the 9th included soprano Phyllis Curtin , mezzo Jane Hobson, tenor Ernst Haefliger , and bass Thomas Paul . The following year the Orchestra hosted its first Fourth of July concert at Blossom — led by Meredith Willson , who composed The Music Man . In 2003, Blossom underwent

10780-832: Was built beneath Mall B of the Cleveland Mall , while the Lakeside Exhibition Hall (also known as the North Exhibition Hall) was built below Mall C between the Cuyahoga County Courthouse and Cleveland City Hall . The seating capacity of the main auditorium, including the main floor and the U-shaped balcony, was eventually reduced to about 10,000. Music Hall seats 3,000, and the Little Theater 600. In 1964,

10890-400: Was but really had no idea what they were singing about. James was already singing with the conviction of a singer much older than himself. Everything that he had already been through was evident in his songwriting. — Peter Asher , Taylor's manager During the recording sessions, Taylor fell back into his drug habit by using heroin and methedrine . He underwent physeptone treatment in

11000-510: Was driven to find employment for his musicians throughout the summer months. Beginning in 1965, the Musical Arts Association began to investigate possible sites on which to build the Orchestra’s new summer home. Szell had a clear vision in mind: “It is of course IMPERATIVE to have such an installation for the summer, it seems to me even more important to have it turn out to be exceptional, absolutely first rate, terribly attractive...” In July 1966,

11110-616: Was for a Blood, Sweat and Tears concert in 1969, just one year after the venue's opening, totaling in 24,364. An unofficial estimate to a Pink Floyd concert in 1973 claims 32,000 were in attendance. The amphitheater has played host to many music festivals, Lollapalooza , Mayhem Festival , Ozzfest , and Vans Warped Tour . The Michael Stanley Band, intensely popular in Northeast Ohio , but virtually unknown elsewhere, set an attendance record, of 74,404, with four sold-out shows, on August 25–26 and 30–31, 1982. Rock artist James Taylor

11220-592: Was generally lukewarm and, despite making the Top 10 of the Billboard Album Charts, its overall sales were disappointing. The lead single, " Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight ", peaked at No. 14 on the Hot 100, and the follow-up, " One Man Parade ", barely reached the Top 75. Almost simultaneously, Taylor married fellow singer-songwriter Carly Simon on November 3, in a small ceremony at her Murray Hill, Manhattan apartment. A post-concert party following

11330-474: Was generally positive, including a complimentary review in Rolling Stone by Jon Landau , who said that "this album is the coolest breath of fresh air I've inhaled in a good long while. It knocks me out." The record's commercial potential suffered from Taylor's inability to promote it because of his hospitalization, and it sold poorly; "Carolina in My Mind" was released as a single but failed to chart in

11440-579: Was great ... and he came and played live, so it was just like, 'Wow, he's great .'" Taylor became the first non-British act signed to Apple, and he credits Asher for "opening the door" to his singing career. Taylor said of Asher, who later became his manager, "I knew from the first time that we met that he was the right person to steer my career. He had this determination in his eye that I had never seen in anybody before." Living chaotically in various places with various women, Taylor wrote additional material, including " Carolina in My Mind ", and rehearsed with

11550-455: Was nominated for a Grammy Award. In January 2008, Taylor recorded approximately 20 songs by others for a new album with a band including Luis Conte , Michael Landau , Lou Marini , Arnold McCuller , Jimmy Johnson , David Lasley , Walt Fowler, Andrea Zonn , Kate Markowitz , Steve Gadd and Larry Goldings . The resulting live-in-studio album, named Covers , was released in September 2008. The album forays into country and soul while being

11660-554: Was reached by an elegant stone staircased with bronze lights which led down from Public Auditorium's lobby. But the exhibition space itself was uninviting. It had an asphalt floor, was undecorated, and was interrupted by more than 40 columns. Cleveland's Public Auditorium was considered so advanced architecturally that it became the model for similar public auditoriums in Atlantic City and Philadelphia . The Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame displays duplicates of many of

11770-452: Was really what I needed. It helped get me back on track. The song "Only a Dream in Rio" was written in tribute to that night, with lines like "I was there that very day and my heart came back alive." The October 1985 album, That's Why I'm Here , from which that song came, started a series of studio recordings that, while spaced further apart than his previous records, showed a more consistent level of quality and fewer covers , most notably

11880-583: Was rebuilt in four different colors of granite. New taxicab stands were built at each end of Public Auditorium, and small gardens placed at each end of each taxi stand. The overall decorating scheme featured colors of muted beige, blue, gray, green, and rose. The reception pavilion received a $ 1.8 million ($ 4,827,417 in 2023 dollars) overhaul. Its exterior metal façade was removed and replaced with beige limestone . The glass curtain wall received new mechanical louvers. The interior wall coverings of dark wood paneling and bronzed aluminum were replaced with

11990-413: Was the first artist to play double nights at the amphitheater in 1979, with a combined attendance of over 42,000. Public Auditorium Public Auditorium (also known as Public Hall ) is a multi-purpose performing arts , entertainment , sports , and exposition facility located in the civic center district of downtown Cleveland , Ohio . The 10,000-capacity main auditorium shares its stage with

12100-432: Was “more deserving of the honor than any other Cleveland family.” The pavilion is constructed of slate and tubular steel, and seats 6,051 people. Behind the pavilion is a general-admission lawn section, which can seat an additional 15,000 audience members. The venue is also host to a full summer schedule of popular music acts and symphonic performances. Blossom’s natural parabolic setting, the pavilion’s sloping slate roof, and

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