Birth name Livingston Taylor Years active 1970–present | Name Livingston Taylor Nieces Sally Taylor | |
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Born November 21, 1950 (age 73)
Boston, Massachusetts, United States ( 1950-11-21 ) Origin Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States Genres Jazz, Folk rock, Soft rock, Gospel Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter, Guitarist Instruments Vocals
Guitar
Banjo
Piano Role Singer-songwriter · livtaylor.com Siblings James Taylor, Kate Taylor, Alex Taylor, Hugh Taylor Nephews Ben Taylor, Henry Taylor, Edward Taylor, Rufus Taylor, James Taylor Similar People James Taylor, Alex Taylor, Kate Taylor, Ben Taylor, Carly Simon Profiles | ||
Livingston taylor james taylor a brother s perspective 5 of 10
Livingston Taylor (born November 21, 1950) is an American singer-songwriter and folk musician. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, he is the brother of singer-songwriter James Taylor, singer-songwriter Kate Taylor, musician and older brother Alex (d. 1993), and innkeeper and singer Hugh Taylor . With a career of over fifty years, Livingston is most notable for his top-40 hits “I Will Be In Love With You”, “First Time Love”, and “I’ll Come Running” . Having shared the stage the likes such as Linda Ronstadt, Jimmy Buffett, and Jethro Tull , he continues to perform over 75 shows a year, nationally and internationally. He is currently a faculty member at Berklee College of Music .
Contents
- Livingston taylor james taylor a brother s perspective 5 of 10
- Livingston taylor liv sings on songwriting 9 of 10
- Early Life and Education
- 1970 to 1990
- 1990s to present
- Berklee College of Music
- Personal life
- Discography
- References
Livingston taylor liv sings on songwriting 9 of 10
Early Life and Education
Taylor was born in Boston, Massachusetts on November 21, 1950 . Livingston was the fourth of five children, the others being Alex (1947–1993), James (born 1948), Kate (born 1949), and Hugh (born 1952) . In 1951, his father, Isaac M. Taylor, moved his family 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 . He attended public school and spent a year at the Westtown Friends School in West Chester, Pennsylvania. He completed his high school education at Arlington School, McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts.
After performing at the University of North Carolina, Alex returned home late one night with a guitar in one hand and a 20-dollar bill in the other. The impressionable, 13-year-old Livingston was sold. He soon picked up his own guitar and practiced day-after-day, dreaming of his own musical career. The talented adolescent quickly grew into an advanced guitarist by age 17 .
1970 to 1990
Taylor was one of the first artists to sign with Capricorn Records in 1970. His debut album, Livingston Taylor, was produced by Jon Landau and included the song "Carolina Day". His second album, Liv, also produced by Landau, included the song "Get Out of Bed". His third album, Over the Rainbow was released in 1973.
Taylor left Capricorn records and released Three Way Mirror in 1978. The album featured "I Will Be In Love With You" and "Going Round One More Time," a song that was later recorded by his brother James Taylor in 1985. Taylor promoted the album by touring as the opening act for Linda Ronstadt.
In 1979, Capricorn Records released Echoes, a collection of songs from Taylor's first three albums. In 1979,Taylor's single, "I Will Be In Love With You," rose to the 30th position on the Billboard charts. In 1980, he gained a second minor hit when "First Time Love" made it to #38.
In the 1980s Taylor released his second album on the Epic label, Man's Best Friend. The album contained the songs: "First Time Love," and "Pajamas" (sometimes known as "I've Got My Pajamas On"), which was later adapted into a book for children written by Taylor and his wife, Maggie. Taylor hosted 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 to present
Taylor released Our Turn to Dance in 1991, Good Friends in 1993 and Bicycle in 1996. "Boatman" a song on the Bicycle album was later recorded by his brother James in 1997. Ink, a collection of cover songs, 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. In 1999 a second live album Snapshot: Live at the Iron Horse was released. A second retrospective was released in 2005 with 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Livingston Taylor and Taylor released an album of original material, There You Are Again the same year.
In 2010, Taylor released the album Last Alaska Moon which included bassist Leland Sklar; drummer Steve Gadd; guitarists Vince Gill, Chris Rodriguez, and J.T. Corenflos; keyboardist Shane Keister, and vocalist Andrea Zonn.
On January 18, 2017, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh and Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker declared the day to be Livingston Taylor Day in Boston, MA. He was recognized for his contribution to the music industry for the past 50 years, as well as being a professor at Berklee College of Music.
Berklee College of Music
In 1989, Livingston received a call from Berklee Vice President Rob Rose, inviting him to teach a course in stage performance. A few years later, Livingston wrote a textbook, Stage Performance, based on what he has taught and learned at Berklee . Livingston's course is designed to provide knowledge and skills necessary for effective performance presentation: movement, microphone technique, stage dress, in-depth examination of causes and controls of stage fright, rhythm development and internalization, and professional attitude and development . Livingston's notable students include Gavin DeGraw, John Mayer, Charlie Puth, and blues singer-guitarist Susan Tedeschi .
Personal life
Taylor's siblings include Alex Taylor, James Taylor, Hugh Taylor and Kate Taylor. He is an instrument rated private pilot and an aviation enthusiast. He has maintained a close friendship with his former sister-in-law Carly Simon; the two have collaborated numerous times.