James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American (United States) singer-songwriter and guitarist born in Boston, Massachusetts, and raised in Carrboro (Carrboro, North Carolina), North Carolina. He owns a house in the Town of Washington, Massachusetts in Berkshire County . A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

Taylor achieved his major breakthrough in 1970 with the #3 single "Fire and Rain" and had his first #1 hit the following year with "Youve Got a Friend", a recording of Carole Kings classic song. His 1976 Greatest Hits (Greatest Hits (James Taylor album)) album was certified Diamond (RIAA certification) and has sold 12 million US copies. Following his 1977 album, JT (JT (album)), he has retained a large audience over the decades. His commercial achievements declined slightly until a big resurgence during the late 1990s and 2000s, when some of his best-selling and most-awarded albums (including Hourglass (Hourglass (James Taylor album)), October Road (October Road (album)) and Covers (Covers (James Taylor album))) were released.