1. James Taylor was the musical director for the 1985 film Smooth Talk.  The movie, which starred Laura Dern and Treat Williams, uses three of his songs.

2. James Taylor was the first non-British act signed to the Beatles’ Apple Records.  He released just one album for the Fab Four, his self-titled debut.

3. On March 1, 1971, James Taylor appeared on the cover of Time magazine. Back then, it was rare for a musician to appear on the cover of a serious publication.

4. James Taylor is the member of four halls of fame: Rock and Roll, Songwriters, North Carolina Music, and Hit Parade.  He was inducted into all four halls in the 21st century.

5. James Taylor has won five Grammy Awards.  Four of them have been in “pop” categories and the other was in the genre of country.  Taylor is generally regarded as a folk artist.

6. James Taylor battled heroin addiction and depression.

7. James Taylor appeared as himself in an episode of The West Wing, although that was mostly the extent of his acting.

8. James Taylor’s father was a successful physician.  James grew up with money and attended schools that had headmasters instead of principals.  When he was five, he and his family began spending summers at Martha’s Vineyard.

9. James Taylor first learned to play the cello.  Only later did he learn to play the guitar.

10. James Taylor and John Lennon were friends and on Dec. 7, 1980, James Taylor had an altercation with Mark David Chapman.  The next day, Chapman assassinated John Lennon.  Taylor, who lived in the building next to Lennon’s, heard the five shots that Chapman fired during the assassination.

11. When he was 17, James Taylor committed himself to a psychiatric hospital.  This eventually prevented him from being drafted and fighting in the Vietnam War.

12. James Taylor and Taylor Swift have performed together on multiple occasions.  Appropriate, since Taylor Swift is named after James Taylor