James Taylor – Sweet Baby James

It’s not that far a jump to go from Peter, Paul and Mary to James Taylor, but the shift here is generational. James marks the start of my siblings’ influence on my taste in music, rather than my parents.

I debated which album to pick for this because this is not my favorite James Taylor album. However, I would guess this was where it all began. I have to guess, because it’s not like I remember one of my sisters bringing it home, it just felt like James Taylor was always in our home. Nor do I think I could really decide which album is my favorite. I have a soft spot for everything up through and including JT. So sure, Sweet Baby James is one of the 20, but it could have been any of the albums he released in the 1970s.

James Taylor has the most mellow voice and great finger-picking skills. His songs have beautiful harmonies that my siblings and I all learned and sang along to on long car trips. If you’re from Massachusetts, and you hear this song, do you also instantly think about driving across the Mass Pike in the winter? Do the Berkshires seem dreamlike on account of that frostin’?

Young James also melted my heart. Long-haired, clean-shaven James created the archetype for what I thought made men attractive. The faint hint of a southern accent also instilled in me a preference for male singers from the south.

I’ve written about James before and I don’t think I can say what I wrote in a better way now so I’ll link to that here.