''JT'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter

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. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

. It was released on June 22, 1977, via

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, making it his first album released for the label. Recording session took place from March 15 to April 24, 1977, at

The Sound Factory The Sound Factory (also known as Sunset Sound Factory) is a recording studio in Los Angeles, California. The Sound Factory was built in the 1960s on Selma Avenue in Hollywood. At the time, it served as the home of Moonglow Records and the Moon ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

with

Val Garay Val Garay (born May 9, 1942, in San Francisco, California, United States) is an American recording engineer and record producer who has worked with Kim Carnes, Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, Neil Diamond, and others. Garay also co-founded Los An ...

. Production was handled by

Peter Asher Peter Asher, (born 22 June 1944) is an English guitarist, singer, manager and record producer. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the pop music vocal duo Peter and Gordon before going on to a successful career as a manager and r ...

. The album peaked at number 4 on the ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart in the United States and was Taylor's highest-charting album since ''

Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon ''Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter James Taylor, released in April 1971 by Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded between early January and late February of the same year. Relea ...

''. By January 31, 1997, it was certified 3 times Platinum by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

. At the 20th Annual Grammy Awards, it was also nominated for

Grammy Award for Album of the Year The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without regar ...

, but lost to '' Rumours'' by

Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...

. The album spawned four singles: " Bartender's Blues", " Handy Man" (Taylor's final top 10 hit), "

Your Smiling Face "Your Smiling Face" is a hit single by singer James Taylor. First available on the album '' JT'', and released as the album's sophomore single in September 1977, "Your Smiling Face" peaked at number 11 in '' Cash Box'' magazine and at 20 on the ' ...

" and "

Honey Don't Leave L.A. "Honey Don't Leave L.A." is a song written by Danny Kortchmar. It was first recorded by Attitudes, a band consisting of Kortchmar, Paul Stallworth, Jim Keltner and David Foster, who met while backing George Harrison on his album '' Extra Textu ...

". "Handy Man", a Jimmy Jones cover, peaked at #4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and topped the

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

and won the

Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a male in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The award wen ...

. "Your Smiling Face", the other big

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

, peaked at #20 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and #6 on the Adult Contemporary chart. The record also contains other Taylor classics such as "

Secret O' Life "Secret O' Life" is a song written by James Taylor that first appeared on his 1977 album '' JT''. It has since appeared on several of his live and compilation albums. It was also included in the Broadway musical '' Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Lif ...

" and "Terra Nova", with the participation of Taylor's then-wife

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thin ...

Track listing

Personnel

* James Taylor – lead and backing vocals, acoustic guitar *

Danny Kortchmar Daniel "Danny Kootch" Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946) is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassidy, ...

– guitars *

Dan Dugmore Dan Dugmore is an American session musician known primarily for playing the pedal steel guitar Born in 1949, Dugmore was raised in Pasadena, California. Influenced by the Flying Burrito Brothers, he learned to play steel guitar after Flying B ...

–

steel guitar A steel guitar ( haw, kīkākila) is any guitar played while moving a steel bar or similar hard object against plucked strings. The bar itself is called a "steel" and is the source of the name "steel guitar". The instrument differs from a conve ...

(tracks: 2, 5) * Dr. Clarence McDonald – keyboards *

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so frequ ...

– bass guitar *

Russ Kunkel Russell Kunkel (born September 27, 1948) is an American drummer who has worked as a session musician with many popular artists, including Jackson Browne, Joni Mitchell, Jimmy Buffett, Harry Chapin, Rita Coolidge, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Da ...

– drums,

castanets Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a similar ...

(track 7), wood block (track 9), tambourine and handclaps (track 10) *

–

cowbell A cowbell (or cow bell) is a bell worn around the neck of free-roaming livestock so herders can keep track of an animal via the sound of the bell when the animal is grazing out of view in hilly landscapes or vast plains. Although they are t ...

(track 3), castanets (track 7),

cabasa The cabasa, similar to the shekere, is a percussion instrument that is constructed with loops of steel ball chain wrapped around a wooden cylinder. The cylinder is fixed to a long, wooden or plastic handle. The metal cabasa was created by Marti ...

(tracks: 7, 9), wood block (track 9), tambourine and handclaps (track 10), producer *

David Sanborn David William Sanborn (born July 30, 1945) is an American alto saxophonist. Though Sanborn has worked in many genres, his solo recordings typically blend jazz with instrumental pop and R&B. He released his first solo album ''Taking Off'' in 1 ...

– saxophone (track 3) *

Red Callender George Sylvester "Red" Callender (March 6, 1916 – March 8, 1992) was an American string bass and tuba player. He is perhaps best known as a jazz musician, but worked with an array of pop, rock and vocal acts as a member of The Wrecking Cre ...

– tuba (track 10) * David Campbell – string arrangements and conductor (tracks: 1, 5), viola (track 2) *

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

– harmony vocals (track 5) *

Leah Kunkel Leah Kunkel ( Cohen; born June 15, 1948) is an American singer. Life Leah Cohen was born on June 15, 1948. She is the younger sister of Cass Elliot, best known as a member of the folk rock vocal group the Mamas & the Papas. In 1968, she marrie ...

– backing vocals (track 7) *

– harmony vocals (track 10) ;Technical *

– recording, mixing *

Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charles ...

– mastering *

John Kosh John Kosh, known simply as Kosh, is an English art director, album cover designer, graphic artist, and documentary producer/director. He was born in London, England and rose to prominence in the mid-1960s while designing for the Royal Ballet a ...

– art direction, design * David Alexander – front cover, sleeve photos * Jim Shea – back cover, inside photos

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jt 1977 albums James Taylor albums Columbia Records albums Albums produced by Peter Asher Albums arranged by David Campbell (composer)