Maps of Music

In the Pocket (1976)

Where the lyrics of In the Pocket take you, and where it was really made.

The single 'Shower the People' reached #22 on Billboard, yet the album itself peaked at #16, Taylor's lowest chart position of the 1970s.

Key places

Recorded at Warner Bros. Recording Studios (1976)

Recording site Schnee Studio — Lee Herschberg recorded, mixed and mastered the album at Warner Bros. Recording Studios, credited as Hollywood, CA. The sessions ran from late 1975 into early 1976. The map point is set at city-level coordinates. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• In the Pocket: seventh studio album by James Taylor
• His last album for Warner Bros. Records before signing with Columbia
• Released June 1976
• Sessions took place between late 1975 and early 1976
• Described as a very melodic album and one of Taylor's most diverse and polished
• Highlighted by the single 'Shower the People'

Background

• Taylor recorded in the studio with many colleagues and friends
• Art Garfunkel duetted on 'A Junkie's Lament' and contributed vocals on 'Captain Jim's Drunken Dream'
• Carly Simon, Taylor's wife, harmonised with him on 'Shower the People'
• Stevie Wonder co-wrote 'Don't Be Sad 'Cause Your Sun Is Down' with Taylor and played harmonica on it
• David Crosby, Linda Ronstadt and Bonnie Raitt were among the other participants
• 'Shower the People' later became a Taylor standard and concert favorite

Recording

• Recorded, mixed and mastered by Lee Herschberg at Warner Bros. Recording Studios (Hollywood, CA)
• Producers: Russ Titelman and Lenny Waronker
• Assistant engineer: Loyd Clifft
• Production assistant: Trudy Portch
• Personal management: Peter Asher

Cover

• Art direction and cover design: Mike Salisbury
• Photography: Norman Seeff

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early years

• Born March 12, 1948 in Boston, Massachusetts; raised in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
• Learned guitar in 1960, influenced by hymns, carols and Woody Guthrie.
• Spent time in a psychiatric hospital and struggled with heroin addiction in his youth.

Career

• Formed the Flying Machine in New York in 1966; the group broke up after a single.
• Signed to Apple Records in 1968 as the first non-British act on the label.
• Breakthrough with Sweet Baby James (1970) and the hit "Fire and Rain", both reaching No. 3.
• First No. 1 hit with "You've Got a Friend" (1971), written by Carole King.
• Greatest Hits (1976) is one of the best-selling albums in US history, certified Diamond.
• Won six Grammy Awards; inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
• Reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 with Before This World (2015) after a 45-year wait.
• Continues to tour actively as of 2026.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Single 'Shower the People' released as a single
• The single peaked at #22 on the Billboard charts on September 18, 1976
• The single reached the summit of the US Adult Contemporary charts
• The album reached only #16 on the Billboard album charts
• The album did not match the success of Taylor's previous album Gorilla
• The #16 peak was Taylor's lowest chart position during the 1970s
• It was also the lowest chart position since his debut album

Reappraisal

• The album later became a fan favorite

Records

• Billboard album chart peak: #16
• Single Billboard peak: #22
• Single: summit of US Adult Contemporary charts
• RIAA Gold certification
• 2008 reissue on Rhino's budget Flashback label

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · ko.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Carly Simon, Taylor's wife at the time, harmonised with him on 'Shower the People'.
• Stevie Wonder co-wrote 'Don't Be Sad 'Cause Your Sun Is Down' with Taylor and played harmonica on it.
• Art Garfunkel duetted with Taylor on 'A Junkie's Lament'.
• This was Taylor's last album for Warner Bros. before he signed with Columbia.
• The album was reissued in 2008 on Rhino's budget Flashback label.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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