Maps of Music

JT (1977)

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

JT was James Taylor's first album on Columbia Records, and its biggest hit, 'Handy Man', was a cover of a Jimmy Jones song.

Key places

Recording site in Los Angeles (1977)

Recording site The Sound Factory — JT was recorded at The Sound Factory in Los Angeles with Val Garay, in sessions running from March 15 to April 24, 1977. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• JT: eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter James Taylor
• Released June 22, 1977 via Columbia Records
• First album Taylor released on that label
• Produced by Peter Asher
• Recording session ran March 15 to April 24, 1977
• Recorded at The Sound Factory in Los Angeles with Val Garay

Background

• Three singles: 'Handy Man', 'Your Smiling Face', 'Honey Don't Leave L.A.'
• 'Handy Man' is a Jimmy Jones cover and Taylor's final top 10 hit
• 'Your Smiling Face' is the other big hit from the album
• The album also holds Taylor classics such as 'Secret O' Life' and 'Terra Nova'
• Taylor's then-wife Carly Simon took part on the album, including harmony vocals on 'Terra Nova'

Recording

• Sessions took place at The Sound Factory, Los Angeles
• Val Garay handled recording and mixing
• Doug Sax mastered the album at The Mastering Lab in Hollywood, California

Cover

• David Alexander shot the front cover and sleeve photos
• Jim Shea shot the back cover and inside photos
• John Kosh handled art direction and design

Sources: en.wikipedia.org · www.discogs.com

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

• Robert Christgau, who had been skeptical of Taylor's previous work, was surprised when the album exceeded his expectations
• Christgau wrote that 'Handy Man' is a transcendent sex ballad and that the record was the best since Sweet Baby James
• Peter Herbst in Rolling Stone called JT the least stiff and by far the most various album Taylor had made
• Record World said the album showed Taylor's soft-spoken and understated style
• John Rockwell in The New York Times called JT one of Taylor's stronger efforts in recent years
• Rockwell singled out 'Handy Man' as the most effective track on the album
• Rockwell also noted that the new songs had relatively little memorable melody compared with Sweet Baby James

Reappraisal

• Rockwell said the songs sounded more like conversational recitations than tunes, though still interesting
• Rockwell praised some of the accompaniments as really delightful

Records

• JT peaked at number 4 on the Billboard 200 in the United States
• It was Taylor's highest-charting album since Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon
• Certified 3 times Platinum by the RIAA as of January 31, 1997
• Nominated for Album of the Year at the 20th Annual Grammy Awards, losing to Rumours by Fleetwood Mac
• Finished at No. 23 in The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll for the year's best albums
• Sold more than 3.5 million copies in the United States, making it Taylor's best-selling studio album

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

Trivia

• JT was the first and only album by James Taylor to place in the top 30 of The Village Voice's Pazz & Jop poll.
• The album was issued in a gatefold cover with a custom printed lyric inner sleeve.
• Doug Sax mastered the album at The Mastering Lab in Hollywood.
• 'Honey Don't Leave L.A.' was written by Danny Kortchmar, and 'Terra Nova' was credited to Taylor and Carly Simon.
• 'Handy Man' peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Adult Contemporary chart.

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

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