show name	Friends
genre	Sitcom
creator	David CraneMarta Kauffman
starring	Jennifer AnistonCourteney CoxLisa KudrowMatt LeBlancMatthew PerryDavid Schwimmer
theme music composer	Michael SkloffAllee Willis
opentheme	"I'll Be There for You"by The Rembrandts
country	United States
language	English
num seasons	10
num episodes	236
list episodes	List of Friends episodes
executive producer	David CraneMarta KauffmanKevin S. BrightMichael Borkow Michael Curtis Adam Chase Greg Malins Wil Calhoun Scott Silveri }}

Andrew Reich Ted Cohen | location = Warner Bros. StudiosBurbank, California | camera = Film; multi-camera | runtime = 20–22 minutes 22–65 minutes | company = Bright/Kauffman/Crane ProductionsWarner Bros. Television | distributor = NBCWarner Bros. Television | network = NBC | picture_format = 480i (PsF 4:3 SDTV)1080i (PsF 16:9 HDTV) | first_aired = | last_aired = | status = Ended | followed_by = Joey (2004–2006) | website = http://warnervideo.com/friends15/ }}

Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television. The original executive producers were Crane, Kauffman and Kevin S. Bright, with numerous others being promoted in later seasons.

Kauffman and Crane began developing Friends under the title Insomnia Cafe in November/December 1993. They presented the idea to Bright, with whom they had previously worked, and together they pitched a seven-page treatment of the series to NBC. After several script rewrites and changes, including a second title change to Friends Like Us, the series was finally named Friends and premiered on NBC's coveted Thursday 8:30 pm timeslot. Filming for the series took place at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California in front of a live studio audience. After ten seasons on the network, the series finale was promoted by NBC, and viewing parties were organized around the U.S. The series finale (the 236th episode), airing on May 6, 2004, was watched by 51.1 million American viewers, making it the fourth most watched series finale in television history and the most watched episode of the decade.

Friends received positive reviews throughout most of its run, becoming one of the most popular sitcoms of all time. The series won many awards and was nominated for 63 Primetime Emmy Awards. The series, an instant hit from its debut, was also very successful in the ratings, consistently ranking in the top ten in the final primetime ratings. Many critics now regard it as one of the finest shows in television history, including TV Guide, which ranked it #21 on their list of the 50 greatest TV shows of all time. The series made a large cultural impact, which continues today. The Central Perk coffee house that was featured prominently in the series has inspired various imitations throughout the world. The series continues in syndication worldwide. All 10 seasons are available on DVD. The spin-off series Joey was created to follow up with the series after the finale.

Characters

The series featured six main characters throughout its run, with many other characters recurring throughout all ten seasons.

Jennifer Aniston portrays Rachel Green, a fashion enthusiast and Monica Geller's best friend from high school. Rachel and Ross Geller are involved in an on-again-off-again relationship throughout the series. Rachel's first job is as a waitress at the coffeehouse Central Perk, but she later becomes an assistant buyer at Bloomingdale's and a buyer at Ralph Lauren in season five. At the end of season eight, Rachel and Ross have a daughter named Emma in "The One Where Rachel Has a Baby, Part Two".

Courteney Cox portrays Monica Geller, the mother hen of the group and a chef, known for her obsessive-compulsive and competitive nature. Monica is often jokingly teased by the others for having been extremely overweight as a child, especially by her brother Ross. Monica works as a chef in various restaurants throughout the show and marries Chandler Bing in season seven. Lisa Kudrow portrays Phoebe Buffay, an eccentric masseuse and self-taught musician. Phoebe is ditsy but street smart and writes and sings (badly) her own quirky songs, accompanying herself on the guitar. She has an "evil" identical twin named Ursula. In the last season, she marries Mike Hannigan played by Paul Rudd. Matt LeBlanc portrays Joey Tribbiani, a struggling actor and food lover who becomes famous for his role on Days of our Lives as Dr. Drake Ramoray. Joey is a simple-minded womanizer with many short-term girlfriends throughout the series. He falls in love with Rachel in season eight. Matthew Perry portrays Chandler Bing, an executive in statistical analysis and data reconfiguration for a large multi-national corporation. Chandler quits his job and becomes a junior copywriter at an advertising agency during season nine. Chandler is known for his sarcastic sense of humor and bad luck in relationships. Chandler marries Monica in season seven, and they adopt twins at the end of the series.

David Schwimmer portrays Ross Geller, Monica Geller's older brother, a paleontologist working at the Museum of Natural History, and later a professor of paleontology at New York University. Ross is involved in an on-again-off-again relationship with Rachel throughout the series. Ross has three failed marriages during the series: Rachel, Emily, and Carol, a lesbian who is also the mother of his son, Ben (Cole Sprouse). He and Rachel have a daughter at the end of season eight.

Cast

The main cast members were familiar to television viewers before their roles on Friends but were not considered stars. Cox had the highest profile career of the main actors when she was initially cast, having appeared in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Family Ties. Kudrow previously played Ursula Buffay on Mad About You, and reprised the dual role of twin sister Ursula as a recurring character during several episodes of Friends. Before her role on Friends, Kudrow was an office manager and researcher for her father, a headache specialist. LeBlanc had appeared as a minor character in the sitcom Married... with Children, and as a main character in its spin-offs, Top of the Heap and Vinnie & Bobby. Aniston and Perry had already appeared in several unsuccessful sitcom pilots before being cast in Friends. Before his role on Friends, Schwimmer played minor characters in The Wonder Years and NYPD Blue. During the series' ten-season run, the actors all became household names.

In their original contracts for the first season, cast members were paid $22,500 per episode. The cast members received different salaries in the second season, beginning from the $20,000 range to $40,000 per episode. Before their salary negotiations for the third season, the cast decided to enter collective negotiations, despite Warner Bros.' preference for individual deals. The actors were given the salary of the least-paid cast member, meaning Aniston and Schwimmer had their salaries reduced. The stars were paid $75,000 per episode in season three, $85,000 in season four, $100,000 in season five, $125,000 in season six, $750,000 in seasons seven and eight, and $1 million in seasons nine and ten. The cast also received syndication royalties beginning with the fifth season.

Series creator David Crane wanted all six actors to be equally prominent, and the series was lauded as being "the first true 'ensemble' show". The cast members made efforts to keep the ensemble format and not allow one member to dominate; they entered themselves in the same acting categories for awards, opted for collective salary negotiations, and asked to appear together on magazine cover photos in the first season. The cast members also became best friends off-screen, and guest star Tom Selleck reported sometimes feeling left out. The cast remained good friends after the series' run, most notably Cox and Aniston, with Aniston being godmother to Cox and David Arquette's daughter, Coco. In the official farewell commemorative book Friends 'Til The End, each separately acknowledged in interviews that the cast had become their family.

Season synopses

The first season introduces the six main characters: Rachel, Monica, Phoebe, Joey, Chandler, and Ross. Rachel arrives at Central Perk after leaving her fiancé Barry at the altar and moves into Monica's apartment with her. Ross constantly tries to tell Rachel that he loves her, while his lesbian ex-wife, Carol, is expecting his baby. Joey is shown to be a struggling actor, while Phoebe works as a masseuse. Chandler breaks up with girlfriend Janice (Maggie Wheeler), who frequently returns in later seasons. At the end of the season, Chandler accidentally reveals that Ross loves Rachel, who realizes that she feels the same way.

The second season begins with Rachel discovering that Ross is dating Julie (Lauren Tom), someone he knew from graduate school. Rachel's attempts to tell Ross she likes him mirror his failed attempts in the first season, although the characters eventually begin a relationship. Joey gets a part in a fictional version of the soap opera Days of our Lives, but his character is killed off after he claims that he writes many of his own lines. Monica begins dating Richard (Tom Selleck), recently divorced and 21 years her senior. In the season finale, they end their relationship when they realize that unlike Monica, Richard does not want children.

Season Three takes on a significantly greater serialized format. Rachel begins working at Bloomingdale's, an upscale department store chain, and Ross becomes jealous of her colleague, Mark. Rachel decides to take a break; and Ross, hurt and drunk, sleeps with someone else, causing Rachel to break up with him. After believing she has no family except her twin sister Ursula (Lisa Kudrow), Phoebe becomes acquainted with her half-brother (Giovani Ribisi) and birth mother (Teri Garr). Joey develops a relationship with his acting partner Kate (Dina Meyer), and Monica begins a relationship with millionaire Pete Becker (Jon Favreau).

In the fourth season premiere, Ross and Rachel briefly reconcile, but Ross continues to insist that the two were on a break. Joey dates Kathy, a theater actress, but Chandler falls in love with her only to break up when he suspects she is cheating on him with a fellow actor. Phoebe becomes a surrogate mother for her brother and his wife Alice (Debra Jo Rupp). Monica and Rachel are forced to switch apartments with Joey and Chandler after losing a bet, but manage to switch back by bribing them with Knicks season tickets and a one-minute kiss (off-screen) between the girls. Ross begins dating an English woman named Emily (Helen Baxendale), and the season finale features their wedding in London. Chandler and Monica sleep together, and Rachel decides to attend Ross and Emily's wedding. While saying his vows, Ross uses the wrong name at the altar (Rachel's), to the shock of his bride and the guests.

Season five features Monica and Chandler trying to keep their new relationship a secret from their friends. Phoebe gives birth to triplets in the show's one-hundredth episode. She gives birth to a boy, Frank Jr. Jr., and two girls: Leslie, and Chandler. (They had originally thought that there were two boys and one girl, but decided to keep the name Chandler, despite the baby turning out a girl.) Ross and Emily's marriage is called off as Emily is intimidated by Rachel, and Ross is unwilling to give up his friendship with her as Emily demands. Phoebe starts a relationship with police officer Gary (Michael Rapaport). Monica and Chandler go public with their relationship, to the surprise and happiness of their friends. They decide to get married on a trip to Las Vegas, but change their plans after witnessing Ross and Rachel drunkenly stumble out of the wedding chapel.

In the sixth season premiere, Ross and Rachel's marriage is established to be a drunken mistake, and they divorce several episodes later. Monica and Chandler decide to move into her apartment together, and Rachel moves in with Phoebe. Joey lands a role on a cable television series called Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E, where he stars alongside a robot. Ross gets a job lecturing at New York University, and starts dating one of his students, Elizabeth (Alexandra Holden). Phoebe and Rachel's apartment catches fire, and Rachel moves in with Joey while Phoebe moves in with Chandler and Monica. Chandler decides to propose to Monica, who considers reconciling with Richard. Although Richard confesses that he still loves her, Monica accepts Chandler's proposal.

The seventh season mainly follows various antics by Monica and Chandler, who are preparing for their wedding. Joey's television series Mac and C.H.E.E.S.E is canceled, but he is offered his job back on Days of our Lives. Phoebe's apartment is fixed, but is rebuilt with only one large bedroom instead of the original two, so Rachel decides to stay with Joey. The season finale features Monica and Chandler's wedding. The friends believe Monica is pregnant after Phoebe finds a discarded pregnancy test in Monica's bathroom. At the very end, it is revealed only to the audience that Rachel is pregnant.

The eighth season's first three episodes revolve around the identity of the father of Rachel's baby. The father is ultimately revealed as Ross. Rachel and Ross decide to have the baby but do not resume their romantic relationship. Joey develops romantic feelings for Rachel, but she does not reciprocate them. Rachel gives birth to baby Emma in the season finale. At the hospital, Ross's mother offers him an engagement ring because she wants him to marry Rachel. Ross does not intend to ask Rachel to marry him, but he takes the ring anyway and puts it in his jacket pocket. Meanwhile, in the post-delivery room, Joey looks for some tissue for an upset Rachel, picks up Ross's jacket, and the ring falls to the floor. He kneels to pick it up and turns to Rachel, still on his knees and still holding the ring. Rachel accepts what she thinks is his proposal of marriage.

Season nine begins with Ross and Rachel living together as roommates with baby Emma. Monica and Chandler decide to have a child themselves but discover that they are unable to conceive. Phoebe begins dating Mike Hannigan (Paul Rudd), and chooses to be with him over her ex-boyfriend David (Hank Azaria). Rachel and Emma move in with Joey in the middle of the season, and Rachel develops romantic feelings for him. The group travels to Barbados in the finale to hear Ross give a keynote speech at a paleontology conference. Joey and his girlfriend Charlie (Aisha Tyler) break up, and she begins a relationship with Ross. Joey and Rachel's feelings for each other return, and the finale ends with them kissing.

The tenth season closes several long-running storylines. Charlie breaks up with Ross. Joey and Rachel try to contend with Ross's feelings about them being together and decide to remain friends. Phoebe and Mike get married. Monica and Chandler apply to adopt a child and are chosen by Erica (Anna Faris). In the series finale, Erica gives birth to twins – a boy, Jack (after Monica's father), and a girl, Erica (named after the birth mother). Monica and Chandler prepare to move to the suburbs, and Joey becomes upset with the changes happening in his life. Rachel accepts a job in Paris, but Ross, realizing he loves her, chases after her. Rachel realizes she loves him, too, and agrees to stay with him. The series ends with all the friends plus Monica and Chandler's new babies leaving the apartment, heading to Central Perk for a final cup of coffee.

Production

Conception

{|class="toccolours" style="float:right; margin-left:1em; margin-right:2em; font-size:95%; background:#f0f8ff; color:black; width:35em; max-width:50%;" cellspacing="5" |style="text-align: left;"|"It's about sex, love, relationships, careers, a time in your life when everything's possible. And it's about friendship because when you're single and in the city, your friends are your family." |- |style="text-align: left;" |—The original treatment used by Crane, Kauffman and Bright to pitch the series to NBC. |}

David Crane and Marta Kauffman began developing three new television pilots that would premiere in the fall of 1994 after their sitcom Family Album was cancelled by CBS in 1993. Kauffman and Crane decided to pitch the series about "six people in their 20s making their way in Manhattan" to NBC, since they thought it would fit best there. Crane and Kauffman presented the idea to their production partner Kevin Bright, who had served as executive producer on their HBO series Dream On. The idea for the series was conceived when Crane and Kauffman began thinking about the time when they had finished college and started living by themselves in New York; Kauffman believed they were looking at a time when the future was "more of a question mark." They found the concept to be interesting, as they believed "everybody knows that feeling," and because it was also how they felt about their own lives at the time. The team titled the series Insomnia Cafe, and pitched the idea as a seven-page treatment to NBC in December 1993.

At the same time, Warren Littlefield, the then-president of NBC Entertainment, was seeking a comedy involving young people living together and sharing expenses. Littlefield wanted the group to share memorable periods of their lives with friends, who had become "new, surrogate family members". However, Littlefield found difficulty in bringing the concept to life, and found the scripts developed by NBC to be terrible. When Kauffman, Crane and Bright pitched Insomnia Cafe, Littlefield was impressed that they knew who their characters were. NBC bought the idea as a put pilot, meaning they risked financial penalties if the pilot was not filmed. Kauffman and Crane began writing a pilot script for a show now titled Friends Like Us, which took three days to write. Littlefield wanted the series to represent Generation X and explore a new kind of tribal bonding, but the trio did not share his vision. Crane argued that it was not a series for one generation, and wanted to produce a series that everyone would enjoy watching. NBC liked the pilot script and ordered the series under another title, Six of One, mainly due to the similar title it shared with the ABC sitcom These Friends of Mine.

Casting

Once it became apparent that the series was a favored project at NBC, Littlefield reported that he was getting calls from every agent in town, wanting their client to be a part of the series. Auditions for the lead roles took place in New York and Los Angeles. The casting director shortlisted 1,000 actors who had applied for each role down to 75. Those who received a callback read again in front of Crane, Kauffman and Bright. At the end of March, the number of potential actors had been reduced to three or four for each part, and were asked to read for Les Moonves, then-president of Warner Bros. Television.

Having worked with David Schwimmer in the past, the series creators wrote the character of Ross with him in mind, and he was the first actor cast. Cox wanted to play the role of Monica, but the producers had her in mind to play Rachel because of her "cheery, upbeat energy", which was not how they envisioned Monica; after Cox's audition, though, Kauffman agreed with Cox, and she got the role. When Matt LeBlanc auditioned for Joey, he put a "different spin" on the character. The writers did not originally intend for Joey to be dim, but found it to be a major source of comedy. LeBlanc also gave the character heart, which the writers did not realize Joey had. Although Crane and Kauffman did not want LeBlanc for the role at the time, they were told by the network to cast him. Jennifer Aniston, Matthew Perry and Lisa Kudrow were cast based on their auditions.

More changes occurred to the series' storylines during the casting process. The writers found that they had to adjust the characters they had written to suit the actors, and the discovery process of the characters occurred throughout the first season. Kauffman acknowledged that Joey's character became "this whole new being", and that "it wasn't until we did the first Thanksgiving episode that we realized how much fun Monica's neuroses are."

Writing

In the weeks after NBC's pick up of Friends, Crane, Kauffman and Bright reviewed sent-in scripts that writers had originally prepared for other series, mainly unproduced Seinfeld episodes. Kauffman and Crane hired a team of seven young writers because "When you're 40, you can't do it anymore. The networks and studios are looking for young people coming in out of college." The creators felt that using six equal characters, rather than emphasizing one or two, would allow for "myriad storylines and give the show legs". The majority of the storyline ideas came from the writers, although the actors added ideas. The writers originally planned a big love story between Joey and Monica, as they intended them to be the most sexual of the characters in the series pitch. The idea of a romantic interest between Ross and Rachel emerged during the period when Kauffman and Crane wrote the pilot script.

During production of the pilot, NBC requested that the script be changed to feature one dominant storyline and several minor ones, but the writers refused, wanting to keep three storylines of equal weight. NBC thought the cast was too young and pushed for an older character who could give the young adults advice. Crane and Kauffman were forced to comply and wrote a draft of an early episode that featured "Pat the Cop". Crane found the storyline to be terrible, and Kauffman joked, "You know the kids book, Pat the Bunny? We had Pat the Cop." NBC eventually relented and dropped the idea.

Each summer, the producers would outline the storylines for the subsequent season. Before an episode went into production, Kauffman and Crane would revise the script written by another writer, mainly if something concerning either the series or a character felt foreign. Unlike other storylines, the idea for a relationship between Joey and Rachel was decided on halfway through the eighth season. The creators did not want Ross and Rachel to get back together so soon, and while looking for a romantic impediment, a writer suggested Joey's romantic interest in Rachel. The storyline was incorporated into the season; however, when the actors feared that the storyline would make their characters unlikable, the storyline was wrapped up, until it again resurfaced in the season's finale. For the ninth season, the writers were unsure about the amount of storyline to give to Rachel's baby, as they wanted the show neither to revolve around a baby nor pretend there to be none. Crane said that it took them a while to accept the idea of a tenth season, which they decided to do because they had enough stories left to tell to justify the season. Kauffman and Crane would not have signed on for an eleventh season, even if all the cast members had wanted to continue.

The episode title format—"The One..."—was created when the producers realized that the episode titles would not be featured in the opening credits, and therefore would be unknown to most of the audience.

Filming

The first season was shot on Stage 5 at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, California. NBC executives had worried that the coffee house setting was too hip and asked for the series to be set in a diner, but eventually consented to the coffee house concept. The opening title sequence was filmed in a fountain at the Warner Bros. Ranch at 4:00 am, while it was particularly cold for a Burbank morning. At the beginning of the second season, production moved to the larger Stage 24, which was renamed "The Friends Stage" after the series finale. Filming for the series began in the summer of 1994 in front of a live audience, who were given a summary of the series to familiarize themselves with the six main characters; a hired comedian entertained the studio audience between takes. Each 22-minute episode took six hours to film—twice the length of most sitcom tapings—mainly due to the several retakes and rewrites of the script.

Although the producers always wanted to find the right stories to take advantage of being on location, Friends was never shot in New York. Bright felt that filming outside the studio made episodes less funny, even when shooting on the lot outside, and that the live audience was an integral part of the series. When the series was criticized for incorrectly depicting New York, with the financially struggling group of friends being able to afford huge apartments, Bright noted that the set had to be big enough for the cameras, lighting, and "for the audience to be able to see what's going on"; the apartments also needed to provide a place for the actors to execute the funny scripts. The fourth season finale was shot on location in London because the producers were aware of the series' popularity in the UK. The scenes were shot in a studio with three audiences each made up of 500 people. These were the show's largest audiences throughout its run. The fifth season finale, set in Las Vegas, was filmed at Warner Bros. Studios, although Bright met people who thought it was filmed on location.

Series finale

The series' creators completed the first draft of the hour-long finale in January 2004, four months before its original airing. Crane, Kauffman and Bright watched the finales of other sitcoms to prepare the episode's outline, paying attention to what worked and what did not. They liked the ones that stayed true to the series, citing the finale of The Mary Tyler Moore Show as the gold standard. Crane, Kauffman, and Bright had difficulty writing the finale, and spent several days thinking about the finale scene without being able to write a word. They did not want to do "something high concept, or take the show out of the show". The most critical parts of the finale were shot without an audience, and with a minimum number of crew members. The main cast enjoyed the finale and were confident that the fans would react similarly:

NBC heavily promoted the series finale, which was preceded by weeks of media hype. Local NBC affiliates organized viewing parties around the U.S., including an event at Universal CityWalk featuring a special broadcast of the finale on an outdoor Astrovision screen. The finale was the subject of two episodes of Dateline NBC, a weekly television newsmagazine, one of which ran for two hours. A one-hour retrospective of clips from previous episodes was shown before to the airing of the episode. Following the finale, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno was filmed on the set of the Friends' Central Perk coffee house, which featured the series' cast as guests. The advertising rates for the finale averaged $2 million for 30 seconds of commercial time, breaking the record held by the Seinfeld finale at $1.7 million.

In the U.S., 52.5 million viewers watched the finale on May 6, 2004, making it the most watched entertainment telecast since the Seinfeld finale in 1998. Although it was not the series' most watched episode, the finale was the fourth most watched series finale in television history, only behind the finales of M*A*S*H, Cheers and Seinfeld, which were respectively watched by 105, 80.4 and 76.2 million viewers. The retrospective episode was watched by fewer than 36 million viewers, and the finale was the second most watched television episode of the year, only behind the Super Bowl. Following the finales of Friends and Frasier, media critics speculated about the fate of the sitcom genre. Expressed opinions varied between a signaling of the end of the sitcom genre, a small decline in the large history of the genre, and a general reduction of scripted television in favor of reality shows.

Impact

Critical reception

Early reviews of the series were mixed. Tom Feran of The Plain Dealer wrote that the series traded "vaguely and less successfully on the hanging-out style of Seinfeld", while Ann Hodges of the Houston Chronicle called it "the new Seinfeld wannabe, but it will never be as funny as Seinfeld." In the Los Angeles Daily News, Ray Richmond named the series as "one of the brighter comedies of the new season", and The Los Angeles Times called it "flat-out the best comedy series of the new season".

Chicago Sun-Times Ginny Holbert found Joey and Rachel's characteristics to be underdeveloped, while Richmond commended the cast as a "likeable, youth ensemble" with "good chemistry" Robert Bianco of USA Today was complimentary of Schwimmer, calling him "terrific". He also praised the female leads, but was concerned that Perry's role as Chandler was "undefined" and that LeBlanc was "relying too much on the same brain-dead stud routine that was already tired the last two times he tried it". The authors of Friends Like Us: The Unofficial Guide to Friends thought that the cast was "trying just a little too hard", in particular Perry and Schwimmer.

As the series progressed, reviews became more positive, and Friends became one of the most popular sitcoms of its time. It is now often ranked among the all-time best TV shows. Critics commended the series as having consistently sharp writing and chemistry between the main actors. Noel Holston of Newsday, who had dismissed the pilot as a "so-so Seinfeld wannabe" in 1994, repudiated his earlier review after rewatching the episode, and felt like writing an apology to the writers. Heather Havrilesky of Salon.com thought that the series "hit its stride" in the second season. Havrilesky found the character-specific jokes and situations "could reliably make you laugh out loud a few times each episode", and the quality of writing allowed the stories to be "original and innovative". Bill Carter of The New York Times called the eighth season a "truly stunning comeback". Carter found that by "generating new hot storylines and high-decibel laughs", the series made its way "back into the hearts of its fans". However, Liane Bonin of Entertainment Weekly felt that the direction of the ninth season was a "disappointing buzzkill", criticizing it for the non-stop celebrity guest spots and going into jump the shark territory. Although disappointed with the season, Bonin noted that "the writing [was] still sharp". Havrilesky thought that the tenth season was "alarmingly awful, far worse than you would ever imagine a show that was once so good could be." Friends was featured on Times list of "The 100 Best TV Shows of All-Time", saying, "the well-hidden secret of this show was that it called itself Friends, and was really about family".

{|class="toccolours" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 95%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:35em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5" |style="text-align: left;"|"It may have been impossible for any one episode to live up to the hype and expectations built up around the Friends finale, but this hour probably came as close as fans could have reasonably hoped. Ultimately, the two-hour package did exactly what it was supposed to do. It wrapped up the story while reminding us why we liked the show and will miss it." |- |style="text-align: left;" |— Robert Bianco of USA Today on the series finale. |}

Reviews of the series finale were mixed to positive. USA Todays Robert Bianco described the finale as entertaining and satisfying, and praised it for deftly mixing emotion and humor while highlighting each of the stars. Sarah Rodman of the Boston Herald praised Aniston and Schwimmer for their acting, but felt that their characters' reunion was "a bit too neat, even if it was what most of the show's legions of fans wanted." Roger Catlin of The Hartford Courant felt that newcomers to the series would be "surprised at how laughless the affair could be, and how nearly every strained gag depends on the sheer stupidity of its characters." Ken Parish Perkins, writing for Fort Worth Star-Telegram, pointed out that the finale was "more touching than comical, more satisfying in terms of closure than knee-slappingly funny."

Awards

To maintain the series' ensemble format, the main cast members decided to enter themselves in the same acting categories for awards. Beginning with the series' eighth season, the actors decided to submit themselves in the lead actor balloting, rather than in the supporting actor fields. The series was nominated for 63 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning six. Aniston and Kudrow are the only main cast members to win an Emmy, while Cox is the only actor not to be nominated. The series won the 2002 Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series, with nominations in 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000 and 2003. The series also won an American Comedy Award, one GLAAD Media Award, one Golden Globe Award, three Logie Awards, six People's Choice Awards, one Satellite Award, and one Screen Actors Guild Award.

Ratings

The table below indicates the ratings of Friends in the U.S., where it consistently ranked within the top ten of the final television ratings. "Rank" refers to how well Friends rated compared to other television series that aired during primetime hours of the corresponding television season. The television season tends to begin in September, and ends during the May of the following year, which coincides with the completion of May sweeps. "Viewers" refers to the average number of viewers for all original episodes, broadcast during the television season in the series' regular timeslot. "Rank" is shown in relation to the total number of series airing on the then-six major English-language networks in a given season. The "season premiere" is the date that the first episode of the season aired, and the "season finale" is the date that the final episode of the season aired. So far, it has been the last sitcom to reach the No. 1 spot on television, as its successors were CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and American Idol.

Season	Timeslot (EDT)	Season Premiere	Season Finale	TV Season	Rank	Viewers(in millions)
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"	Thursday 8:30 pm (September 22, 1994 – February 23, 1995)Thursday 9:30 pm (February 23, 1995 – May 18, 1995)	September 22, 1994	May 18, 1995	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"	Thursday 8:00 pm	September 21, 1995	May 16, 1996	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"		September 19, 1996	May 15, 1997	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"		September 25, 1997	May 7, 1998	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"		September 24, 1998	May 20, 1999	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"		September 23, 1999	May 18, 2000	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"		October 12, 2000	May 17, 2001	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"		September 27, 2001	May 16, 2002	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"		September 26, 2002	May 15, 2003	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"
! style="background:#f9f9f9;text-align:center;"		September 25, 2003	May 6, 2004	style="font-size:11px;text-align:center;"

Cultural impact

Although the producers thought of Friends as "only a TV show", numerous psychologists investigated the cultural impact of Friends during the series' run. Aniston's hairstyle was nicknamed "The Rachel", and copied around the world. Joey's catchphrase, "How you doin'?", became a popular part of Western English slang, often used as a pick-up line or when greeting friends. The series also influenced the English language, according to a study by a linguistics professor at the University of Toronto. The professor found that the characters used the word "so" to modify adjectives more often than other intensifiers, such as "very" and "really". Although the preference had already made its way into the American vernacular, usage on the series may have accelerated the change. Following the September 11 attacks, ratings increased 17% over the previous season.

Friends is parodied in the twelfth season Murder, She Wrote episode "Murder Among Friends". In the episode, amateur sleuth Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury) investigates the murder of a writer for Buds, a fictional television series about the daily lives of a group of city friends. The episode was devised after CBS moved Murder, She Wrote from its regular Sunday night timeslot to a Thursday night timeslot directly opposite Friends on NBC; Angela Lansbury was quoted by Bruce Lansbury, her brother and Murder, She Wrotes supervising producer, as having "a bit of an attitude" about the move to Thursday, but he saw the plot as "a friendly setup, no mean-spiritedness". Jerry Ludwig, the writer of the episode, researched the "flavor" of Buds by watching episodes of Friends.

The Central Perk coffee house, one of the principal settings of the series, has inspired various imitations worldwide. In 2006, Iranian businessman Mojtaba Asadian started a Central Perk franchise, registering the name in 32 countries. The decor of the coffee houses is inspired by Friends, featuring replica couches, counters, neon signage and bricks. The coffee houses also contain paintings of the various characters from the series, and televisions playing Friends episodes. James Michael Tyler, who plays the Central Perk manager in the series, Gunther, attended the grand opening of the Dubai cafe, where he worked as a waiter. Central Perk was rebuilt as part of a museum exhibit at Warner Bros. Studios, and was shown on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in October 2008. Jennifer Aniston revisited the set for the first time since the series finale in 2004. From September 24 to October 7, 2009, a Central Perk replica was based at Broadwick Street, Soho, London. The coffee house sold real coffee to customers and featured a display of Friends memorabilia and props, such as the Geller Cup from the season three episode "The One with the Football". In Beijing, business owner Du Xin opened a coffee shop named Central Perk in March 2010.

Readers of TV Guide voted the cast of Friends their Best Comedy cast of all time, ranking at 29% of the votes, beating Seinfeld, which registered 18%.

Distribution

Broadcast

After the produced pilot lived up to NBC's hopes, the series premiered with the name Friends on September 22, 1994 on the coveted Thursday 8:30 pm timeslot. The pilot aired between Mad About You and Seinfeld, and was watched by almost 22 million American viewers. The series was a huge success throughout its run, and was a staple of NBC's Thursday night line-up, dubbed by the network as Must See TV. When Crane told reporters in 2001 that the ninth season was a possibility, critics believed that he was posturing, and that at least two of the cast members would not sign on for another season. When it was confirmed that Friends would return for a ninth season, the news was mainly about the amount of money—$7 million per episode—that it took to bring the series back for another season.

After year-long expectations that the ninth season would be the series' last, NBC signed a deal in late December 2002 to bring the series back for a final tenth season. The series' creative team did not want to extend negotiations into the next year, and wanted to start writing the rest of the ninth season episodes and a potential series finale. NBC agreed to pay $10 million to Warner Bros. for the production of each tenth season episode, the highest price in television history for a 30-minute series. Although NBC was unable to bring in enough advertising revenue from commercials to cover the costs, the series was integral to the Thursday night schedule, which brought high ratings and profits to the other television series. The cast demanded that the tenth season be reduced from the usual 24 episodes to 18 episodes to allow them to work on outside projects.

In the fall of 2001, Warner Bros. Domestic Cable made a deal with sister network TBS to air the series in rerun syndication. Warner Bros. made similar deals with various TV stations around the country. In July 2005, it was announced that Warner Bros. Domestic Cable has sold Friends to Nick at Nite to begin airing in the fall of 2011. Warner Bros. is expected to make $200 million in license fees and advertising from the deal. Nick at Nite paid $500,000 per episode to air the episodes after 6 pm for six years, through the fall of 2017. TBS also renewed its contract for the same six-year period as Nick at Nite, but only paid $275,000 per episode because airing was restricted to before 6 pm, except for the first year. In syndication until 2005, Friends had earned $4 million per episode in cash license fees, for a total of $944 million.

International

Friends began airing in the UK in 1995 on the terrestrial Channel 4; however, in 1996, Sky1 bought the rights to the series. Although Channel 4 continued to air episodes several weeks after their original airing on Sky1, the series was one of the network's most popular series, averaging 2.6 million viewers per episode – unlike many of its imported series (such as ER, Frasier and NYPD Blue), Channel 4 never moved it from its peaktime slot. In 1999, Channel 4 signed a £100 million deal to regain the rights to Friends and ER from Sky1. The three year deal allowed Channel 4 to air new episodes of the series in the UK first, and to negotiate pay-TV airings with other UK broadcasters. The final episode averaged 8.6 million viewers in overnight figures—more than a third of the UK's television audience at the time—and saw a peak of 8.9 million viewers. This was the highest number of viewers for any episode of Friends, beating the June 2002 episode, which drew 6.5 million viewers. Repeats of the series are shown in the UK on Channel 4 and E4. Channel 4 announced on February 10, 2010, that it is going to stop showing episodes of Friends in Autumn 2011. The British channel Comedy Central (UK) later added that it would be airing the show from Autumn 2011, due to a deal between the cable group and Warner Bros. The Irish channel RTÉ Two was the first channel in Europe to air the finale on May 24, 2004. RTÉ Two continued to air reruns after the series had finished, broadcasting for the series has now ceased, but rival channel TV3 and its digital channel 3e now air the reruns.

Friends debuted on Australian television in 1996 on the Seven Network. The Nine Network began airing the second season at the end of 1996, and continued to show the series until its finale in 2004. Network Ten announced in November 2007 that it had bought the rights to the show in Australia and aired reruns until 2008. It currently airs on GEM (a sub-channel of the Nine Network) and on pay TV channel 111 Hits.

The show is broadcast on TV2 in New Zealand.

The show is broadcast in India on STAR World, WB and Zee Cafe. In 2009, its Pakistani premiere aired on Apna Channel in Punjabi.

In addition to international airings of the original series, there have been original series in other nations compared to Friends because they use the same idea of a small group of young unmarried men and women for whom dating is one shared element in their otherwise different lives. One example is the Israeli series, Srugim, a show that takes its name from the knitted skullcaps often worn by young orthodox men in Israel.

In Serbia the show initially aired on RTV Pink. Beginning in April 2011, reruns have been aired on B92.

Merchandise

All ten seasons have been released on DVD individually and as a box set. Warner Home Video reportedly intended to start releasing the series on Blu-ray in 2010. No other release details are available, and this information must be considered unofficial until there is an announcement from the studio. Each region 1 season release contains special features and footage originally cut from the series, although Region 2 releases are as originally aired. For the first season, each episode is updated with color correction and sound enhancement. A wide range of Friends merchandise has been produced by various companies. In late September 1995, WEA Records released the first album of music from Friends, the Friends Original TV Soundtrack, containing music featured in previous and future episodes. The soundtrack debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 46, and sold 500,000 copies in November 1995. In 1999, a second soundtrack album entitled Friends Again was released. Other merchandise include a Friends version of the DVD game "Scene It?", and a quiz video game for PlayStation 2 and PC entitled Friends: The One with All the Trivia. On September 28, 2009 a box set was released in the UK celebrating the series' 15th anniversary. The box set contained extended episodes, an episode guide, and original special features.

April 30, 2002 style="text-align:center;" style="text-align:center;" style="text-align:center;" style="text-align:center;" style="text-align:center;" style="text-align:center;" style="text-align:center;" style="text-align:center;" style="text-align:center;"

rowspan="2"	DVD name !! rowspan="2"|Episodes !! colspan="3"|Box set release dates
! Region 1 !! Region 2 !! Region 4
The Complete First Season	24	|	May 29, 2000	October 4, 2006
The Complete Second Season	24 ||	September 3, 2002	May 29, 2000	October 4, 2006
The Complete Third Season	25 ||	April 1, 2003	May 29, 2000	October 4, 2006
The Complete Fourth Season	24 ||	July 15, 2003	May 29, 2000	October 4, 2006
The Complete Fifth Season	24 ||	November 4, 2003	May 29, 2000	October 4, 2006
The Complete Sixth Season	25 ||	January 27, 2004	July 17, 2000	October 4, 2006
The Complete Seventh Season	24 ||	April 6, 2004	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006
The Complete Eighth Season	24 ||	November 9, 2004	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006
The Complete Ninth Season	24 ||	March 8, 2005	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006
The Complete Tenth Season	18 ||	November 15, 2005	October 25, 2004	October 4, 2006

Spin-offs

Joey

After the series finale in 2004, LeBlanc signed on for the spin-off series, Joey, following Joey's move to Los Angeles to pursue his acting career. Kauffman and Crane were not interested in the spin-off, although Bright agreed to executive produce the series with Scott Silveri and Shana Goldberg-Meehan. NBC heavily promoted Joey and gave it Friends' Thursday 8:00 pm timeslot. The pilot was watched by 18.60 million American viewers, but ratings continually decreased throughout the series' two seasons, averaging 10.20 million viewers in the first season and 7.10 million in the second. The final broadcast episode on March 7, 2006 was watched by 7.09 million viewers; NBC canceled the series on May 15, 2006 after two seasons. Bright blamed the collaboration between NBC executives, the studio and other producers for quickly ruining the series:

Film

Following the series finale, rumors began to emerge of a Friends film, although all were proven untrue. Rumors of a film reemerged after the release of the Sex and the City film in 2008, which proved to be a success at the box office. The Daily Telegraph reported in July 2008 that the main cast members had agreed to star in the project, and that filming was going to start within the next 18 months. When asked about the film, Kudrow said that she was unaware of the talks, but expressed interest in the idea. However, the director of publicity for Warner Bros., Jayne Trotman, said there was "no truth in the story", and Perry's spokeswoman added that "nothing is happening in this regard, so the rumor is false." Kudrow and Cox told the Associated Press in January 2010 that they had never been approached by Crane and Kauffman to make a film version of the series.

References

External links

Category:1994 American television series debuts Category:2004 American television series endings Category:1990s American comedy television series Category:2000s American comedy television series Category:American television sitcoms Category:BAFTA winners (television series) Category:English-language television series Category:NBC network shows Category:Nielsen Ratings winners Category:Television series by Warner Bros. Television Category:Television shows set in New York City

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name	James Taylor
background	solo_singer
birth name	James Vernon Taylor
born	March 12, 1948Lenox, Massachusetts, U.S.
origin	Chapel Hill, North Carolina
instrument	Vocals, guitar, harmonica
genre	Folk rock, rock, pop, country
occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician
years active	1968–present
label	Apple/Capitol/EMIWarner Bros.Columbia/SME RecordsHear Music
associated acts	Carole King, Carly Simon
website
notable instruments	}}

James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A five-time Grammy Award winner, Taylor was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.

Taylor achieved his major breakthrough in 1970 with the #3 single "Fire and Rain" and had his first #1 hit the following year with "You've Got a Friend", a recording of Carole King's classic song. His 1976 Greatest Hits album was certified Diamond and has sold 12 million US copies. Following his 1977 album, JT, he has retained a large audience over the decades. His commercial achievements declined slightly until a big resurgence during the late 1990s and 2000s, when some of his best-selling and most-awarded albums (including Hourglass, October Road and Covers) were released.

Biography

Early years

James Taylor was born at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts, on March 12, 1948, where his father, Isaac M. Taylor, was a resident physician. His father was from a well-off family of Southern Scottish ancestry. His mother, the former Gertrude Woodard, had studied singing with Marie Sundelius at the New England Conservatory of Music and was an aspiring opera singer before the couple's marriage in 1946. James was the second of five children, the others being Alex (born 1947), Kate (born 1949), Livingston (born 1950), and Hugh (born 1952).

In 1951, when James was three years old, the family moved to what was then the countryside of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, when Isaac took a job as Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. They built a house in the Morgan Creek area off of what is now Morgan Creek Road, which was sparsely populated. James would later say, "Chapel Hill, the Piedmont, the outlying hills, were tranquil, rural, beautiful, but quiet. Thinking of the red soil, the seasons, the way things smelled down there, I feel as though my experience of coming of age there was more a matter of landscape and climate than people." James attended public primary school in Chapel Hill. Isaac's career prospered, but he was frequently away from home, either on military service at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland or as part of Operation Deep Freeze in Antarctica during 1955–1956. Isaac Taylor later rose to become Dean of the UNC School of Medicine from 1964 to 1971. The family spent summers on Martha's Vineyard beginning in 1953.

Taylor first learned to play the cello as a child in North Carolina, and switched to the guitar in 1960. His style on that instrument evolved from listening to hymns, carols, and Woody Guthrie, while his technique derived from his bass clef-oriented cello training and from experimenting on his sister Kate's keyboards: "My style was a finger-picking style that was meant to be like a piano, as if my thumb were my left hand, and my first, second, and third fingers were my right hand." He began attending Milton Academy, a prep boarding school in Massachusetts in Fall 1961; summering before then with his family on Martha's Vineyard, he met Danny Kortchmar, an aspiring teenage guitarist from Larchmont, New York. The two began listening to and playing blues and folk music together, and Kortchmar quickly realized that Taylor's singing had a "natural sense of phrasing, every syllable beautifully in time. I knew James had that thing." Taylor wrote his first song on guitar at age 14, and continued to learn the instrument effortlessly. By the summer of 1963, he and Kortchmar were playing coffeehouses around the Vineyard, billed as "Jamie & Kootch".

Taylor faltered during his junior year at Milton, not feeling at ease in the high-pressured college prep environment despite having good scholastic performance. The Milton principal would later say, "James was more sensitive and less goal oriented than most students of his day." He returned home to North Carolina to finish out the semester at Chapel Hill High School. There he joined a band his brother Alex had formed called The Corsayers (later The Fabulous Corsairs), playing electric guitar; in 1964 they cut a single in Raleigh that featured James's song "Cha Cha Blues" on the B-side. Having lost touch with his former school friends in North Carolina, Taylor returned to Milton for his senior year.

There, Taylor started applying to colleges, but soon descended into depression; his grades collapsed, he slept twenty hours a day, and he felt part of a "life that I [was] unable to lead." In late 1965 he committed himself to the renowned McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts, where he was treated with Thorazine and where the organized days began to give him a sense of time and structure. As the Vietnam War built up, Taylor received a psychological rejection from Selective Service System when he appeared before them with two white-suited McLean assistants and was uncommunicative. Taylor earned a high school diploma in 1966 from the hospital's associated Arlington School. He would later view his nine-month stay at McLean as "a lifesaver ... like a pardon or like a reprieve," and both his brother Livingston and sister Kate would later be patients and students there as well. As for his mental health struggles, Taylor would think of them as innate, and say: "It's an inseparable part of my personality that I have these feelings."

1966–1969: Early career

Taylor checked himself out of McLean and, at Kortchmar's urging, moved to New York City to form a band. They recruited Joel O'Brien, formerly of Kortchmar's old band The King Bees, to play drums, and Taylor's childhood friend Zachary Wiesner (son of noted academic Jerome Wiesner) to play bass, and – after Taylor rejected the notion of naming the group after him – called themselves The Flying Machine. They played songs that Taylor had written at and about McLean, such as "Knocking 'Round the Zoo", "Don't Talk Now", and "The Blues Is Just a Bad Dream". In some other songs, Taylor romanticized his life, although he was plagued by self-doubt. By summer 1966 they were performing regularly at the high-visibility Night Owl Cafe in Greenwich Village alongside acts such as The Turtles and Lothar and the Hand People.

Taylor associated with a motley collection of people and began using heroin, to Kortchmar's dismay, and wrote the "Paint It, Black"-influenced "Rainy Day Man" to depict his drug experience. In a hasty recording session in late 1966, the group cut a single, Taylor's "Brighten Your Night with My Day" backed with his "Night Owl". Released on Jay Gee Records, a subsidiary of Jubilee Records, it received some radio airplay in the Northeast, but only charted to #102 nationally. Other songs had been recorded during the same session, but Jubilee declined to go forward with an album. After a series of poorly-chosen appearances outside New York, culminating with a three-week stay at a failing nightspot in Freeport, Bahamas for which they were never paid, The Flying Machine broke up. (A UK band with the same name emerged in 1969 with the hit song "Smile a Little Smile for Me". The New York band's recordings were later released in 1971 as James Taylor and the Original Flying Machine.)

Taylor would later say of this New York period, "I learned a lot about music and too much about drugs." Indeed, his drug use had developed into full-blown heroin addiction during the final Flying Machine period: "I just fell into it, since it was as easy to get high in the Village as get a drink." He hung out in Washington Square Park, playing guitar to ward off depression and then passing out, letting runaways and criminals stay at his apartment. Finally out of money and abandoned by his manager, he made a desperate call one night to his father. Isaac Taylor flew to New York and staged a rescue, renting a car and driving all night back to North Carolina with James and his possessions. Taylor spent six months getting treatment and making a tentative recovery; he also required a throat operation to fix vocal cords damaged from singing too harshly.

Taylor decided to try being a solo act and a change of scenery. In late 1967, funded by a small family inheritance, he moved to London, living variously in Notting Hill, Belgravia, and Chelsea. He recorded some demos in Soho and, capitalizing on Kortchmar's connection to The King Bees (who once once opened for Peter and Gordon), brought the demos to Peter Asher, who was A&R; head for The Beatles' newly-formed label Apple Records. Asher showed the demos to Paul McCartney, who later said, "I just heard his voice and his guitar and I thought he was great ... and he came and played live, so it was just like, 'Wow, he's great." Taylor became the first non-British act signed to Apple. Living chaotically in various places with various women, Taylor wrote additional material, including "Carolina in My Mind", and rehearsed with a new backing band. Taylor recorded the album from July to October 1968 at Trident Studios, at the same time The Beatles were recording The White Album. McCartney and an uncredited George Harrison guested on "Carolina in My Mind", whose lyric holy host of others standing around me made reference to the Beatles, while the title phrase of Taylor's "Something in the Way She Moves" provided the lyrical starting point for Harrison's classic "Something". McCartney and Asher brought in arranger Richard Hewson to add orchestrations to several of the songs and unusual "link" passages in between them; these would receive a mixed reception at best.

During the recording sessions, Taylor fell back into his drug habit, using heroin and methedrine. He underwent physeptone treatment in a British program, returned to New York and was hospitalized there, and then finally committed himself to the Austen Riggs Center in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, which emphasized cultural and historical factors in trying to treat difficult psychiatric disorders. Meanwhile, Apple released his debut album, James Taylor, in December 1968 in the UK and February 1969 in the U.S. Critical reaction was generally good, including a very positive Jon Landau review in Rolling Stone which said "this album is the coolest breath of fresh air I've inhaled in a good long while. It knocks me out." The record's commercial potential suffered from Taylor's inability to promote it due to his hospitalization and it sold poorly; "Carolina in My Mind" was released as a single, but failed to chart in the UK and only made #118 in the U.S.

Apple Corps itself had fallen into chaos, with anarchic business planning and freeloaders taking advantage of it in every direction. In early 1969, to clean up the situation, three of the Beatles brought in Allen Klein, who began purging Apple personnel. Asher did not like Klein; he resigned of his own accord and offered to manage Taylor, to which Taylor agreed. Klein wanted to hit Taylor with a $5 million lawsuit for leaving, but McCartney (a Klein antagonist) and then the other Beatles, overruled him on the grounds that artists should not be holding each other to contracts.

In July 1969 Taylor had a six-night stand at The Troubadour in Los Angeles. On July 20 he performed at the Newport Folk Festival as the last act, and was cheered by thousands of fans who stayed in the rain to hear him. Shortly thereafter, he broke both hands and both feet in a motorcycle accident on Martha's Vineyard and was forced to stop playing for several months. But while recovering, he continued to write songs and in October 1969, signed a new deal with Warner Bros. Records.

1970–1973: Breakthrough

Once recovered, Taylor moved to California, keeping Asher as his manager and record producer. In December 1969, he held the recording sessions for his second album there. Entitled Sweet Baby James, and with the participation of Carole King, the album was released in February 1970 and was Taylor's critical and popular triumph, buoyed by the single "Fire and Rain", a song about Taylor's experience in psychiatric institutions and the suicide of his friend, Suzanne Schnerr. Both the album and the single reached #3 in the Billboard charts, with Sweet Baby James selling more than 1½ million copies in its first year and eventually more than 3 million in the United States alone. Sweet Baby James was received at its time as a folk-rock masterpiece, an album that effectively showcased Taylor's talents to the mainstream public, marked the direction he would take in following years, and made Taylor one of the main forces of the nascent movement. It earned several Grammy Award nominations including one for Album of the Year. (It would be listed at #103 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003, with "Fire and Rain" listed as #227 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time the year after.)

During the time Sweet Baby James was released, Taylor appeared with Dennis Wilson of The Beach Boys in a Monte Hellman film, Two-Lane Blacktop. In October 1970, he performed with Joni Mitchell, Phil Ochs, and the Canadian band Chilliwack at a Vancouver benefit concert that funded Greenpeace's protests of 1971 nuclear weapons tests by the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission at Amchitka, Alaska. (This performance would be released in 2009 on the album Amchitka, The 1970 Concert That Launched Greenpeace.) In January 1971, sessions for Taylor's next album began.

His career success so far, and appeal to female fans of various ages, piqued tremendous interest in Taylor, prompting a March 1, 1971, Time magazine cover story. It compared his strong-but-brooding persona to that of Wuthering Heightss Heathcliff and to The Sorrows of Young Werther, and said that, "Taylor's use of elemental imagery—darkness and sunlight, references to roads traveled and untraveled. to fears spoken and left unsaid—reaches a level both of intimacy and controlled emotion rarely achieved in purely pop music." Released in April, Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon also gained massive critical acclaim and contained Taylor's biggest hit single in the U.S., a version of the Carole King standard "You've Got a Friend" (featuring backing vocals by Joni Mitchell), which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in late July. The album itself reached #2 in the album charts, which would be Taylor's highest position ever on this list. In early 1972, Taylor received his first Grammy Award, for (Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male) for "You've Got a Friend" (King also won Song of the Year for the same song in that ceremony). The album went on to sell 2½ million copies in the United States alone.

November 1972 saw the release of Taylor's fourth album, One Man Dog. A concept album primarily recorded in his home recording studio, it featured cameos by Linda Ronstadt and consisted of eighteen short pieces of music put together. It was received with generally lukewarm reviews and, despite making the Top 10 of the Billboard Album Charts, overall sales were disappointing. The lead single "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight" peaked at #18 on the Hot 100, and the follow-up, "One Man Parade", barely reached the Top 75. Almost simultaneously, Taylor married fellow singer-songwriter Carly Simon on November 3, in a small ceremony at her Murray Hill, Manhattan apartment. A post-concert party following a Taylor performance at Radio City Music Hall turned into a large-scale wedding party, and the Simon-Taylor marriage would find much public attention over the following years. They had two children, Sarah Maria "Sally" Taylor, born January 7, 1974, and Benjamin Simon "Ben" Taylor, born January 22, 1977.

1974–1976: Career ups and downs

Taylor spent most of 1973 enjoying his new life as a married man, and he did not return to the recording studio until January 1974, when sessions for his fifth album began. Walking Man was released in June and featured appearances of Paul and Linda McCartney and guitarist David Spinozza. The album was a critical and commercial disaster, being his first album to miss the Top 5 since his contract with Warner. It received poor reviews and sold a mere 300,000 copies in the United States. The title track was a huge disappointment, and failed to even appear on the Top 100 – nevertheless, it stands today as an often reprised fan favorite in concerts.

However, James Taylor's artistic fortunes spiked again in 1975 when the Gold album Gorilla reached #6 and provided one of his biggest hit singles, a cover version of Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)", which featured wife Carly in backing vocals and reached #5 in America and #1 in Canada. On the Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart, the track also reached the top, and the follow-up single, the feel-good "Mexico" also reached the Top 5 of that list. A critically very-well received album, Gorilla showcased Taylor's electric, lighter side that was evident on Walking Man. However, it was arguably a more consistent and fresher-sounding Taylor, with classics such as "Wandering" and "Angry Blues." It also featured a song about his daughter Sally, "Sarah Maria".

Gorilla was followed in 1976 by In the Pocket, Taylor's last studio album to be released under Warner Bros. Records. The album found him with many colleagues and friends, including Art Garfunkel, David Crosby, Bonnie Raitt and Stevie Wonder (who co-wrote a song with Taylor and contributed a harmonica solo). A very melodic album, it was highlighted with the single "Shower the People", an enduring classic that hit #1 Adult Contemporary and almost hit the Top 20 of the Pop Charts. But the album was not very well-received, reaching only #16 and being highly criticized, particularly by Rolling Stone. Nevertheless 1976 was a huge boom year in the recording business — the year of inception of the "Platinum" disc — and In The Pocket was certified Gold.

With the close of Taylor's contract with Warner, in November the label released Greatest Hits, the album that comprised most of his best work between 1970 and 1976. It became with time his best-selling album, ever. It was certified eleven times Platinum in the US, earning a Diamond certification by the RIAA and eventually selling close to twenty million copies worldwide. It still stands as the best-selling folk album by any artist.

1977–1981: Move to Columbia and maintained success

In 1977 Taylor signed with Columbia Records. Between March and April, he quickly recorded his first album for the label. JT, released that June, gave Taylor his best reviews since Sweet Baby James, earning a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year in 1978. Rolling Stone was particularly favorable to the album – "JT is the least stiff and by far the most various album Taylor has done. That's not meant to criticize Taylor's earlier efforts [...]. But it's nice to hear him sounding so healthy." JT reached #4 in the Billboard charts, selling more than 3 million copies in the United States alone. The album's Triple Platinum status ties it with Sweet Baby James as Taylor's all-time biggest selling studio album. It was propelled by the highly successful cover of Jimmy Jones and Otis Blackwell's "Handy Man", which hit #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and reached #4 on the Hot 100, earning Taylor another Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for his cover version. The song also topped the Canadian charts. The success of the album propelled the release of two further singles – the up-tempo pop "Your Smiling Face" (an enduring live favorite) reached the American Top 20; however, "Honey Don't Leave L.A.," penned by Danny Kortchmar did not enjoy much success, barely reaching the Top 75.

Back in the forefront of popular music, Taylor collaborated with Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel in the recording of a cover of Sam Cooke's "Wonderful World", which reached the Top 20 in the U.S. and topped the AC charts in early 1978. After briefly working on Broadway, he took a one-year break, reappearing in the summer of 1979 with the cover-studded Platinum album Flag, featuring a Top 30 version of Gerry Goffin and Carole King's "Up on the Roof". (Two selections from Flag, "Millworker" and "Brother Trucker," were featured on the PBS production of the Broadway musical based on Studs Terkel's non-fiction book Working, and James himself appeared in that production as a trucker; he performed "Brother Trucker" in character.) Taylor also appeared on the No Nukes concert in Madison Square Garden, where he made a memorable live performance of "Mockingbird" with his wife Carly. The concert appeared on both the No Nukes album and film.

On December 7, 1980 Taylor had an encounter with Mark David Chapman who would assassinate John Lennon. Taylor told the BBC in 2010 "The guy had sort of pinned me to the wall and was glistening with maniacal sweat and talking some freak speak about what he was going to do and his stuff with how John was interested, and he was going to get in touch with John Lennon. And it was surreal to actually have contact with the guy 24 hours before he shot John." The next night Taylor, who lived in the next building from Lennon, heard the assassination occur. Taylor commented "I heard him shot — five, just as quick as you could pull the trigger, about five explosions".

In March 1981, James Taylor released the album Dad Loves His Work, whose themes concerned his relationship with his father, the course his ancestors had taken, and the effect he and Simon had had on each other. The album was another Platinum success, reaching #10 and providing Taylor's final real hit single in a duet with J. D. Souther, "Her Town Too," which reached #5 Adult Contemporary and #11 on the Hot 100 in Billboard. The album's title was, in part, drawn from the reasons for Taylor's divorce from Carly Simon. She gave him an ultimatum: cut back on his music and touring, and spend more time with her and their children, or the marriage was through. The album's title was Taylor's answer, and Simon asked for divorce. (The emotional repercussions of the divorce likely served as at least part of the inspiration for "Her Town Too.")

1981–1996: Troubled times and new beginnings

Simon announced her separation from Taylor in September 1981 – saying "Our needs are different; it seem[s] impossible to stay together" – and their divorce became final in 1983. Taylor was living on West End Avenue in Manhattan and on a methadone maintenance program. Over the course of four months starting in September 1983, spurred on in part by the deaths of his friends John Belushi and Dennis Wilson and in part by the desire to be a better father to his children, he dropped methadone and finally kicked his habit for good.

Taylor had thoughts of retiring by the time he played the massive Rock in Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro in January 1985. He was encouraged by the nascent democracy in Brazil at the time, buoyed by the positive reception he got from the large crowd and other musicians, and musically energized by the sounds and nature of Brazilian music. "I had... sort of bottomed-out in a drug habit, my marriage with Carly had dissolved, and I had basically been depressed and lost for a while, " he recalled in 1995. "I sort of hit a low spot. I was asked to go down to Rio de Janeiro to play in this festival down there. We put the band together and went down and it was just an amazing response. I played to 300,000 people. They not only knew my music, they knew things about it and were interested in aspects of it that to that point had only interested me. To have that kind of validation right about then was really what I needed. It helped get me back on track." The song "Only a Dream in Rio" was written in tribute to that night, with lines like I was there that very day and my heart came back alive. The October 1985 album, That's Why I'm Here, from which that song came, started a series of studio recordings that, while spaced further apart than his previous records, showed a more consistent level of quality and fewer covers, most notably the Buddy Holly song "Everyday", released as a single reached #61.

On December 14, 1985, Taylor married actress Kathryn Walker at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. Taylor's next albums were partially successful – in 1988, he released Never Die Young, highlighted with the charting title track, and in 1991, the platinum New Moon Shine provided Taylor some popular songs with the melancholic "Copperline" and the upbeat "(I've Got to) Stop Thinkin' About That", both hit singles in the AC radio. During the late 1980s, he began touring regularly, especially on the summer amphitheater circuit. His later concerts feature songs from throughout his career and are marked by the musicianship of his band and backup singers. The 1993 two-disc Live album captures this, with a highlight being Arnold McCuller's descants in the codas of "Shower the People" and "I Will Follow." In 1995, Taylor performed the role of the Lord in Randy Newman's Faust.

1997–2003: Successful comeback

After six years since his last studio album, Taylor released Hourglass, an introspective album that gave him the best critical reviews in almost twenty years. The album had much of its focus on Taylor's troubled past and family. "Jump Up Behind Me" paid tribute to his father's rescue of him after The Flying Machine days, and the long drive from New York City back to his home in Chapel Hill. "Enough To Be On Your Way" was inspired by the alcoholism-related death of his brother Alex earlier in the decade. The themes were also inspired by Taylor and Walker's divorce, which took place in 1996. Rolling Stone found that "one of the themes of this record is disbelief", while Taylor told the magazine that it was "spirituals for agnostics." Critics embraced the dark themes on the album, and Hourglass was a huge commercial success, reaching #9 on the Billboard 200 (Taylor's first Top 10 album in sixteen years) and also provided a big adult contemporary hit on "Little More Time With You". The album also gave Taylor his first Grammy since JT, when he was honored with Best Pop Album in 1998.

On February 18, 2001 at the Emmanuel Episcopal Church, Boston, Taylor wed for the third time, marrying Caroline ("Kim") Smedvig, the director of public relations and marketing for the Boston Symphony Orchestra. They had begun dating in 1995, when they met as he appeared with John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra. Part of their relationship was worked into the album October Road, on the song "On the 4th of July." The couple reside in the town of Washington, Massachusetts with their twin boys, Rufus and Henry, born in April 2001 to a surrogate mother via in vitro fertilization.

Flanked by two greatest hit releases, Taylor's Platinum-certified October Road appeared in 2002 to a receptive audience. It featured a number of quiet instrumental accompaniments and passages. Overall, it found Taylor in a more peaceful frame of mind; rather than facing a crisis now, Taylor said in an interview that "I thought I'd passed the midpoint of my life when I was 17." The album appeared in two versions, a single-disc version and a "limited edition" two-disc version which contained three extra songs including a duet with Mark Knopfler, "Sailing to Philadelphia," which also appeared on Knopfler's Sailing to Philadelphia album. Also in 2002, Taylor teamed with bluegrass musician Alison Krauss in singing "The Boxer" at the Kennedy Center Honors Tribute to Paul Simon. They later recorded the Louvin Brothers duet, "How's the World Treating You?" In 2004, after he chose not to renew his record contract with Columbia/Sony, he released James Taylor: A Christmas Album with distribution through Hallmark Cards.

Current events

Always visibly active in environmental and liberal causes, in October 2004 Taylor joined the "Vote for Change" tour playing a series of concerts in American swing states. These concerts were organized by MoveOn.org with the goal of mobilizing people to vote for John Kerry and against George W. Bush in that year's Presidential campaign. Taylor's appearances were joint performances with the Dixie Chicks.

Taylor performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Game 2 of the World Series in Boston on October 24, 2004. In December, he appeared as himself in an episode of The West Wing entitled "A Change Is Gonna Come". He sang Sam Cooke's classic "A Change Is Gonna Come" at an event honoring an artist played by Taylor's wife Caroline. Later on, he appeared on CMT's Crossroads alongside the Dixie Chicks. In early 2006, MusiCares honored Taylor with performances of his songs by an array of notable musicians. Before a performance by the Dixie Chicks, lead singer Natalie Maines acknowledged that he had always been one of their musical heroes, and had for them lived up to their once-imagined reputation of him. They performed his song, "Shower the People", with a surprise appearance by Arnold McCuller, who has sung backing vocals on Taylor's live tours for many years.

In the fall of 2006, Taylor released a repackaged and slightly different version of his Hallmark Christmas album, now entitled James Taylor at Christmas, and distributed by Columbia/Sony. In 2006, Taylor performed Randy Newman's song "Our Town" for the Disney animated film Cars. The song was nominated for the 2007 Academy Award for the best Original Song. On January 1, 2007, Taylor headlined the inaugural concert at the Times Union Center in Albany, New York, honoring newly sworn in Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer.

Taylor's next album, One Man Band was released on CD and DVD in November 2007 on Starbucks' Hear Music Label, where he joined with Paul McCartney and Joni Mitchell. The introspective album grew out of a three-year tour of the United States and Europe—featuring some of Taylor's most beloved songs and anecdotes about their creative origins—accompanied solely by the "one man band" of his longtime pianist/keyboardist, Larry Goldings. The digital discrete 5.1 surround sound mix of One Man Band won a TEC Award for best surround sound recording in 2008.

November 28–30, 2007, Taylor, accompanied by his original band and Carole King, headlined a series of six shows at The Troubadour. The appearances marked the 50th anniversary of the venue, where Taylor, King and many others, such as Tom Waits, Neil Diamond, and Elton John, began their music careers. Proceeds from the concert went to benefit the Natural Resources Defense Council, MusiCares, Alliance for the Wild Rockies, and the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank, a member of America's Second Harvest — The Nation's Food Bank Network. Parts of the performance shown on CBS Sunday Morning in the December 23, 2007, broadcast showed Taylor alluding to his early drug problems by saying, "I played here a number of times in the 70s, allegedly..." Taylor has used versions of this joke on other occasions, and it appears as part of his One Man Band DVD and tour performances.

In December 2007 James Taylor at Christmas was nominated for a Grammy Award. In January 2008 Taylor recorded approximately 20 songs by others for a new album with a band including Luis Conte, Michael Landau, Lou Marini, Arnold McCuller, Jimmy Johnson, David Lasley, Walt Fowler, Andrea Zonn, Kate Markowitz, Steve Gadd and Larry Goldings. The resulting live-in-studio album, named Covers, was released in September 2008. This album forays into country and soul while being the latest proof that Taylor is a more versatile singer than his best known hits might suggest. The Covers sessions stretched to include "Oh What a Beautiful Morning," from the musical Oklahoma - a song that his grandmother had caught him singing over and over at the top of his lungs when he was seven years old. Meanwhile, in summer 2008, Taylor and this band toured 34 North American cities with a tour entitled James Taylor and His Band of Legends. A additional album, called Other Covers, came out in April 2009, containing songs that were recorded during the same sessions as the original Covers but had not been put out to the full public yet.

During October 19–21, 2008, Taylor performed a series of free concerts in five North Carolina cities in support of Barack Obama's presidential bid. On Sunday, January 18, 2009, he performed at the We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial, singing "Shower the People" with John Legend and Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland.

Taylor performed on the final The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on May 29, 2009, distinguishing himself further as the final musician to appear in Leno's original 17-year run.

On September 8, 2009 Taylor made an appearance at the twenty-fourth season premiere block party of The Oprah Winfrey Show on Chicago's Michigan Avenue.

On January 1, 2010, Taylor sang the American national anthem at the NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park, while Daniel Powter sang the Canadian national anthem.

On March 7, 2010, Taylor sang The Beatles' "In My Life" in tribute to deceased artists at the 82nd Academy Awards.

In March 2010 he commenced the Troubadour Reunion Tour with Carole King and members of his original band, including Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar, and Danny Kortchmar. They played shows in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and North America, with the final night being at the Honda Center, in Anaheim, CA. The tour was a major commercial success, and in some locations found Taylor playing arenas instead of his usual theaters or amphitheaters. Ticket sales amounted to over 700,000 and the tour grossed over 59 million dollars. It was one of the most successful tours of the year.

Taylor owns a house in the Berkshire County town of Washington, Massachusetts.

Musicians in the family

Taylor's four siblings—Alex, Livingston, Hugh, and Kate—have also been musicians with recorded albums. Livingston is still an active musician; Kate was active in the 1970s but did not record another album until 2003; Hugh operates a bed-and-breakfast with his wife, The Outermost Inn in Aquinnah on Martha's Vineyard; and Alex died in 1993. Taylor's children with Carly Simon—Ben and Sally—have also embarked on musical careers.

Awards and recognition

Grammy Awards

1971 — Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, "You've Got a Friend"

1977 — Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, "Handy Man"

1998 — Best Pop Album, Hourglass

2001 — Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight"

2003 — Best Country Collaboration With Vocals, "How's the World Treating You" with Alison Krauss

2006 — Grammy Award-sponsored MusiCares Person of the Year. At a black tie ceremony held in Los Angeles, musicians from several eras paid tribute to Taylor by performing his songs, often prefacing them with remarks on his influence on their decisions to become musicians. These artists included Carole King, Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Taj Mahal, Dr. John, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, David Crosby, Sheryl Crow, India.Arie, the Dixie Chicks, Jerry Douglas, Alison Krauss, and Keith Urban. Paul Simon performed as well, although he was not included in the televised program; Taylor's brother Livingston appeared on stage as a "backup singer" for the finale, along with Taylor's twin boys, Rufus and Henry.

In 2010 James Taylor was inducted into the Hit Parade Hall of Fame.

Other recognition

1995 — Honorary doctorate of music from the Berklee College of Music, Boston, 1995.

2000 — Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2000.

2000 — Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, 2000.

2003 — The Chapel Hill Museum in Chapel Hill, North Carolina opened a permanent exhibit dedicated to Taylor. At the same occasion the US-15-501 highway bridge over Morgan Creek, near the site of the Taylor family home and mentioned in Taylor's song "Copperline", was named in honor of Taylor.

2004 — George and Ira Gershwin Award for Lifetime Musical Achievement, UCLA Spring Sing. 2004 — Ranked 84th in Rolling Stone's list of "The Immortals: 100 Greatest Artists of All Time."

2009 — Honorary Doctorate of Music from Williams College, Williamstown, Massachusetts.

Discography

;U.S. Billboard Top 10 Albums

1970 – Sweet Baby James (#3)

1971 – Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon (#2)

1972 – One Man Dog (#4)

1974 - Walking Man

1975 – Gorilla (#6)

1976 - In The Pocket

1977 – JT (#4)

1979 – Flag (#10)

1981 – Dad Loves His Work (#10)

1997 – Hourglass (#9)

2002 – October Road (#4)

2008 – Covers (#4)

2010 – Live at the Troubadour (with Carole King) (#4)

;U.S. Billboard Top 10 'Pop' Singles

1970 – "Fire and Rain" (#3)

1971 – "You've Got a Friend" (#1)

1974 – "Mockingbird" (with Carly Simon) (#5)

1975 – "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)" (#5)

1977 – "Handy Man" (#4)

Other appearances

He provided acoustic guitar accompaniment for several tracks on Joni Mitchell's 1971 album Blue.

He provided a guest voice to The Simpsons episode "Deep Space Homer" where he played some of his songs to Homer, Buzz Aldrin, and Race Bannon when they were in space. He also appeared later on in the series when the family put together a jigsaw puzzle. His face was the missing final piece.

Performed "Second Star to the Right" on Stay Awake: Various Interpretations of Music from Vintage Disney Films in 1988 as one of Various Artists.

Taylor performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Game 2 of the World Series in Boston on October 25, 2007, at Game 1 of the 2008 NBA Finals in Boston on June 5, 2008, and at the NHL's Winter Classic game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins, the first hockey game ever held at Boston's Fenway Park.

He appeared on Sesame Street performing the song "Your Smiling Face" although the song was sung "Your Grouchy Face" as he sang it to Oscar the Grouch. He also appeared on the Sesame Street video compilation Silly Songs, and the album In Harmony: A Sesame Street Record, performing the song "Jellyman Kelly".

Has appeared on NBC's Saturday Night Live six times as a musical guest: in 1976 performing "Shower the People," "Roadrunner" (with David Sanborn), and "Sweet Baby James" (host: Lily Tomlin); in 1979 performing "Johnnie Comes Back," "Up on the Roof," and "Millworker" (host: Michael Palin); in 1980 performing with Paul Simon "Cathy's Clown / Take Me to the Mardi Gras" (host: Paul Simon); in 1988 performing "Never Die Young," "Sweet Potato Pie," and "Lonesome Road" (host: Robin Williams); in 1991 performing "Stop Thinkin' About That," "Shed A Little Light," and "Sweet Baby James" (Host: Steve Martin); and in 1993 performing "Memphis," "Slap Leather," and "Secret of Life" (host: Rosie O'Donnell).

He provided background vocals for "Back In The High Life Again" by Steve Winwood in 1986.

He performed at a benefit concert supporting John B. Anderson's U.S. presidential campaign at Charleston, West Virginia in 1980.

He provided background vocals for "Perfect Love" by Marc Cohn.

He appeared on The West Wing where he played Sam Cooke's A Change is Gonna Come.

He appeared on the The Johnny Cash Show, singing "Sweet Baby James", "Fire and Rain", and "Country Road", on February 17, 1971.

His song "Fire and Rain" was in the movie Remember the Titans and the movie " Running on Empty" in 1988 .

He provided vocals for the song "First Me, Second Me" by the Italian band Elio e le Storie Tese

Along with Linda Ronstadt, he did backup vocals for two hit singles on Neil Young's Harvest: "Old Man" and "Heart of Gold". Twenty years later, the two would reunite with Young on his Harvest Moon album, singing backup on "From Hank to Hendrix," "War of Man," and the title track.

He made his debut for his 24th album Other Covers on The Oprah Winfrey Show on April 10, 2009.

He appeared on the final of Star Académie, the Quebec version of American Idol, on April 13, 2009.

On May 29, 2009, he made a guest appearance and sang "Sweet Baby James" on the final episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno before Leno was replaced by Conan O'Brien.

Taylor appeared briefly in the 2009 movie Funny People, where he played Carolina in My Mind for a MySpace corporate event as the opening act for the main character.

He appeared in 2011 in the ABC comedy Mr.Sunshine as the ex-husband of the character played by Allison Janney; they exchange some sardonic dialogue and then perform a duet of sorts on Leon Russell's 1970 classic "A Song for You".

Bibliography

References

External links

The Official James Taylor website

The official James Taylor Facebook page

James Taylor Online

James Taylor discography

James Taylor profile, NNDB

Dedication of James Taylor Bridge

"Carolina in My Mind" — The James Taylor Story at the Chapel Hill Museum

2006 Grammy MusiCares Person of the Year

James Taylor Tabs

BBC Radio 2, "The James Taylor Story: Parts I & II, presented by Bob Harris, 13 & 20 January 2004

Category:1948 births Category:Living people Category:American acoustic guitarists Category:American folk guitarists Category:American folk singers Category:American male singers Category:American pop guitarists Category:American rock guitarists Category:American rock singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:Apple Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:MusiCares Person of the Year Honorees Category:Musicians from Massachusetts Category:Musicians from North Carolina Category:People from Belmont, Massachusetts Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients

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name	Carole King
background	solo_singer
birth name	Carol Klein
birth date	February 09, 1942
origin	New York City, United States
instrument	PianoVocalsGuitar
genre	Folk rock, Pop
occupation	Singer-songwriter
years active	1958–present
label	RockingaleOde/Epic/CBS RecordsPriority/EMI Records
associated acts	James TaylorThe CityDanny KortchmarNeil Sedaka
website	CaroleKing.com }}

Carole King (born February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King's album Tapestry topped the U.S. album chart for 15 weeks, in 1971, and remained on the charts for more than six years.

She was most successful as a performer in the first half of the 1970s, although she was a successful songwriter long before and long after. She had her first No. 1 hit as a songwriter in 1961, at age 18, with "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", which she wrote with Gerry Goffin. In 1997, she co-wrote "The Reason" for Celine Dion.

In 2000, Joel Whitburn, a Billboard Magazine pop music researcher, named her the most successful female songwriter of 1955–99, because she wrote or co-wrote 118 pop hits on the Billboard Hot 100.

King has made 25 solo albums, the most successful being Tapestry. Her most recent non-compilation album is Live at the Troubadour, a collaboration with James Taylor, which reached No.4 on the charts in its first week, and has sold over 400,000 copies.

She has won four Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her songwriting. In 2009, Carole King was inducted into the "Hit Parade" Hall of Fame. She holds the record for the longest time for an album by a female to remain on the charts and the longest time for an album by a female to hold the No.1 position, both for Tapestry.

Early life

Born Carol Klein (she added the "e" to her first name) in 1942 to a Jewish family in Manhattan, New York, King grew up in Brooklyn. She learned the piano, then began singing with a vocal quartet called the Co-Sines at James Madison High School. As a teenager dreaming of having a successful entertainment career, she decided to give herself a new last name, stumbling upon "King" in a telephone directory. She attended Queens College, where she was a classmate (and girlfriend) of Neil Sedaka and inspired Sedaka's first hit, "Oh! Carol." She responded with "Oh! Neil." At Queens College, she befriended Paul Simon and Gerry Goffin.

Partnership with Gerry Goffin

Goffin and King formed a songwriting partnership for Aldon Music at 1650 Broadway in New York. Their partnership's first success was "Will You Love Me Tomorrow", recorded by The Shirelles. It topped the American charts in 1961, becoming the first No. 1 hit by a girl group. It was later recorded by Linda Ronstadt, Ben E. King, Dusty Springfield, Laura Branigan, Little Eva, Roberta Flack, The Four Seasons, Bryan Ferry, Dave Mason, Dionne Warwick, and Melanie Safka as well as by King herself, and Amy Winehouse.

Goffin and King married in September 1960 and had two daughters, Louise Goffin and Sherry Goffin. Both are musicians.

In 1965, Goffin and King wrote a theme song for Sidney Sheldon's television series, I Dream of Jeannie, but an instrumental by Hugo Montenegro was used instead. Goffin and King's 1967 song, "Pleasant Valley Sunday", a No.3 for The Monkees, was inspired by their move to suburban West Orange, New Jersey. Goffin and King also wrote "Porpoise Song (Theme from Head)" for Head, the Monkees' film. (King also co-wrote "As We Go Along" with Toni Stern for the same film soundtrack.)

Goffin and King divorced in 1968 but Carole consulted Goffin on music she was writing. King lost touch with Goffin because of his declining mental health and the effect it had on their children.

Solo career

In 1967, King had a hit "Windy Day" with The Executives. In 1968, she was hired with Toni Stern to write for Strawberry Alarm Clock – "Lady of the Lake" and "Blues for a Young Girl Gone"—which appeared on the album, The World in a Seashell.

King sang backup vocals on the demo of Little Eva's "The Loco-Motion". She had had a modest hit in 1962 singing one of her own songs, "It Might As Well Rain Until September" (22 in the US and top 10 in the UK, later a hit in Canada for Gary and Dave), but after "He's a Bad Boy" made 94 in 1963, it took King eight years to reach the Hot 100 singles chart again as a performer. As the '60s waned, King helped start Tomorrow Records, divorced Goffin and married Charles Larkey (of the Myddle Class), with whom she had two children (Molly and Levi). Moving to the West Coast, Larkey, King and Danny Kortchmar formed The City, which made one album, Now That Everything's Been Said, a commercial failure. King made Writer (1970), also a commercial failure.

King followed Writer in 1971 with Tapestry, featuring new folk-flavored compositions, as well as reinterpretations of two of her songs, "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." Tapestry was an instant success. With numerous hit singles – including a Billboard No.1 with "It's Too Late" – Tapestry held the No.1 spot for 15 consecutive weeks, remained on the charts for nearly six years, sold 10 million copies in the United States, and 25 million worldwide. The album garnered four Grammy Awards including Album of the Year; Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female; Record of the Year ("It's Too Late," lyrics by Toni Stern); and Song of the Year, become the first woman to win the award ("You've Got a Friend"). The album signalled the era of platinum albums, though it was issued prior to the invention of the platinum certification by the RIAA. It would eventually be certified Diamond.

Tapestry was the top-selling solo album until Michael Jackson's Thriller in 1982. The album was later placed at 36 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" list. In addition, "It's Too Late" was placed at No.469 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Carole King: Music was released in December 1971, certified gold on December 9, 1971. It entered the top ten at 8, becoming the first of many weeks Tapestry and Carole King: Music would occupy the top 10 simultaneously. The following week, it rose to 3, and finally No.1 on January 1, 1972, staying there for three weeks. The album also spawned a top 10 hit, "Sweet Seasons" (US No.9 and AC #2). Music stayed on the Billboard pop album charts for 44 weeks. Carole King: Music was eventually certified platinum.

Rhymes and Reasons (1972), and Fantasy (1973) followed, each earning gold certifications. Rhymes and Reasons produced another hit, "Been to Canaan" (US No.24 and AC #1), and Fantasy produced two hits, "Believe in Humanity" (US #28) and "Corazon" (US No.37 and AC #5), as well as another song that charted on the Hot 100, "You Light Up My Life" (US No.68 and AC #6).

In 1973, King performed a free concert in New York City's Central Park with 100,000 attending.

In September 1974, King released her album Wrap Around Joy, which was certified gold on October 16, 1974 and entered the top ten at 7 on October 19, 1974. Two weeks later it reached 1 and stayed there one week. She toured to promote the album. Wrap Around Joy spawned two hits. Jazzman was a single and reached 2 on November 9 but fell out of the top ten the next week. Nightingale, a single on December 17, went to No.9 on March 1, 1975.

In 1975, King scored songs for the animated TV production of Maurice Sendak's Really Rosie, released as an album by the same name, with lyrics by Sendak.

Thoroughbred (1976) was the last studio album she made under the Ode label. In addition to enlisting her long-time friends such as David Crosby, Graham Nash, James Taylor and Waddy Wachtel, King reunited with Gerry Goffin to write four songs for the album. Their partnership continued intermittently. King also did a promotional tour for the album in 1976.

In 1977, King collaborated with another songwriter Rick Evers on Simple Things, the first release with a new label distributed by Capitol Records. Shortly after that King and Evers were married; he died of a heroin overdose one year later. Simple Things was her first album that failed to reach the top 10 on the Billboard since Tapestry, and it was her last Gold-certified record by the RIAA, except for a compilation entitled Her Greatest Hits the following year. Neither Welcome Home (1978), her debut as a co-producer on an album, nor Touch the Sky (1979), reached the top 100.

Pearls – The Songs of Goffin and King (1980) yielded a hit single, an updated version of "One Fine Day." Pearls marked the end of King's career as a hitmaker and a performer, no subsequent single reaching the top 40.

Later life and work

King moved to Atlantic Records for One to One (1982), and Speeding Time in 1983, which was a reunion with Tapestry-era producer Lou Adler. In 1983, she played piano in "Chains and Things" on the B.B. King album Why I Sing The Blues. After a well-received concert tour in 1984, journalist Catherine Foster of the Christian Science Monitor dubbed King as "a Queen of Rock." She also called King's performing as "all spunk and exuberance."

In 1985, she wrote and performed "Care-A-Lot," theme to The Care Bears Movie. Also in 1985, she scored and performed (with David Sanborn) the soundtrack to the Martin Ritt-directed movie Murphy's Romance. The soundtrack, again produced by Adler, included the songs "Running Lonely" and "Love For The Last Time (Theme from 'Murphy's Romance')," although a soundtrack album was apparently never officially released. King made a cameo appearance in the film as Tillie, a town hall employee.

In 1989, she returned to Capitol Records and recorded City Streets, with Eric Clapton on two tracks and Branford Marsalis on one, followed by Color of Your Dreams (1993), with an appearance by Slash of Guns N' Roses. Her song, "Now and Forever," was in the opening credits to the 1992 movie A League of Their Own, and was nominated for a Grammy Award.

In 1988, she starred in the off-Broadway production A Minor Incident, and in 1994, she played Mrs Johnstone on Broadway in Blood Brothers. In 1996, she appeared in Brighton Beach Memoirs in Ireland, directed by Peter Sheridan. In 1991, she wrote with Mariah Carey the song "If It's Over", for Carey's second album Emotions. In 1996, she wrote "Wall Of Smiles / Torre De Marfil" with Soraya for her 1997 album of the same title.

In 1997, King wrote and recorded backing vocals on "The Reason" for Celine Dion on her album Let's Talk About Love. The song sold worldwide, including one million in France. It went to number 1 in France, 11 in the UK, and 13 in Ireland. The pair performed a duet on the first VH1 Divas Live benefit concert. King also performed her "You've Got A Friend" with Celine Dion, Gloria Estefan and Shania Twain as well as "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" with Aretha Franklin and others, including Mariah Carey. In 1998, King wrote "Anyone at All", and performed it in You've Got Mail, starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.

In 2001, King appeared in a television ad for the Gap, with her daughter, Louise Goffin. She performed a new song, "Love Makes the World," which became a title track for her studio album in autumn 2001 on her own label, Rockingale, distributed by Koch Records. The album includes songs she wrote for other artists during the mid-1990s and features Celine Dion, Steven Tyler, Babyface and k.d. lang. Love Makes the World went to 158 in the US and No.86 in the UK. It also debuted on Billboard's Top Independent Albums chart and Top Internet Albums chart at #20. An expanded edition of the album was issued six years later called Love Makes the World Deluxe Edition. It contains a bonus disc with five additional tracks, including a remake of "Where You Lead (I Will Follow)" co-written with Toni Stern. The same year, King and Stern wrote "Sayonara Dance," recorded by Yuki, former lead vocalist of the Japanese band Judy and Mary, on her first solo album Prismic the following year. Also in 2001, King composed a song for All About Chemistry album by Semisonic, with the band's frontman Dan Wilson.

King launched her Living Room Tour in July 2004 at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago. That show, along with shows at the Greek Theater in Los Angeles and the Cape Cod Melody Tent (Hyannis, Massachusetts) were recorded as The Living Room Tour in July 2005. The album sold 44,000 copies in its first week in the US, landing at 17 on the Billboard 200, her highest-charting album since 1977. The album also charted at 51 in Australia. It has sold 330,000 copies in the United States. In August 2006 the album reentered the Billboard 200 at 151. The tour stopped in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. A DVD of the tour, called Welcome to My Living Room, was released in October 2007.

In November 2007, King toured Japan with Mary J. Blige and Fergie from The Black Eyed Peas. Japanese record labels Sony and Victor reissued most of King's albums, including the works from the late 1970s previously unavailable on compact disc. King recorded a duet of the Goffin/King composition "Time Don't Run Out on Me" with Anne Murray on Murray's 2007 album Anne Murray Duets: Friends and Legends. The song had previously been recorded by Murray for her 1984 album Heart Over Mind.

In 2010, King and James Taylor staged their Troubadour Reunion Tour together, recalling the first time they played at The Troubadour in Los Angeles in 1970. The pair had reunited two and a half years earlier with the band they used in 1970 to mark the club's 50th anniversary. They enjoyed it so much that they decided to take the band on the road. The touring band featured players from that original band: Russ Kunkel, Leland Sklar, and Danny Kortchmar. Also present was King's son-in-law, Robbie Kondor. King played piano and Taylor guitar on each others' songs, and they sang together some of the numbers they were both associated with. The tour began in Australia in March, returning to the United States in May. It was a major commercial success, with King playing to some of the largest audiences of her career. Total ticket sales exceeded 700,000 and the tour grossed over 59 million dollars, making it one of the most successful tours of the year.

During their Troubadour Reunion Tour, Carole King released two albums, one with James Taylor. The first, released on April 27, 2010, The Essential Carole King, is a two-disc compilation album. The first disc features many songs Carole King has recorded, mostly her hit singles. The second disc features recordings by other artists of songs that King wrote, most of which made the top 40, and many of which reached #1. The second album was released on May 4, 2010 and is a collaboration of King and James Taylor called Live at the Troubadour, which debuted at No.4 in the United States with sales of 78,000 copies. Live at the Troubadour has since received a gold record from the RIAA for shipments of over 500,000 copies in the US and has remained on the charts for 34 weeks, currently charting at No.170 on the Billboard 200.

On December 22, 2010, Carole King's mother, Eugenia Gingold, died in the Hospice Care unit at Delray Medical Center in Delray Beach, Florida at the age of 94. King stated that the cause of death was congestive heart failure. Gingold's passing was reported by the Miami Herald on January 1, 2011.

The City

In 1968 King formed The City, a music trio consisting of Charles Larkey, bass, Danny Kortchmar, guitar and vocals, and King on piano and vocals. The trio was assisted by Jim Gordon on drums. The City produced one album, Now That Everything's Been Said in 1968, but King's reluctance to perform live meant sales were slow, and after a change of distributors it got deleted early, and the group disbanded in 1969. The album was re-released in 1999 as a CD, though despite a reappraisal by Kortchmar that the album sowed the seeds for Tapestry the CD was also deleted.

Acting career

King has appeared sporadically in acting roles, notably three appearances as guest star on the TV series Gilmore Girls as Sophie, the owner of the Stars Hollow music store. King's song "Where You Lead (I Will Follow)" was also the theme song to the series, in a version sung with her daughter Louise.

Political and environmental activism

After relocating to Idaho in 1977, King became involved in environmental issues. Since 1990, she has been working with the Alliance for the Wild Rockies and other groups towards passage of the Northern Rockies Ecosystem Protection Act (NREPA). King has testified on Capitol Hill three times on behalf of NREPA: in 1994, 2007 and again in 2009.

King is also politically active in the United States Democratic Party. In 2003, she began campaigning for John Kerry, performing in private homes for caucus delegates during the Democratic primaries. On July 29, 2004, she made a short speech and sang at the Democratic National Convention, about two hours before Kerry made his acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination for President. King continued her support of Kerry throughout the general election.

In 2008, King appeared on the March 18 episode of The Colbert Report, touching on her politics once more. She stated that she was supporting Hillary Clinton and mentioned that the choice had nothing to do with gender. She also expressed that she would have no issues if Barack Obama were to win the election. Before the show's conclusion, she returned to the stage to perform "I Feel the Earth Move".

Tributes and covers

An all-star roster of artists paid tribute to King on the 1995 album Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King. From the album, Rod Stewart's version of "So Far Away" and Celine Dion's cover of "A Natural Woman" were both Adult Contemporary chart hits. Other artists who appeared on the album included Amy Grant ("It's Too Late"), Richard Marx ("Beautiful"), Aretha Franklin ("You've Got a Friend"), Faith Hill ("Where You Lead"), and the Bee Gees ("Will You Love Me Tomorrow?").

Former Monkee Micky Dolenz released King for a Day, a tribute album consisting of songs written or co-written by King, in 2010. The album includes "Sometime in the Morning", a King-penned song originally recorded by the Monkees in 1967. Dolenz had previously recorded another of King's Monkees compositions, "Porpoise Song", on his lullaby-themed CD Micky Dolenz Puts You to Sleep.

Many other cover versions of King's work have appeared over the years. Most notably, "You've Got a Friend" was a smash No.1 hit for James Taylor in 1971 and a top 40 hit for Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway that same year. Isaac Hayes recorded "It's Too Late" for his No.1 R&B; live album Live at the Sahara Tahoe. Barbra Streisand had a top 40 hit in 1972 with "Where You Lead" twice – by itself and as part of a live medley with "Sweet Inspiration." Streisand also covered "No Easy Way Down" in 1971, "Beautiful" and "You've Got A Friend" in 1972, and "Being At War With Each Other" in 1974. The Carpenters recorded King's "It's Going to Take Some Time" in 1972 ,and reached number 12 on the Billboard charts. Richard Carpenter produced a version of "You've Got A Friend" with then teen singer/actor Scott Grimes in 1989. Martika had a number 25 hit in 1989 with her version of I Feel the Earth Move, and "It's Too Late" reappeared on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1995 by Gloria Estefan. Linda Ronstadt recorded a new version of "Oh No Not My Baby" in 1993. Celine Dion also recorded King's song "The Reason" on her 1997 album Let's Talk About Love with Carole King singing backup and it became a million-seller and was certified Diamond in France. "Where You Lead" (lyrics by Toni Stern) became the title song of TV show Gilmore Girls.

In 1996, a film very loosely based on her life, Grace of My Heart, was released. In the film an aspiring singer sacrifices her own singing career to write hit songs that launch the careers of other singers. Mirroring King's life, the film follows her from her first break, through the pain of rejection from the recording industry and a bad marriage, to her final triumph in realizing her dream to record her own hit album.

Awards and recognition

In 1987, Goffin and King were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

In 1988, Goffin and King received the National Academy of Songwriters Lifetime Achievement Award.

In 1990, King was inducted, along with Goffin, into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the non-performer category for her songwriting achievements.

In 2002, King was given the "Johnny Mercer Award" by the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

In 2004, Goffin and King were awarded the Grammy Trustees Award.

King was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame in 2007.

Discography and certifications

The years given are the years in which the albums and singles were released and not necessarily the years in which they achieved their peak positions.

U.S. Billboard Top 10 Albums

1971 – Tapestry (#1)

1971 – Carole King: Music (#1)

1972 – Rhymes and Reasons (#2)

1973 – Fantasy (#6)

1974 – Wrap Around Joy (#1)

1976 – Thoroughbred (#3)

2010 – Live at the Troubadour (with James Taylor) (#4)

U.S. Billboard Top 10 'Pop' Singles

1971 – "I Feel the Earth Move" (#1)

1971 – "It's Too Late" (#1)

1971 – "Sweet Seasons" (#9)

1974 – "Jazzman" (#2)

1974 – "Nightingale" (#9)

Albums and singles certifications

!Song title	!Certification
"It's Too Late"	Gold
!Album title	!Certification
Tapestry	Diamond
Carole King: Music	Platinum
Rhymes and Reasons	Gold
Fantasy	Gold
Wrap Around Joy	Gold
Thoroughbred	Gold
Simple Things	Gold
Live at the Troubadour	Gold

See also

List of songwriter tandems

References

External links

www.caroleking.com

Articles on Carole King

Rachel Louis Snyder on Carole King, Salon, June 19, 1999

Franck Scheck on Carole King, Hollywood Reporter, July 15, 2005

Category:1942 births Category:Living people Category:A&M; Records artists Category:American female pop singers Category:American pop pianists Category:American singer-songwriters Category:E1 Music artists Category:Female rock singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Jewish American composers and songwriters Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:People from Brooklyn Category:People from Long Island Category:People from West Orange, New Jersey Category:Queens College, City University of New York alumni Category:RCA Victor artists Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees

an:Carole King da:Carole King de:Carole King es:Carole King fr:Carole King gl:Carole King ko:캐롤 킹 io:Carole King it:Carole King he:קרול קינג nl:Carole King ja:キャロル・キング no:Carole King pl:Carole King pt:Carole King ru:Кинг, Кэрол sc:Carole King simple:Carole King fi:Carole King sv:Carole King tl:Carole King th:คาโรล คิง zh:卡洛爾·金

name	Can I Get a Witness
artist	Marvin Gaye
album	Greatest Hits
b-side	"I'm Crazy 'Bout My Baby"
released	September 1963
format	7" single
recorded	July 17, 1963; Hitsville U.S.A.(Detroit, Michigan)
genre	Soul, rock and roll
length	2:53
label	TamlaT 54087
writer	Holland–Dozier–Holland
producer	Brian Holland, Lamont Dozier
last single	"Pride and Joy"(1963)
this single	"Can I Get a Witness"(1963)
next single	"You're a Wonderful One"(1964) }}

"Can I Get a Witness" is a 1963 hit song by Marvin Gaye on the Tamla (Motown) label. Written and produced by Motown songwriting and producing team Holland–Dozier–Holland, the song was built among gospel-styled music and heralded Gaye's beginnings in the church with a rhythm and blues/rock and roll setting. The song featured Gaye on piano, playing a boogie pattern, The Funk Brothers, and members of The Supremes in the background accompanying Gaye. The song became a hit in both the U.S. and the United Kingdom, and British musicians Lulu, Dusty Springfield, The Rolling Stones, Sam Brown and Steampacket (which featured a very young Rod Stewart) recorded cover versions of the song. Gaye's version peaked at number twenty-two on the Pop Singles chart and its title soon became a catchphrase. Lee Michaels' 1971 version reached number thirty-nine on the pop chart; both his and Gaye's versions peaked during Christmas week.

In popular culture

Gaye's recording is featured in the 1999 biographical film The Hurricane.

Personnel

Lead vocals by Marvin Gaye

Background vocals by The Supremes: Diana Ross, Florence Ballard, and Mary Wilson

Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

Category:1963 singles Category:Marvin Gaye songs Category:Songs written by Holland-Dozier-Holland Category:Motown singles

nn:Can I Get a Witness