James Albert Taylor was born September 18, 1953 in Vicksburg, Mississippi to Reverend Miller C. Taylor and Francis Taylor, the youngest of seven kids. Taylor has been known as “Taylor James”, “JT Smooth”, “James Pane” and “Nite Beat”. “Taylor James” will be his permanent alias.
He began writing, recording and producing songs and music in 1972 at the age of seventeen when he met John Ferguson who own a recording and production company, Great Southern Productions, when they begin working together to produce Taylor’s style of music. In 1975, at Ferguson’s suggestion, Taylor recorded a Christmas tune entitled “Christmas and You” after spending one recording session at North American Recording Studio at Jackson, Mississippi, he came out with a completed product. “Christmas and You” is a song about love between a man and a woman celebrating their gift of love from God which to Taylor is one of the true meanings of Christmas. The song is still around and in rotation on radio stations in Jackson, MS; Houston, TX; Chicago, IL and New Orleans, LA to name a few.
In 1984, James recorded an album entitled “No Way Out” which is available on some internet sites including Hearts of Gold Records website. He has worked on projects with artists such Wayne Henderson founders and trombonist for the world renowned group, The Jazz Crusaders; Cynthia Robinson, “Chocolate” of the group Graham Central Station; Jackson, MS’s own Wynd Chymes; R&B singers, Bobby Rush and Willie Clayton and the world renowned gospel group, The Williams Brothers.
Taylor James and John Ferguson joined forces again in 2011 and formed Hearts of Gold Music to record a new sound with a mixture of old school and contemporary music in the Gospel, R&B and Pop genre. We have completed a single with a video (“Good News”) to be released in September 2013. Taylor is currently working on an album,that will be released in the Spring of 2014 entitled “Serious”, that will include love songs and upbeat tunes. The new single “Good News”, a R&B/Contemporary Gospel song addressing today’s social, economic and political issues, was written in 1992. Hopefully, the song and video will raise awareness.
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