Jim Taylor (musician)

Jim Taylor is an American folk musician who specializes in music of the American Civil War.

Family background

Taylor was born into a musical family in western North Carolina. His older sisters both played piano, so he grew up playing piano by ear in the lulls between their practices. His mother's parents had a their own ragtime band that played all over the region. His grandfather was also a singing master in the Shape-note tradition. Taylor's grandmother had a degree in music from Columbia College, South Carolina. Taylor's father has a fine baritone voice, as did his grandfather.

Musical career

Taylor first became interested in traditional music in the early 1980s when he heard Jean Ritchie albums and mountain dulcimer recordings. Soon afterward, he heard the hammered dulcimer and decided to learn to play it. Taylor was in school in Texas at the time and had the opportunity to learn from musicians such as Russell Cook and Dana Hamilton. Others who influenced his style were Jerry Reed Smith and Malcolm Dalglish.

By 1982 Taylor started building hammered dulcimers and selling them. In 1989 he recorded his first album, "Come Before Winter". He followed that with "The Falls of Richmond" in 1991, "Little Rose is Gone" in 1992, "The Bright Sunny South" in 1994 and "The Civil War Collection" volumes I and II.

Taylor's wife, Sheila Adams, who plays banjo on his recordings, is a nationally known traditional ballad singer, storyteller, banjo player, and author.

Discography

* "Come Before Winter" (1989)
* "The Falls of Richmond" (1991)
* "Little Rose is Gone" (1992)
* "The Bright Sunny South" (1994)
* "The Civil War Collection volume I" (1995)
* "The Civil War Collection volume II" (2001)

External links

* [http://www.jimandsheila.com Official Site]
* [http://www.gourd.com Gourd Music]