I've come home to stop yearning

Thursday music corner: Singer-songwriter James Taylor (b.1948) had his first hits in 1970 and 1971 with the single Fire and Rain and his recording of Carole King's You've Got a Friend. His 1970 album Sweet Baby James was a triple-platinum seller in the US, and its 1971 follow-up Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon went double-platinum. But his long-term success was truly secured by his 1976 Greatest Hits compilation, which went platinum 11 times over in America and eventually sold nearly 20 million copies.

Taylor's 1977 album JT was his first album release after this huge success, and was another triple-platinum seller. Taylor won a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance Male, for the album's song Handy Man - his second of six Grammys throughout his long career. 

The album track Terra Nova, which is distinguished by its fine harmonies in its elegant coda, appears on side B of the album, and is the only track co-written and performed with his then-wife, singer-songwriter Carly Simon. (The couple divorced in 1983). In addition to the album's band - Danny Korchmar, Clarence McDonald and Leland Sklar - the track features Russ Kunkel and Peter Asher on tambourine and handclaps, and Red Callender on tuba. 

James Taylor & Carly Simon - Terra Nova (1977)