James Taylor's life became subject of his songs Posted Jun 3, 2019 James Taylor’s famously introspective lyrics have been partly a way of coping with the severe depression that has plagued the singer-songwriter for most of his life. Taylor was born in 1948 in Boston but moved to Chapel Hill in 1951. Dr. Isaac Montrose Taylor, who was James Taylor’s father, became dean of the School of Medicine at UNC in 1964. (Daily Advance)