Never Die Young

Never Die Young
Studio album by James Taylor
Released	January 1988 (1988-01)
Genre	Rock
Length	40:14
Label	Columbia/Legacy
Producer	Don Grolnick
James Taylor chronology
Classic Songs (1985) Never Die Young (1988) New Moon Shine (1991)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[2]
MusicHound	2/5[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[4]

Never Die Young is singer-songwriter James Taylor's twelfth studio album. It was released in 1988, three years after his previous effort, That's Why I'm Here. The album reached No. 25 on the Billboard 200 and eventually was certified Platinum by the RIAA.

The album features the title track, which peaked at No. 80 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the only charting single from the album.

Track listing[]

All songs were written by James Taylor, except where noted.

1. "Never Die Young" – 4:24
2. "T-Bone" (Bill Payne, Taylor) – 3:47
3. "Baby Boom Baby" (Taylor, Zachary Wiesner) – 4:59
4. "Runaway Boy" – 4:18
5. "Valentine's Day" – 2:35
6. "Sun on the Moon" – 4:09
7. "Sweet Potato Pie" – 3:30
8. "Home by Another Way" (Timothy Mayer, Taylor) – 3:50
9. "Letter in the Mail" – 4:41
10. "First of May" – 4:01

Personnel[]

• James Taylor – lead vocals, guitars
• Bob Mann – guitars
• Jeff Mironov – additional guitars (2, 6)
• Dan Dugmore – banjo, pedal steel guitar
• Don Grolnick – keyboards
• Bill Payne – synthesizers (2, 4)
• Clifford Carter – synthesizer programming
• Robbie Kilgore – synthesizer programming
• Leland Sklar – bass guitar (1-4, 6-10)
• Jay Leonhart – acoustic bass (5)
• Carlos Vega – drums, percussion
• "Cafe" Edison A. da Silva – percussion (10)
• Michael Brecker – tenor saxophone (2, 3)
• Mark O'Connor – violin (4, 5)
• Greg "Fingers" Taylor – harmonica (8)
• Rosemary Butler – backing vocals
• Arnold McCuller – backing vocals
• Lani Groves – additional backing vocals (1, 6, 10)
• David Lasley – additional backing vocals (1, 6, 10)

Production[]

• Producer – Don Grolnick
• Production Coordinator – Peter Stiglin
• Recorded and Mixed by James Farber
• Assistant Engineer – Don Rodenbach
• Recorded and Mixed at The Power Station (New York, NY).
• Guitar and Piano Technician – Edd Kolakowski
• Digital Editing – Rhonda Schoen
• Mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound (New York, NY).
• Wolf Photos – Jim Brandenburg
• J.T. Photos – Rudy Molacek
• Art Direction – Marc Balet

References[]