Credit: Found On Internet

Ben Taylor tells Music Towers why he is no longer letting his famous family hold him back.

In a north-west London’s RAK studio, I am waiting to meet American singer-songwriter – and new addition to Independiente’s roster - Ben Taylor.

Oh, his parents are Seventies song-writing icons James Taylor and Carly Simon - and parents still scare me, especially ones whose records I own. 

Now, I am starting to get a little anxious about the possibility that Ben Taylor could be a vice-addled “celebrity brat.”

I need not have worried.  As Taylor emerges and bends down from his great height to greet me with a lop-sided, gap-toothed grin, he explains that he has just given up the last of his vices – playing table tennis, it makes him too competitive.

And, as it turns out, he also used to be a little scared of his parents’ omni-present influence.

“I didn’t really start singing until I was 20,” Taylor told Music Towers. “I was really, really shy about it because everyone expected me to be so good because of who my parents were.

“I thought I would have a hard time being as successful as my parents and that was a lot of pressure.

“I was also very mindful of the downsides of the industry, dealing with a record label and manager, being on the road, running from city to city. From the inside looking out, it didn’t seem half as glamorous.”

But after trekking from jungles to desert, working on an organic farm and teaching white-water rafting, Taylor took the plunge and decided to enter the family business, releasing his debut album Famous Among The Barns in 2003 on his own independent label Iris.

“It was really a matter of turning 22 and thinking what am I qualified to do as a career and what will make me happiest?” explained Taylor.

“I don’t know if being a musician will ultimately make me happy, but it is the thing that I’m most qualified to do.

“I will always have my father’s vocal chords, and I’m grateful for that, but he has not influenced me as much as my Mom.