After 45 years, James Taylor really has a reason to sing "How Sweet It Is." The legendary singer/songwriter finally has a No. 1 album, according to Billboard.
Taylor released his latest album, "Before This World," June 16 via Concord Records, and it sold the equivalent of 97,000 albums in the week ending June 21, according to Nielsen. This feat comes more than 45 years after Taylor's Billboard chart debut, the 1970 album "Sweet Baby James."
Even though this is Taylor's first No. 1 album, he has continuously maintained strong record sales, reported the New York Times. His last studio album, 2002's "October Road," moved 154,000 copies and debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard chart.
Taylor now holds the record for the second longest wait for a No. 1 album, beating out Black Sabbath's 43-year wait, noted the Los Angeles Times. Tony Bennett currently holds the title for the longest wait—his first album, "Tony," debuted in 1957 and he didn't hit No. 1 until the 2011 release of "Duets II" 54 years later.
The New York Times credits Taylor's success with a strong publicity campaign for "Before This World," which included a round of late night TV show appearances and a month-long plug on Sirius XM.
On the Billboard 200 chart for July 4, Taylor bested media darling Taylor Swift, whose album "1989" now occupies the No. 2 spot after 34 weeks on the chart. Also in the top 10 are albums from Adam Lambert, Ed Sheeran and Hilary Duff.
Check out a funny video of Taylor performing recently on "The Tonight Show" with Jimmy Fallon:
