# Greatest Hits (James Taylor album)
**Greatest Hits** is the first compilation album by the American singer-songwriter [James Taylor](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-taylor), released by Warner Bros. Records on November 1, 1976, near the end of his contract with the label[1](https://shop.rockhall.com/products/james-taylor-greatest-hits-vinyl-lp). It collects material from his Warner Bros. years of 1970 to 1976, adds newly recorded versions of two songs from his 1968 debut, and became the best-selling album of his career, certified 11× Platinum in the United States[2](https://store.warnermusic.com.au/products/greatest-hits-vinyl-2) • [3](https://pop.news.chart2000.com/music/ay1976.htm).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Released | November 1, 1976, on Warner Bros.[1](https://shop.rockhall.com/products/james-taylor-greatest-hits-vinyl-lp) |
| Content | 12 songs, about 42 minutes; six Top 40 hits plus two re-recordings, a live track, and singles that had sold less well[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-mw0000194986) |
| US certification | 11× Platinum (RIAA), certified August 1996, about 11 million units[3](https://pop.news.chart2000.com/music/ay1976.htm) |
| Career standing | Taylor's best-selling album and one of the best-selling albums of all time[2](https://store.warnermusic.com.au/products/greatest-hits-vinyl-2) |
| Latest remaster | 2019 remaster reissued March 27, 2020 on Rhino, remastering overseen by Peter Asher[5](https://www.rhino.com/product/greatest-hits-2019-remastered) |
## Background and release context
By the fall of 1976 Taylor had scored eight [Top 40](https://www.edgepedia.org/top-40) hits, and Warner Brothers marked the end of his recording contract with this compilation[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-mw0000194986). The album gathers material from his run of Warner Bros. studio albums of the 1970s: *Sweet Baby James* (1970), *Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon* (1971), *One Man Dog* (1972), *Walking Man* (1974), *[Gorilla](https://www.edgepedia.org/gorilla-james-taylor-album)* (1975), and *In the Pocket* (1976)[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-mw0000194986). By the following summer Taylor had moved to [Columbia Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/columbia-records), where *JT* (1977) returned him to the Top Ten[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-mw0000194986).
Release dates differ slightly across sources: the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame store, Apple Music, and chart archives give November 1, 1976[1](https://shop.rockhall.com/products/james-taylor-greatest-hits-vinyl-lp), AllMusic lists November 1976[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-mw0000194986), and Taylor's own website lists April 1976[6](https://www.jamestaylor.com/discography/greatest-hits).
## Track selection
The critic William Ruhlmann, writing for AllMusic, described the result as "a reasonable collection for an artist who wasn't particularly well-defined by his singles"[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-mw0000194986). The six hits included were "Fire and Rain," "Country Road," "[You've Got a Friend](https://www.edgepedia.org/youve-got-a-friend)," "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)," and "Shower the People"[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-mw0000194986).
Not every hit made the cut. "Mockingbird," Taylor's Top Ten gold duet with his wife [Carly Simon](https://www.edgepedia.org/carly-simon), was left off even though it was on Elektra, part of the Warner family of labels, and "Long Ago and Far Away," a Top Ten easy-listening hit, was not used either[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-mw0000194986). Alongside the hits, the album featured the less successful singles "Mexico" and "Walking Man" and the album track "Sweet Baby James"[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-mw0000194986).
**Three recordings were new to the album.** A live version of "Steamroller" and newly recorded versions of "Something in the Way She Moves" and "Carolina in My Mind" appeared here for the first time; the latter two had originally featured on Taylor's 1968 debut album for Apple/Capitol[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-mw0000194986). Apple Music notes that the re-recorded "Something In the Way She Moves" drops the psychedelic harpsichord intro of the debut take, and that "Carolina In My Mind" likewise gets a soft rock redo[7](https://music.apple.com/us/album/greatest-hits-vol-1/320083830).
The full track list runs: "Something in the Way She Moves," "Carolina in My Mind," "Fire and Rain," "Sweet Baby James," "Country Road," "You've Got a Friend" (written by [Carole King](https://www.edgepedia.org/carole-king)), "Don't Let Me Be Lonely Tonight," "Walking Man," "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)," "Mexico," "Shower the People," and "Steamroller"[6](https://www.jamestaylor.com/discography/greatest-hits). Total playing time is 42:03[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-mw0000194986).
## Chart performance and sales
In August 2012 it re-entered the [Billboard](https://www.edgepedia.org/billboard-magazine) 200 at number 15, giving the album a new peak; an aggregate chart history credits it with 68 weeks on the Billboard 200[3](https://pop.news.chart2000.com/music/ay1976.htm).
The sales record is the album's defining feature. It has sold over 11 million copies and is certified 11× Platinum by the RIAA, with the certification dated August 1996 in one chart database, and counted as a diamond album once (for 10 million copies) in another summary[3](https://pop.news.chart2000.com/music/ay1976.htm). Warner Music calls it the best-selling album of Taylor's career and one of the best-selling albums of all time[2](https://store.warnermusic.com.au/products/greatest-hits-vinyl-2).
## Reissues and later versions
The album has been reissued repeatedly in changing formats: a 1988 CD, a 1990 cassette, CDs in 2002, 2004, 2007, 2012, 2015, and 2017, LP reissues in 2013 and 2015, and 2020 CD and LP editions[4](https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-mw0000194986). Rhino's 2019 remaster arrived on CD, vinyl, and digital on March 27, 2020, with the remastering process overseen by Taylor's manager and producer [Peter Asher](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-asher)[5](https://www.rhino.com/product/greatest-hits-2019-remastered) • [2](https://store.warnermusic.com.au/products/greatest-hits-vinyl-2).
Taylor's later catalog continued the series. *Greatest Hits, Vol. 2* collected his Columbia years, roughly 1977 to 1997, and included songs such as "Secret O' Life" and "Only a Dream in Rio" that were never hits but became concert favorites[8](https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-vol-2-mw0000103823). Apple Music retitles the 1976 album *Greatest Hits, Vol. 1* in its catalog[7](https://music.apple.com/us/album/greatest-hits-vol-1/320083830).
## References
1. [James Taylor - Greatest Hits - Vinyl LP, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Museum Store](https://shop.rockhall.com/products/james-taylor-greatest-hits-vinyl-lp)
2. [Greatest Hits (Vinyl), Warner Music Australasia Store](https://store.warnermusic.com.au/products/greatest-hits-vinyl-2)
3. [Albums from the Year 1976, Chart2000](https://pop.news.chart2000.com/music/ay1976.htm)
4. [James Taylor: Greatest Hits Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-mw0000194986)
5. [James Taylor - Greatest Hits (2019 Remastered), Rhino](https://www.rhino.com/product/greatest-hits-2019-remastered)
6. [Greatest Hits, JamesTaylor.com discography](https://www.jamestaylor.com/discography/greatest-hits)
7. [Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 - Album by James Taylor, Apple Music](https://music.apple.com/us/album/greatest-hits-vol-1/320083830)
8. [James Taylor: Greatest Hits, Vol. 2, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/greatest-hits-vol-2-mw0000103823)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Compilation and greatest-hits albums*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license