''Dad Loves His Work'' is the tenth studio album by

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

released in 1981. The album includes the duet with J. D. Souther titled " Her Town Too", which peaked at number 11 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 5 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart. The album was

certified Platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

in the United States. It was his first album without any covers.

Background

The album's title was a response by Taylor to then-wife Carly Simon, who had issued an ultimatum to Taylor regarding his constant touring, leaving her home with their two children, Benjamin and Sally. Simon informed Taylor in 1980 that unless he curtailed his schedule to be home more with his family, that she would divorce him. Shortly before the album's release, the pair separated, officially dissolving their 11-year marriage in 1983. Taylor, who was still struggling with a lengthy history of drug abuse, later admitted that he was ill-equipped to be a family man at that time in his life and put his career before his family.

Track listing

All songs by

unless otherwise noted. ;Side one #" Hard Times" – 3:13 #" Her Town Too" (Duet with J.D. Souther) (Taylor, J. D. Souther,

Waddy Wachtel Robert "Waddy" Wachtel (born May 24, 1947) is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work. Wachtel has worked as session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Kim Carnes, Randy ...

) – 4:34 #"Hour That the Morning Comes" – 2:56 #"I Will Follow" – 4:19 #"Believe It or Not" – 3:53 ;Side two #

"Stand and Fight" (Taylor,

Jacob Brackman Jacob Brackman (born 1943) is an American writer, journalist, and musical lyricist. After graduating from Harvard University in 1965, he went to work for ''Newsweek'' as a journalist. He remained there for six months and was then hired by ''The ...

) – 3:10 #"Only for Me" – 4:55 #"Summer's Here" – 2:43 #"Sugar Trade" (Taylor, Jimmy Buffett, Timothy Mayer) – 2:48 #"London Town" – 3:56 #"That Lonesome Road" (Taylor,

Don Grolnick Don Grolnick (September 23, 1947 – June 1, 1996) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and record producer. He was a member of the groups Steps Ahead and Dreams, both with Michael Brecker, and played often with the Brecker Brothers. As a sess ...

) – 2:22

Personnel

– lead vocals, acoustic guitar (3-10),

bass harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

(9) * Bill Cuomo – synthesizers (1, 4) *

– acoustic piano (1, 3, 5, 10, 11), organ (1-3, 7-9), Fender Rhodes (2, 5, 8, 10), keyboards (4) *

Dan Dugmore Dan Dugmore is an American session musician known primarily for playing the pedal steel guitar Born in 1949, Dugmore was raised in Pasadena, California. Influenced by the Flying Burrito Brothers, he learned to play steel guitar after Flying Bur ...

– electric guitar (1-3, 6-8, 10), pedal steel guitar (4, 5) *

– electric guitar (1, 4-8, 10), guitar solo (1), acoustic guitar (2), slide guitar (3) *

Leland Sklar Leland Bruce Sklar (born May 28, 1947) is an American bassist and session musician. Sklar rose to prominence as a member of James Taylor's backing band, which coaleced into a group in its own right, The Section. This group of musicians so frequ ...

– bass (1-10) *

Rick Marotta Richard Thomas Marotta (born January 7, 1948) is an American drummer and percussionist. He has appeared on recordings by leading artists such as Aretha Franklin, Carly Simon, Steely Dan, James Taylor, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Hall & Oates, Ste ...

– drums (1-8, 10), conga (1), percussion (5, 6),

timbales Timbales () or pailas are shallow single-headed drums with metal casing. They are shallower than single-headed tom-toms and usually tuned much higher, especially for their size.Orovio, Helio 1981. ''Diccionario de la música cubana: biográfico ...

(8) *

Peter Asher Peter Asher, (born 22 June 1944) is an English guitarist, singer, manager and record producer. He came to prominence in the 1960s as a member of the pop music vocal duo Peter and Gordon before going on to a successful career as a manager and r ...

– percussion (6, 7), shaker (8) *

Greg "Fingers" Taylor Greg "Fingers" Taylor (born June 3, 1952) is an American harmonica player, best known for his work with Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band. Career Greg Taylor was born in Wichita, Kansas, June 3, 1952 where he attended Wichita North High School. ...

– harmonica (6, 8, 10) *

Gene Page Eugene Edgar Page Jr. (September 13, 1939 – August 24, 1998) was an American conductor, composer, arranger and record producer, most active from the mid-1960s through the mid-1980s. His sound can be heard in the arrangements he did for Jeffer ...

– string arrangements and conductor (2) *

David Lasley David Eldon Lasley (August 20, 1947 – December 9, 2021) was an American recording artist, singer, musician and songwriter. He was best known as a touring background singer for James Taylor, as a session singer on recordings by artists including ...

– backing vocals (1, 4, 6, 7, 10) *

Arnold McCuller Arnold McCuller (born August 26, 1950) is an American vocalist, songwriter, and record producer, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. He was active as a solo artist and session musician, but is perhaps best known for his work as a touring back- ...

– backing vocals (1, 4, 6, 7, 10) * J.D. Souther – harmony vocals (2) Choir on "That Lonesome Road" * Peter Asher * Jim Gilstrap * Bernard Ighner * David Lasley * Arnold McCuller * James Taylor *

Jennifer Warnes Jennifer Jean Warnes (born March 3, 1947) is an American singer and songwriter. She has performed as a vocalist on a number of film soundtracks. She has won two Grammy Awards, in 1983 for the Joe Cocker duet "Up Where We Belong" and in 1987 for ...

Production

* Producer – Peter Asher * Engineer – Val Garay * Assistant Engineer –

Niko Bolas Niko Bolas is an American music producer, sound engineer, and consultant and business developer in the fields of virtual reality and Internet radio. In 1989, Bolas founded Fakespace Music with Mark Bolas, Ian McDowall and Christian Greuel, which, ...

* Recorded at

Record One Record One is a recording studio complex in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. Originally founded in 1979, the studio has been the site of numerous commercially successful and award-winning recordings. Since 2015, Record On ...

(Los Angeles, CA). * Piano and Keyboard Technician – Edd Kolakowski * Mastered by

Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charl ...

and Mike Reese at The Mastering Lab (Hollywood, CA). * Photography –

Aaron Rapoport Aaron Rapoport (born May 22, 1954) is an American photographer, best known for his photographs of musicians. Biography In a career that spans over three decades, Rapoport has photographed in a wide variety of areas including commercial photogr ...

* Art Direction and Design –

John Kosh John Kosh, known simply as Kosh, is an English art director, album cover designer, graphic artist, and documentary producer/director. He was born in London, England and rose to prominence in the mid-1960s while designing for the Royal Ballet a ...

Charts

Notes

{{Authority control 1981 albums James Taylor albums Albums produced by Peter Asher Columbia Records albums Legacy Recordings albums