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James Taylor

OMMA Catalogue Number

OMMA-0096

Artist

The Flying Machine (James Taylor debut band) 

Title

Night Owl / Brighten Your Night With My Day 

Release Details

Issued in the United States in 1967 as a 7-inch 45 RPM single on Rainy Day Records, catalogue number 45-8001, this release preserves James Taylor’s earliest commercially issued appearance on record with The Flying Machine, the band he led before his solo career began to take shape. 45cat lists the title as a U.S. 7-inch issued in June 1967, and JamesTaylor.com identifies The Flying Machine as Taylor’s first band. 

Edition & Variant Identification

The present copy is the promotional 7-inch issue. Discogs release-family data shows that both stock and promo variants were issued under catalogue number 45-8001. 

Physical Description

7-inch single on black vinyl. The promo label is distinguished from the stock copy by the words “PROMOTION COPY NOT FOR SALE” on the label. Otherwise, the label is similar to the stock copy’s black label with blue Rainy Day Records logo.

Condition Report

The present copy’s vinyl and labels are in Near Mint condition with minimal evidence of handling or play. It is housed in a generic sleeve.

Provenance

Acquired for OMMA on February 14, 2026, from Jackknife Records and Tapes on discogs.com.

Photomatching & Verification

Discographic references corroborate the 1967 U.S. Rainy Day Records single, catalogue number 45-8001, with the exact coupling Night Owl / Brighten Your Night With My Day. Specimen-level confirmation should rest on the archive’s own label, runout, and image documentation where available. 

Market Context & Historical Notes

Released in small numbers on the obscure, regional New York label Rainy Day Records when James Taylor was still a teenager, years before his breakthrough solo album Sweet Baby James, this record marks Taylor’s debut with his original band, The Flying Machine. The band regularly played the Night Owl Cafe in Greenwich Village, a legendary folk-rock venue that gave the band its first real stage and inspired the title track “Night Owl.” The group recorded these two Taylor-penned originals in New York but broke up shortly afterward amid personal struggles. Taylor later paid direct tribute to the band in his 1970 classic “Fire and Rain” with the haunting lyric, “sweet dreams and Flying Machines in pieces on the ground.”

Canonical Status in OMMA

This release is recognized by the Origins of Modern Music Archive as James Taylor’s canonical debut artifact in physical media.

Bibliography / References

Discogs release entry for Night Owl, Rainy Day Records 45-8001, U.S., 1967, 7-inch 45 RPM single promo. https://www.discogs.com/release/11282823-The-Flying-Machine-Night-Owl

Discogs release-family / master entry showing stock and promo variants under the title. https://www.discogs.com/master/1283704-The-Flying-Machine-Night-Owl

JamesTaylor.com retrospective on Taylor’s debut album, identifying The Flying Machine as his first band and linking the title to the Night Owl club. https://www.jamestaylor.com/billboard-james-taylors-self-titled-debut-turns-50-a-track-by-track-retrospective/

45cat James Taylor discography entry listing The Flying Machine single in June 1967. https://www.45cat.com/record/458001