As a little boy growing up, Ben Taylor imagined himself as Superman. He ran around his parents’ home with only a red cape draped on him. He never imagined one day he’d fly high up in the clouds, just like his childhood superhero. Nowadays he’s substituted the cape for a guitar and the high he gets by touring and playing his own music.

Now returning from a European tour with Tracey Chapman, Taylor is flying high writing and playing his own songs, but it did not start out that way.

At 26, Ben Taylor is the product of two legendary American singer-songwriter icons, James Taylor and Carly Simon. Even with music in his blood, Taylor was not always confident about his musical talent.

Although his parents never pressured him, he pushed himself to step out of his parents’ shadows and make a name for himself. Going on tour with his dad at a young age, however, made him hesitant about being a musician.

“It makes you shy about your own musical style,” Taylor said. “It took me a long time getting there. I just have aspirations to get better and better.”

Influenced by the sounds of his parents, Paul McCartney, Mos Def, The Roots Maneuver and Cat Stevens, Taylor began playing guitar at age 11 and started writing songs in his early twenties. He has a way with melody and an expressive, soft voice.

Listening to him leaves a sound reminiscent of his father, but a style distinctly his own.

His new album, Another Run Around The Sun, provides listeners with a reflection of his personal life and a trailer of things to come from this promising artist. Writing lyrics that flow is what Taylor says makes it easy to play and keeps the song fresh for new audiences.

“The song ‘Digest’ on the new album is my favorite because it was the easiest to write. When you labor over lyrics, you get tired of them,” Taylor said.

Although Taylor has his own style, he still remains true to his family’s roots. For his upcoming tour, he’s performing with his mother, Carly Simon. He said his relationship with his family is very important to him.

“I get along very well with my family,” Taylor said. “My mom and I have been in rehearsals for this past week, but the only chance I get to hang out with my dad is on tour. I don’t know if I’ll get the opportunity to do it again with him though because I’ve been busy myself these days.”

Along with touring, he’s promoting people to go to myspace.com to download original, acoustic recordings of his songs for free. Or fans can look forward to his upcoming appearance at the Palace in Cleveland with his mother Nov. 30.

Contact ALL correspondentNicholas DiSabatino at [email protected].