(CNN) Sweet Baby James has finally hit the top.

Almost 47 years after he released his first album -- a self-titled debut on the Beatles' Apple label -- 67-year-old James Taylor achieved a milestone: His latest release, \"Before This World,\" hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart. (\"World\" succeeds Muse's \"Drones,\" which took the honor last week.) It's his first-ever No. 1 album.

That's right. \"Sweet Baby James\" never hit No. 1. Neither did \"JT.\" Not even \"Greatest Hits,\" which has sold more than 11 million copies, pulled off the feat. (In Taylor's defense, he has had a No. 1 song, 1971's \"You've Got a Friend,\" though that's it for his singles. Even \"Fire and Rain\" only got to No. 3.)

Taylor is just the latest in a line of performers who had to wait forever before topping the charts or winning a big award, and there are plenty of people who still haven't done it. Call them the \"Luccis,\" after actress Susan Lucci, who finally won her first Emmy in 1999 after 19 nominations.