Book Description
Many musicians sing about heartache, despair, and
confusion, but few have experienced those feelings more
intensely than James Taylor, who rose from a childhood of
privilege as the son of an affluent medical school dean to
become a modern-day troubadour and pop superstar.
When he was seventeen years old, his demons led him to a
Massachusetts mental institution where he confronted them the
only way he knew how, by writing his first songs. Thirty
years later, Taylor's songs are among the most popular in the
annals of music, but the demons are still with him.
But unlike many of his contemporaries who faced a similar
struggle, Taylor managed to emerge as an inspirational
figure. Fire and Rain traces this remarkable path, including
his troubled marriage to pop star Carly Simon and the
premature alcoholism-related death of his brother: Taylor's
ten-month stay in the exclusive private psychiatric
institution where he finished high school; His self-imposed
exile to England where he submitted some of his music to the
Beatles' Apple Records, which signed him to his first record
contract in 1968. Paul McCartney mentored Taylor's early
career; The story behind his second album, Sweet Baby James,
which contained the song "Fire and Rain" about the
hopelessness of mental illness and suicide; As Taylor's fame
increased, so did his problems with heroin, alcohol, and
mental illness. In the seventies, the singer nearly fell over
the edge many times.
