James Taylor emerged in the late 1960s, a protege of Paul McCartney, and became a global superstar. He hit the charts with "Fire and Rain", "You've Got a Friend", "Carolina on my Mind", and "Handy Man". His career was given a further boost by his high profile marriage to singer Carly Simon and he retains a huge cult following world-wide which, on his last visit to the UK in 2000, sold out the Albert Hall. This biography explores Taylor's Scottish ancestry and family history of shipbuilders and pioneering American settlers. It pulls no punches regarding Taylor's heroin addiction, the failure of his marriage to Carly Simon or the numerous disputes with Warner Brothers, his record label for the most prolific part of his career.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
The definitive biography of the singer-songwriter - written with the full co-operation of Taylor and his family, numerous friends and musical associates - whose career was further boosted by his high profile marriage to Carly Simon. White pulls no punches about Taylor's heroin addiction, the failure of his marriage and the numerous disputes with his record label.
About the Author
Timothy White is the editor of Billboard magazine and the author of several best selling music titles, including Catch A Fire: The Life of Bob Marley and The Nearest Faraway Place: Brian Wilson, The Beach Boys and The Southern California Experience.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
60 of 60 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Most Authoritative Work On JT,
By
This review is from: James Taylor: Long Ago and Far Away (Hardcover)
If James Taylor is to be believed, an autobiography is unlikely. You should look no further than his songs for his take on life, he says, and most fans are inclined to believe him. The songs don't tell us everything, though. It's natural to crave more information about the man behind the songs, the performances, and of course the real story behind "Fire And Rain." It's difficult to imagine a more exhaustive or authoritative work about James Taylor than this, the culmination of Billboard Editor-In-Chief Timothy White's decades-long friendship and professional ties with James Taylor. James Taylor: Long Ago And Far Away is, from the start, mind-boggling in its chronological scope. For evidence read just a few pages in, where you'll join Taylor's 17th-century ancestors, tracking the Taylor bloodline through the ages and following father Ike Taylor to naval duty in Antarctica before gradually shifting the focus to JT nearly 100 pages into the narrative. In the pages that follow, White's close familiarity with Taylor and admiration for his talents make for a sensitively presented, minutely-detailed story. Family ties are examined closely, with extensive direct observations by JT, mother Trudy and father Isaac, siblings, musical contemporaries, and ex-wives Carly Simon and Kathryn Walker. The story never lacks for direct quotes from the people who were there, and it's much richer for it. When JT describes his relationship with his father, White quotes each of them and also from family letters between the two. And when describing the impetus for "Fire And Rain," White gives us the enigmatic Suzanne's full name. As the story progresses into JT's musical career, White's musical experience allows him to speak with authority -- at times truly encyclopedically. When a brief mention of a musical venue turns into a multi-page catalog of dozens of other artists who played there and influenced the music of the time, all but the most patient students of pop music may think about jumping ahead to when the story veers back to JT himself. Musicologists will be in heaven, though, and clearly the JT-specific parts of this 430-page book didn't get less attention because of the additional trivia. All the major events -- and many of the minor ones -- are spelled out in great detail. From the production of every studio album to the construction of his homes on Martha's Vineyard to his relationships with his children, White was either present to document it or spoke to someone who was. It was clearly a Herculean task, as evidenced by the book's lengthy notes on sources. In fact, the post-narrative sections of the book (sources, detailed discographies for JT and all his siblings, plus an exhaustive index) span more than 50 pages. Those pages, along with the four sections of photos, make for some of the most interesting trivia found in the book.
86 of 90 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
All the fire and rain of Taylor's life.,
By
This review is from: James Taylor: Long Ago and Far Away (Hardcover)
James Taylor is "the archetypal singer-songwriter," Danny Kortchmar says in this new biography about his lifelong friend. "He's the mould" (p. 304). Few would disagree. In his well-researched biography, Timothy White follows Taylor through all the fire and rain of the singer-songwriter's fascinating life. That life really begins at page 98 of White's book, when we find James at age 12 tingling at the sight of a Fender electric guitar while window shopping in New York City. (In the first hundred pages of his book, White traces Taylor's ancestral saga and "privileged lineage" (p. 107) in great detail.) Soon thereafter, we find James ("Stringbean") hanging out with Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar in Martha's Vineyard, before dropping out of school and admitting himself into a mental hospital for nine months (p. 114). Because of his "crazy papers," Taylor was ineligible for the draft (p. 115).Taylor began using heroin in 1966 (p. 117), during which time he was playing his music for burgers and fries (p. 117). After moving to London, Taylor was discovered by Paul McCartney, who signed him to Apple Records. "Wow, he's great," the former Beatle said (p. 135). It was in London that Taylor's career really started. As he was recording his first album, the Beatles were recording "Hey Jude," "Revolution," and "While My Guitar Gently Weeps" in the same Apple studio. White's biography succeeds at offering insights into many of Taylor's songs. Written after the suicide of a friend, and in part while Taylor was again in a mental hospital, I will listen to "Fire and Rain" now with new depths of meaning. After his relationship with Joni Mitchell (p. 178), Taylor met Carly Simon at a Cat Stevens' concert on April 6, 1971 (p. 189), and during their ten-year marriage, we find Taylor making music with his wife and friends, Mitchell and Carole King, while partying with John Belushi and drinking volcanoes with Jimmy Buffett in 1979 until he passed out (p. 268). James and Carly were divorced in 1983. Page after page, White's biography reveals the secrets of Taylor's life, even down to the tattoo he shares with his family (p. 315). I've listened to James Taylor's music all my life, and I've listened to his "Secret o' Life," well, maybe hundreds of times. Not only is he a "guitar virtuoso" (p. 304), his songs have always been relevant to the passing times of my life. This prompted me to read White's well-researched biography. As a result, I not only have an even greater appreciation for Taylor, the singer-songwriter, but also for his music. G. Merritt
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sweet Baby James,
By Boz (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
This review is from: James Taylor: Long Ago and Far Away (Hardcover)
I make the same mistake every time I pick up a book by Timothy White. I always think I know the subject I'm about to read about but quickly discover I don't. Having followed White's writing career from the 70's when he wrote some of the best cover stories for "Rolling Stone", I know that this book on James Taylor and previous ones on the Beach Boys and on Bob Marley are drawn from almost three decades of in-depth interviews with the subjects and those in their spheres. A good example can be seen in this newest book with the detailed description of how the Beatles (by way of Apple Corp.) came to give Taylor the exposure he so greatly deserved. We get not only J.T.'s view of those days, but McCartney's and Harrison's as well. This book is worth the money for the chapter on Carly Simon alone. I loved this book and am already looking forward to White's next subject.
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