![]() ![]() "In dealing with it, contemplating it, trying to get relief, a lot of art is generated," he says. Mental health issues, he thinks, can be a double-edged sword for an artist. While he acknowledges that a recurring theme of his work has been "addiction and recovery", he "wouldn't characterise as a lifelong battle." He began using hard drugs and, even whilst rising to become an apparently wholesome household name, spent over a decade struggling with heroin addiction. I get plenty of that in my life." As a teenager in North Carolina, Taylor suffered depression and was hospitalised. "But I don't enjoy stress and confrontation in music. "I would not consider myself mellow," he admits. ![]() The hit songs Fire and Rain and a definitive version of Carole King's You've Got A Friend made Taylor a superstar in 1970 and his gentle soulfulness left an indelible imprint on the Californian soft rock of that decade. ![]() Taylor is an iconic figure in American song, the model of a certain breed of sensitive singer-songwriter using his voice and acoustic guitar as a panacea against life's troubles. " Music has kept me alive, that's for sure." I can't believe any of them will quit music entirely." "Hopefully, they'll be around for a long time yet. You do get the sense of a finite amount of time." There has been a wave of farewell tours announced this year as aging musical stars contemplate retirement, including Elton John and Joan Baez. At this age, most of life is in the rearview mirror. "I never thought I'd live this long." The veteran American singer-songwriter tours Britain next week, culminating in an event at Hyde Park on July 15 where he will support Paul Simon for his fellow troubadour's final British show. "When I started, I never gave any thought whatsoever to what I would be doing when I was 70," James Taylor admits. US troubadour James Taylor tells Neil McCormick about friends, farewells, and his rocky relationship with Carly Simon ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |