James Taylor (1) (1948–)

One of the perks of being an Audible member is that every month you get to choose two new original recordings. Most of the time they don't really interest me, but I was thrilled to see this short early bio by the amazing James Taylor. Since it covers only the first 21 years of his life, I am guessing that there will be more to come.

James starts by giving us some background on his parents' early lives and their marriage, storied that often illuminate issues in his own life. For example, when show more his father Ike was born--the first child of a love marriage--, his mother insisted that instead of going to a hospital for the birth, her father-in-law, an aging doctor, deliver the child. Two weeks later, she was dead of an infection. Ike's father was too devastated to raise his son on his own and gave him to a married sister. Years later, when his parents' marriage had broken up and James himself was in counseling, the therapist asked his father to come in for a session. When asked why, if he was so unhappy in his marriage, Ike had five children, he replied, "Childbirth killed my mother, so I thought maybe it would kill her." Ouch. Both Ike and James's older brother were alcoholics, and, as you probably know, he has faced his own demons with drugs and depression.

James's early life was a melange of successes, failures, and luck, both good and bad. Along the way, he met, loved and played with a host of famous people: Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Paul McCartney, Peter Asher, Carly Simon and more. Before he reached 21, he had a contract with Apple and a number of top hits. Woven into his memoir are musical excerpts, which make the stories all the more relevant. He tells us how many of his greatest hits came about, most often as reflections on events in his own life: "Fire and Rain" after the suicide of a friend named Suzanne, "Carolina on My Mind" while spending a night on the shore, waiting for a boat, and more.

Taylor is still one of my all-time favorite singer-songwriters. If you enjoy his music, you will undoubtedly enjoy Break Shot: My First 21 Years. show less

I selected this free audible with no idea this was the singer of so many songs I sang to growing up. I wouldn’t think about hearing about this man’s first 21 years would be remotely interesting. But it was so good, giving some of those songs background, and getting to hear those songs again. It was insightful how a family that had everything still fell apart. And it’s fortunate he’s found peace. Beautifully done. 5 stars!

Like many of us here, I grew up listening to James Taylor. Our 8th Grade graduation song was the Carole King penned "You've Got a Friend", which Taylor made famous. We sang it heartily. This Audible original popped up a couple of months ago and I grabbed it then. It strictly focuses on his early years and it is very well done, with Taylor narrating expertly. There are a few songs sprinkled in, as well. Only, 90 minutes, so well worth your time. I just hope he does a follow-up.

I loved this short audio piece by James Taylor, a window into his early career. He shares lots of the background stories for his songs, often followed by a few bars of the actual music so you can really feel the meaning behind the lyrics. I had no idea he knew and worked with the Beatles or that one of his famous songs was about his brother, but he changed it to a female name because it worked better with the rhyming scheme. Fascinating!