Break Shot: My First 21 Years by James Taylor

 

Summary (from the publisher): "I’m James Taylor and I’m a professional autobiographer," says the celebrated folk singer at the start of this tender audio memoir. Through decades of music by one of the best-selling musicians of all time, who created classics like "Fire and Rain" and "Carolina in My Mind," James Taylor has doled out his history in the poetry of his work. Taylor says his early life is, "the source of many of my songs," and Break Shot is a tour of his first 21 years in rich, new detail. Praised by Forbes magazine as going "beyond the spoken word," Break Shot combines storytelling, music and performance to create a one-of-a-kind listening experience. Longtime fans will savor a crop of musical gems, including an unreleased recording of the beloved hymn "Jerusalem," selections from his newest release American Standard, as well as new original scoring by Taylor specially recorded for Break Shot and more from the Grammy Award-winning artist.

Recorded in his home studio, TheBarn in western Massachusetts, Taylor tells the deeply personal story of his youth, which is entwined with the story of his family. What started as an idyllic tight unit soon became a family sent to different emotional corners—like a break shot in the game of pool, he says, when you slam the cue ball into the fifteen other balls and they all go flying off. By the time Taylor released his breakout second album in 1970, Sweet Baby James, he had seen the disintegration of his parents’ marriage and his family crumble in the aftermath. He had committed himself twice to a psychiatric hospital, battled depression, a heroin addiction, suffered a relapse, and traveled far away from the wood smoke and moonshine of the North Carolina landscapes in which he came of age. Despite it all, he was also on the cusp of superstardom and on his way to bringing light and joy to millions. He was 21.

Journey with James Taylor to a time before he became a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors and both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Arts—and a beloved voice to millions.

Review: This absolutely delightful listen is a brief one-and-a-half-hour memoir written and read by James Taylor and featuring clips of his music throughout. In his own words, Taylor details the first twenty-one years of his life and covers his childhood, the breakdown of his family, and his climb to fame as a beloved singer and songwriter. 

James Taylor has a wonderful voice and beautifully narrates his own story. But beyond his voice, I had no prior knowledge of the deep personal struggles that have chased him throughout his life. One of five children, his family moved early on from Massachusetts to North Carolina so his father could take a job as a professor at Chapel Hill. What was early on a happy and closeknit family fell apart - like a break shot in a game of pool. James has struggled with addiction and mental health issues throughout his life. His songs are largely autobiographical in nature and writing them have always been his way of processing his pain. 

I loved hearing about Taylor's life in his own words. There was something captivating and sobering about his tale told in his own voice. My only true regret is that this was such a brief listen. While under two hours long, I would have listened to fifteen or more. While he is willing to share private details about his parents' and grandparents' lives, he skirts around issues regarding his own marriages and his siblings in order to protect his own and their privacy. I would have loved a full-fledged biography that explores more aspects of his life. 

Stars: 4