LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, MY FIRST GUEST IS THE FIVE-TIME
GRAMMY AWARD WINNING SINGER AND SONGWRITER WITH BELOVED HITS
LIKE "FIRE AND RAIN," "CAROLINA IN MY MIND,"
AND "YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND."
PLEASE WELCOME BACK TO "THE LATE SHOW," OUR FRIEND, JAMES TAYLOR!
( CHEERS AND APPLAUSE ) ( BAND PLAYING )
>> Stephen: NICE TO SEE YOU AGAIN.
>> THEY PLAYED "MONTANA."
>> Stephen: YEAH.
I LOVE THAT.
>> Stephen: HOW ARE YOU?
GOOD.
I HAVE BEEN BUSY, BUT QUITE WELL.
>> Stephen: THE NEW MEMOIR HERE, "MY FIRST 21 YEARS."
>> THAT'S THE VISIBLE PART OF IT.
>> Stephen: IF YOU WANTED THE TO READ THIS, YOU WOULD HAVE TO
TRANSCRIBE IT AND READ IT TO YOURSELF BECAUSE IT'S ONLY
AVAILABLE IN AUDIO NOW.
I LISTENED THIS WEEKEND AND I LOVED IT.
WHY "BREAK SHOT"?
WHAT DOES THAT MEAN FOR THE PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW?
>> WELL, THERE WAS A MOMENT IN THE MID '60s WHEN MY FAMILY
JUST SEEMED TO COME APART, AND IT WAS AT A TIME WHEN THE
COUNTRY WAS IN SIGNIFICANT TURMOIL, AND ALSO AT A TIME WHEN
THE POST-WORLD WAR II BABY BOOM WAS SORT OF REACHING COLLEGE AGE
AND AT A TIME WHEN WE THOUGHT WE COULD CHANGE THE WORLD, BUT MY
FAMILY SORT OF CRISIS, IN A WAY, THAT CRITICAL STRETCH SORT OF
COINCIDED WITH THE CULTURAL GOINGS ON THAT SEEMED TO FEED
INTO IT, YOU KNOW.
SO JUST THAT SENSE OF EVERYTHING GOING FROM ORGANIZED AND, YOU
KNOW, SORT OF PREDICTABLE INTO A STATE OF CHAOS REMINDED ME OF
THE FIRST SHOT OF A POOL GAME WHEN YOU SEND THE CUE BALL INTO
THAT STACK OF BALLS THAT, YOU KNOW, AND THAT'S THE BREAK SHOT,
AND IT'S SORT OF A MOMENT WHERE THINGS GO FROM ORGANIZED TO
CHAOTIC.
>> Stephen: AND WHAT'S THE BREAK SHOT IN YOUR LIFE?
THAT'S THE BEGINNING TO HAVE THE GAME THAT YOU'RE -- THAT'S THE
BEGINNING OF THE GAME THAT YOU'RE IN.
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: WHAT WAS THAT BREAK SHOT FOR YOU?
>> LEAVING HIGH SCHOOL AT A BOARDING SCHOOL IN BOSTON AND
CHECKING INTO A PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL FOR ABOUT TEN MONTHS.
SO, FOR ME, THAT WAS THE -- THAT WAS THE BREAK WITH WHAT WAS
EXPECTED OF ME AND SORT OF THE BEGINNING OF MY STRIKING OUT ON
MY OWN.
>> Stephen: YOU DESCRIBED THAT IN THE MEMOIR AS SOME MIGHT SEE
THAT, YOU KNOW, THAT TEN-MONTH INSTITUTIONALIZATION OR HOWEVER
YOU WANT TO DESIGN THAT IN A NONPEJORATIVE WAY AS BEING AN
ENTIRELY NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE, BUT YOU DESCRIBE THAT NOW AS IN
SOME WAYS THE FAMILY PATH FOR YOU IS NO LONGER EXPECTED AND
FREEDOM CAME WITH THAT.
>> I THINK IT REALLY WAS A MOMENT OF -- IT FELT LIKE A
GREAT RELIEF TO ME.
>> Stephen: A RELIEF FROM WHAT?
>> YOU KNOW, I SUPPOSE, YOU KNOW, I -- I JUST -- IT FELT
LIKE I WAS NO LONGER OPERATING UNDER THE EXPECTATIONS OF MY
FAMILY AND SORT OF SOCIETAL, YOU KNOW, PRIORITIES AND COULD
PRETTY MUCH WRITE MY OWN TICKET.
>> Stephen: YOU SAY THAT ONE OF THE WAYS YOU DEAL WITH
TRAGEDY WITH SADNESS OR GRIEF IN YOUR LIFE IS TO WRITE A SONG
ABOUT IT.
IF YOU COULDN'T DO THAT, WHAT WOULD YOU BE?
>> YOU KNOW, THAT'S A REALLY GOOD QUESTION.
I WOULD PROBABLY BE AN ADDICT, NO MATTER WHAT I DID, BUT I
THOUGHT THAT, BEFORE I -- YOU KNOW, WHILE I WAS STILL
ENTERTAINING PLANS OF HAVING AN ACADEMIC TRAJECTORY AND I
THOUGHT I WOULD BE A SCIENTIST AND SPECIFICALLY A CHEMIST.
>> Stephen: OH, HMM.
WHICH, YOU KNOW, ALSO -- A CHEMIST IN ENGLAND IS A
PHARMACIST.
>> Stephen: SURE.
( LAUGHTER ) WOULD YOU LIKE TO EXPAND?
WOULD YOU LIKE TO EXPAND ON THAT AT ALL?
>> THAT'S WHAT I -- I WAS INTERESTED IN CHEMISTRY WHEN I
WAS IN HIGH SCHOOL AND, YOU KNOW, I THOUGHT THAT WAS AS
LIKELY A CAREER PATH AS ANY.
>> Stephen: LAW SCHOOL FOR ME.
OH, WAS IT?
>> Stephen: YEAH.
WHEW...
( LAUGHTER ) >> Stephen: WE HAVE TO TAKE A
BREAK, JAMES.
I HOPE YOU CAN STICK AROUND BECAUSE WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH
MORE OF MR. JAMES TAYLOR, EVERYBODY.