James Taylor
In the early 1980s Taylor's career was again beset by drug problems. Additionally, Taylor's wife, Carly Simon, was unhappy with his extended absences due to touring. After an ultimatum from her that he spend more time with their children, Ben and Sally, and Taylor's response with the 1981 album Dad Loves His Work, he and Simon divorced in 1983.
He was quoted in various interviews that he was thinking of retiring after fulfilling his last contractual obligation, the Rock In Rio in 1985. However, he was surprised by the reception of the audience on Saturday, January 12 (there were 250,000 people, the biggest attendance of the 10-day festival), when he performed right before George Benson. Two days later, they were scheduled to perform in the same order, but since Taylor's extended performance had caused a huge delay to Benson's back on Saturday, Benson proposed that they switch the order. Taylor ended up the headliner in this second performance. Buoyed by the audience's reception, he decided to take back his life and his career. (16 years later, on January 12, 2001, he played the very same site, at the opening night of the third Rock in Rio, whose organizer, Roberto Medina, described Taylor to the Brazilian press then as "his good luck charm").
The song "Only a Dream in Rio" was written in tribute to that night, with verses like "I was there that very day and my heart came back alive". The album, That's Why I'm Here, from which that song came, started a series of studio recordings that, while spaced further apart than his previous records, showed a more consistent level of quality and fewer covers.
In 1985, Taylor married his second wife, actress Kathryn Walker, who helped him through recovery of his substance addictions. According to Taylor, he remains clean and sober to this day.
In 1988 he released Never Die Young. He began touring regularly and was especially popular on the American amphitheatre oldies circuit. His concerts, which continue to this day, feature songs from throughout his career and are marked by the musicianship of his band and backup singers. The 1993 two-disc (LIVE) album, captures this well with a highlight being Arnold McCuller's descants in the codas of "Shower the People" and "I Will Follow".
Taylor's two albums of original material from the 1990s were notably successful. His thirteenth album, New Moon Shine, went platinum in 1991 and he won the Grammy for Best Pop Album in 1998 for Hourglass.
22 май 2007
