James Taylor had major health issues as a young adult
James Taylor hit big in the 1970s, but his artistic journey began in the previous decade. Unfortunately, Taylor's young adulthood was stymied by urgent health issues, both mental and physical. At age 16, Taylor dropped out of high school in order to form a band with his brother, Alex Taylor.
The sad stories behind 'Fire and Rain'
According to Snopes, there's a widely accepted theory as to the meaning behind James Taylor's 1970 hit "Fire and Rain." Evidently, some friends arranged for Taylor's girlfriend to fly in and surprise him at one of his concerts, but the plane crashed on the way.
He was addicted to heroin
One of James Taylor's first professional music projects was a late-'60s, New York-based band called the Flying Machine. Not only was that the place where Taylor honed the musical chops that would propel his career for decades, but it's also where he got his first taste of hard drugs.
James Taylor was addicted to methadone
While James Taylor successfully kicked his heroin addiction in the early 1970s, he soon became reliant on methadone, a sometimes addictive opiate that's used to help heroin users wean themselves off that harder drug. "My really serious addiction was to methadone," he told Billboard.
He had a troubled marriage to Carly Simon
James Taylor has been married three times. His second marriage, to actress Kathryn Walker, lasted about a decade, and he's currently hitched to Boston Symphony Orchestra trustee and publicist Caroline "Kim" Hessberg-Taylor. Taylor's first marriage, however, is his most famous and tumultuous.
James Taylor virtually witnessed John Lennon's murder
December 8, 1980 is one of the saddest and darkest days in music history. That's when Mark David Chapman approached the legendary John Lennon outside of his home, New York City's Dakota building, and shot the former Beatle several times, ending his life at the age of 40. The shocking murder hit Taylor hard, as he and Lennon knew each other.
His older brother died on James' birthday
Certain skills can run through a family's genetic code, and that seems to have happened to the Taylor family. James Taylor is obviously a famous musician of some renown, but his younger siblings, Kate Taylor and Livingston Taylor, have both released plenty of work.
When did Paul Simon and Carrie Fisher get married?
Paul Simon, ‘Hearts And Bones’ : Paul Simon and Carrie Fisher met in 1978 and were married in 1983. According to both their union was traumatic. Fisher was battling with substance abuse and undiagnosed bipolar disorder.
Who is the second child of Chris Martin?
Coldplay, ‘Moses’: Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow named their second child Moses (after the song Martin had written for his wife shortly before their wedding). Before playing the song at a show in Sydney, Martin said, “This is a song about falling in love with the most beautiful woman in the world.”.
Taylor struggled with his mental health as a teenager
Though a bright student, Taylor was plagued by depression, which was exacerbated by family turmoil and instability.
His years in New York brought his first tastes of success and addiction
The next few years were a whirlwind for Taylor. In New York, he plugged into the Village music scene, where cafes overflowed with musicians and low-rent apartments were infested with drugs. Taylor plunged headfirst into both of them, forming a band called v The Flying Machine and falling in with heroin addicts.
The song's verses each detail a hardship in Taylor's life
When Taylor got back from London, he played major festivals, garnered modest acclaim, and then promptly hit the skids again when he crashed his motorcycle. That fall, he moved in with his then-girlfriend Joni Mitchell in Los Angeles but soon checked in to rehab once again.
Background and composition
On the VH1 series Storytellers, Taylor said the song was about several incidents during his early recording career. The second line "Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you" refers to Suzanne Schnerr, a childhood friend of his who died by suicide while he was in London, England, recording his first album.
Reception
Broadcast Music, Inc. ranked "Fire and Rain" at number 82 on its "Top 100 Songs of the Century" list, while voters for the National Endowment for the Arts and Recording Industry Association of America 's Songs of the Century list, which comprises 365 songs of "historical significance" recorded from 1900 to 2000, placed "Fire and Rain" at number 85.
Cover versions
Marcia Hines covered "Fire and Rain" on her 1975 debut LP, Marcia Shines. Her version reached #17 in Australia. Al Jarreau covered it on his 1976 album Glow.
Parodies
Taylor performs the song on The Simpsons in the episode " Deep Space Homer ." While singing the song for a group of astronauts (including Homer Simpson and Buzz Aldrin ), he changes the lyric "Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground" to "Sweet dreams and flying machines, flying safely through the air" when he realizes the space shuttle may crash..
External links
"James Taylor reflects on his career". The 7.30 Report. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. March 3, 2010. Archived from the original on April 4, 2010. Transcript of Kerry O'Brien interview with Taylor about "Fire and Rain"
Claim
The lyrics of James Taylor's "Fire and Rain" chronicle his reaction to the death of his girlfriend in a plane crash.
Origin
Gentle, plaintive, and compelling, “Fire and Rain” was the hit that launched the career of James Taylor, one of the 1970’s premier singer-songwriters.