Break Shot arrives on Audible in early 2020
James Taylor will release an audio memoir titled Break Shot via Audible in early 2020.
Taylor will recount his life story and music career, beginning with his upbringing in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, during which he and his four siblings were immersed in music at an early age. He’ll take listeners through his traumatic teenage years, when he admitted himself into a Massachusetts psychiatric hospital in 1965. He’ll also recall releasing his self-titled debut album off Apple (he was the first American artist to be signed on the Beatle’s label) and his steady rise to fame with 1970’s Sweet Baby James.
The memoir will be recorded at TheBarn, Taylor’s home studio in Western Massachusetts. The interviews will be conducted by long-time music journalist and former MTV executive Bill Flanagan. “I’ve known Bill Flanagan and admired his writing forever,” Taylor said in a statement. “So I was happy and relieved that he had agreed to help me gather my thoughts and edit this autobiography of my beginnings, the on-ramp to the road I’ve traveled ever since.”
“A pitcher needs a catcher and a funny and intelligent collaborator can make you seem likewise,” Taylor continued. “To the best of my recollection, I never had much of a memory; but here’s how I remember it…Did I say that already?”
Taylor is scheduled to appear at Sting’s upcoming Rainforest Benefit Concert, held on December 9th at New York’s Beacon Theater. The event will be hosted by Robert Downey Jr.; other acts include Bruce Springsteen, Eurythmics and John Mellencamp.