by Ryan Lajoie
James Taylor — 1982 
James Taylor — 1985
James Taylor (b. 1948) is a 6-time Grammy Award winner who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is best known for his songs “Fire and Rain,” “How Sweet It Is” (a Marvin Gaye cover), and “Carolina in My Mind.” Taylor has gone through many ups and downs in his life, spanning from drug addiction to immense fame, all of which were outlines for his beautiful songs.
Taylor has battled through a lot in his career, including an intense and long-lasting battle with drug addiction, but he has fought through hard times and is still performing today. He was addicted to heroin for about 9 months, then went to an American rehab facility, looking for help for about 5 months. After rehab, Taylor found a doctor in Chicago who prescribed him with a methadone maintenance regimen, which became his new addiction. Intense workouts seemed to be the best thing to help James get over his addictions. Through all of this, he was still able to write brilliant songs.
Several of Taylor’s songs are so popular that myths have ground up around them. For example, Taylor has debunked the story behind “Fire and Rain.” The story went that his friends arranged for his friend Suzanne to fly out to surprise him at one of his concerts and the plane crashed along the way. The lyrics that inspired this theory were “Just yesterday mornin’, they let me know you were gone, Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you,” and “Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground.” While the song is about his friend Suzanne, it is not about her dying in a plane crash; it is about her committing suicide and Taylor finding out months later. The song was written through Taylor’s sadness around the fact that he thought he would see his friend again: “I’ve seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, But I always thought that I’d see you again.” The song also draws on his anxiety and the rehab facility he visited. “Carolina in My Mind” is another beautiful song that Beatles legend Paul McCartney plays bass on. He was not credited on the album, but it is an interesting fact. These two worked together on many songs, and they really show how talented they both are.
Taylor performed at SUNY Geneseo twice, first on February 7, 1982 in Kuhl Gymnasium, for which he was paid $30,000. His second appearance occurred on October 5, 1985 in the Wilson Ice Arena. This time, he was paid $40,000. This was a lot of money for the college to spend on performances at the time, as this was one of the highest paid performances at the college up to this point. Having a rock and roll hall of fame inductee on campus is a huge honor, and I bet that Taylor lived up to expectations at his performances.