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 )

( 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.