It's a real wrenching thing to go from being a private person to being a public person, especially when you're being autobiographical. But it's what everyone wants - to get everyone's attention, to have your music make a living for you, to be validated in that way.

Taylor spent six months getting treatment and making a tentative recovery; he also required a throat operation to fix vocal cords damaged from singing too harshly. I knew James had that thing.

3 single "Fire and Rain" and had his first No. James Vernon Taylor (born March 12 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. Following his 1977 album JT he has retained a large audience over the decades.