James Taylor Stole My Girlfriend

I met James Taylor in London, just after he had recorded (but not released) his Apple LP.  His girlfriend at the time was the sister of a very close friend of mine and we hung out quite a bit in England and later in New York.  Everybody knew that James was going to be very famous.   His talent was immense and even his stage presence was wonderful -- although I would soon discover that James actually memorized every single  word he spoke between songs.  The truth was, if you saw any two JT shows, you heard exactly the same rap, verbatim,  over and over.  

Now James and I had, not  a friendship but a connection through my friend and his sister.  Within about six months, James had left Apple and recorded Sweet Baby James for Columbia,  a classic with the incredible "Fire and Rain" done properly this time (and there's a whole other story about that song and how it really came to be).   I saw quite a bit of James over the next two years, during which time, he parted with my friend's sister and became an enormous star.  As for me,  I was, at the time, deeply in love with a woman let's call Gwen.  One weekend James flew down to "Cleveland" where Gwen's family lived to play at a well known club there.

At the time, James was traveling with just his guitars and a roadie whose real name I think I remember was Jock (a genuine nice guy). Gwen and her family lived quite well in a large house in a fancy suburb of "Cleveland", Gwen's family,  being deeply involved in Republican politics and journalism  had made a significant fortune by their efforts.

But when Gwen and I found out that James was performing locally we decided to invite him and Jock to the big house,  It was summer and the house had a large swimming pool that was a relief in the big heat.  We thought James might be lonely and would  appreciate the company of people he knew.   What actually happened was that James was clearly disappointed by my presence.  He had taken a strong interest in Gwen, who was one of the most beautiful people, inside and out, I'd ever met.  In fact, I had fallen in love with Gwen the moment I first saw her, two years earlier.  But it was obvious that afternoon that James would have made a move on Gwen if not for my presence.   Still, James behaved like a gentlemen, at least while I was around.  Soon however, I was not around, needing to return to New York with plans to meet up with Gwen in about a week.

Gwen answered the phone when it rang a few days later.    It was James Taylor, wondering if Gwen would like to join him at a gig he was playing in California.   It is an apparent if bitter truth that when one of the world's most famous, talented, handsome and wealthy rock stars calls a woman and invites her to join him at a gig, the effect is overwhelming and, statistics prove, nearly impossible to resist.  Sadly for me, Gwen said yes.  James then sent a limo to her home in Cleveland and flew her first class to LA

What happened next surprised the already surprised Gwen.  It seemed that James' interest in Gwen would involve her helping him kick his well known and prodigious heroin habit.   The next few days were a nightmare according to Gwen.   She was kept away from James during the day by security people hired by the record company.   At night, they would lock themselves in the hotel room and not do  heroin, a difficult feat for an addict as deeply into the drug as James was at the time.  Gwen functioned as a guard/nurse.

In the end, the experience was deeply upsetting, not only for me, but for Gwen.  James had turned her world upside down for what turned out to be not love but the predatory services that would have better been provided by an interventionist..  It took Gwen many months to recover.  As for me, even if I could have confronted James, he would not have cared.   He had turned into a guy who could have pretty much anything he wanted and, without much thought or regret, simply took it. It reminded me of Tom in The Great Gatsby.  But the reality was that it hurt two innocent people quite a bit.  I have never told the story before but thought, after so many years, I could finally release my feelings about it. And so I have.