{"product_id":"sweet-dreams-and-flying-machines-the-life-and-music-of-james-taylor-9780912777689","title":"Sweet Dreams and Flying Machines: The Life and Music of James Taylor","description":"In 1970 a scraggly, antiheroic man from North Carolina by way of Massachusetts began presenting a comforting yet biting new sound. Within a year, when young ears sought the latest in rock, there was \"Fire and Rain\" and \"You've Got a Friend,\" and a new Southern California-fed branch of pop music. James Taylor was its reluctant leader. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Remarkably, Taylor has survived: his 2015 release, \u003cem\u003eBefore This World\u003c\/em\u003e, edged out Taylor Swift and went to No. 1 on the charts. Today he is in better physical (and probably mental) condition than during the whirlwind era when he influenced music so heavily, the decade when magazines and newspapers printed feverish stories about his gawky hunkiness, his love affair with Joni Mitchell, his glittery marriage to Carly Simon, his endlessly carried-out heroin habit, and sometimes even his music. Despite it all, Taylor has become the nearest thing to rock royalty in America. \u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Based on fresh interviews with musicians, producers, record company people, and music journalists, as well as previously published interviews, reviews, and profiles, \u003cem\u003eSweet Dreams and Flying Machines \u003c\/em\u003eis the definitive biography of an elusive superstar.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eMark Ribowsky\u003c\/b\u003e has written thirteen books, including \u003ci\u003eWhiskey Bottles and Brand-New Cars\u003c\/i\u003e and widely praised biographies of Tom Landry, Howard Cosell, Otis Redding, Phil Spector, and Stachel Paige. He has also contributed extensively to magazines including \u003ci\u003ePlayboy\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePenthouse\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eHigh Times\u003c\/i\u003e. He lives in Boca Raton, Florida.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Chicago Review Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50330386891026,"sku":"9780912777689","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_c37d0887-0758-423e-b194-83d605ac951b.jpg?v=1727800137","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/sweet-dreams-and-flying-machines-the-life-and-music-of-james-taylor-9780912777689","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}