TAYLOR’S BILL IS ONE OF CLEAN HEALTH

For James Taylor, the folk-rock superstar of the early 1970s, the 1980s has been a time to get it together.

He has licked his drug and alcohol problem, emerged from a failed marriage to singer Carly Simon, and recently he released his first album in four years.

“There used to be an element of depressed panic about James, but now he seems so peaceful and together,” says James Irsay, a New York composer who is a close personal friend.

“People who have chronic drug problems take a long time to get to the point where they really do something about it. James decided to make it his first priority and, in a show of what I can call impressive strength, did it.”

Taylor says he’s been completely drug free for a couple of years now. The man who was often the life of the party after a few drinks also abstains from alcohol consumption.

Close associates say narcotics and liquor ruined Taylor’s life for at least 15 years. Taylor’s love affair with heroine and cocaine is said to have “demolished” his marriage to Simon.

A turning point for Taylor came in the summer of 1981 when he fell in love with actress Kathryn Walker. It was in Walker’s Manhattan apartment that Taylor went cold turkey.

Another event that had a profound impact on Taylor was the overdose death of comedian John Belushi.

Ever since Belushi parodied Taylor’s agonizing, introspective compositions on Saturday Night Live, the two were close friends.

“Initially, John’s death was a shock and just a very sad thing to have happened,” Taylor said with an expression of discomfort on his face. “But it made me look at my own life and the way I was behaving. It brought home the danger of self-abuse.”

Taylor has gone about the task of getting into shape with the same determination and obsession with which he snorted cocaine and shot heroin. When he’s in New York, he can be found in a trendy West Side aerobics studio working out to a disco beat. When he’s touring with his band, he’ll bring along a jump rope or bicycle.

“It makes me feel good to try and pump it up every day,” he says looking like a walking advertisement for the benefits of aerobic exercise. “It helps my singing and it helps to have that extra energy and stamina when you’re out on the road.”

Referring to Taylor’s fervent embrace of aerobics, his friend Irsay comments: “This is a classic example of the positive channeling of an obsessive personality.”

After living under the intense gaze of the press, Taylor is reluctant to speak about his current lover, actress Kathryn Walker.

“She means a whole lot to me” is about all he will say.

But when the subject of his now deceased pet pig, Mona, arises, Taylor’s face lights up.

When it is suggested that he can write beautiful music about something as mundane as a pig, his eyebrows rise and he warns that “you’re treading on thin ice, there.”

It is evident that the man has strong feelings for the departed sow.

“It’s hard to get close to a pig,” he concedes, “but in our way we were very fond of one another.” Mona made the fatal mistake of chowing down on a cake of rat poison and all that remains of the creature is a grave in a field at Taylor’s home in Connecticut and a song called “Mona” on the new LP, “That’s Why I’m Here.”

The title cut includes a verse about Belushi, and is a reaffirmation of Taylor’s mission in life: to make music. A track called “Limousine Driver” was composed during an aerobic workout and is proof beyond a shadow of a doubt that the man is still funky after all these years, “Only One” is a pledge of fidelity to Kathryn Walker, and “Only a Dream in Rio” is an ode to democracy in Brazil.

All of the songs have that James Taylor sound, that bittersweet melody and soulful acoustic guitar strains that have become his trademark.

James Taylor says the thing that he enjoys most these days is the live performances.

“I love the one-nighters,” he said. “They’re so focused.”

“Focused” is a word that Taylor often uses when he talks about his current state of mind. And it’s a term that others use to describe the “new” James Taylor.

“I feel renewed. It’s like I went away for a while and sort of reorganized myself. I’m feeling quite focused now. I can see myself continuing to make music publicly for a long time.”