This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(April 2010) |
Johnnie Harrison Taylor(May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000)[2][3]was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, fromblues,rhythm and blues,soul,andgospeltopop,doo-wop,anddisco.He was initially successful atStax Recordswith the number-oneR&B hits"Who's Making Love"(1968),"Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone"(1971) and"I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)"(1973), and reached number one on the US pop charts with"Disco Lady"in 1976.
Johnnie Taylor | |
|---|---|
 Taylor performing at theInternational Amphitheatrein Chicago, 1973 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Johnnie Harrison Taylor |
| Also known as | Philosopher of Soul[1] |
| Born | May 5, 1934 Crawfordsville, Arkansas,United States |
| Died | May 31, 2000(aged 66) Dallas,Texas,United States |
| Genres | R&B·soul·gospel·blues·pop·doo-wop·disco |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, record producer |
| Years active | 1953–2000 |
| Labels | |
In 2022, Taylor was inducted into theBlues Hall of Fame.[4]
Biography
editEarly years
edit
Johnnie Taylor was born inCrawfordsville, Arkansas,United States.[5]He grew up inWest Memphis, Arkansas,performing in gospel groups as a youngster. As an adult, he had one release, "Somewhere to Lay My Head", onChicago'sVee Jay Recordslabelin the 1950s, as part of the gospel groupThe Highway Q.C.'s,which included a youngSam Cooke.[5]Taylor's singing then was strikingly close to that of Cooke, and he was hired to take Cooke's place in the latter's gospel group, theSoul Stirrers,in 1957.[5]
A few years later, after Cooke had established his independentSAR Records,Taylor signed on as one of the label's first acts and recorded "Rome Wasn't Built In A Day" in 1962.[5]However, SAR Records quickly became defunct after Cooke's death in 1964.
In 1966, Taylor moved toStax RecordsinMemphis, Tennessee,where he was dubbed "The Philosopher of Soul". He recorded with the label'shouse band,which includedBooker T. & the M.G.'s.His hits included "I Had a Dream", "I've Got to Love Somebody's Baby" (bothwrittenby the team ofIsaac HayesandDavid Porter) and most notably "Who's Making Love",[5]which reached No. 5 on theBillboardHot 100chartand No. 1 on theR&Bchart in 1968. "Who's Making Love" sold over one million copies, and was awarded agold disc.[6]In 1970 Taylor married Gerlean Rocket, with their divorce finalized on May 10, 2000, 21 days before his passing.[7]His children from that marriage are Jon Harrison Taylor, and Tasha Taylor, both musicians.
During his tenure at Stax, he became an R&B star, with over a dozen chart successes, such as "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone",which reached No. 23 on the Hot 100 chart," Cheaper to Keep Her "(Mack Rice) andrecord producerDon Davis's penned "I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)", which reached No. 11 on the Hot 100 chart. "I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)" also sold more than one million copies, and was awarded gold disc status by theR.I.A.A.in October 1973.[8]Taylor, along with Isaac Hayes andThe Staple Singers,was one of the label's flagship artists, who were credited for keeping the company afloat in the late 1960s and early 1970s after the death of its biggest star,Otis Redding,in an aviation accident. He appeared in the documentary film,Wattstax,which was released in 1973.[9]
Columbia Records
edit"For a journeyman he's a minor genius—who knows more about fucking around thanAlfred Kinsey."
After Stax folded in 1975, Taylor switched toColumbia Records,where he recorded his biggest success with Don Davis still in charge of production, "Disco Lady",in 1976.[5]It spent four weeks at number one on theBillboardHot 100and six weeks at the top of the R&B chart. It peaked at No. 25 in theUK Singles Chartin May 1976.[11]"Disco Lady" was the first certifiedplatinumsingle (two million copies sold) by theRIAA.[5]Taylor recorded several more successful albums and R&B single hits with Davis on Columbia, before Brad Shapiro took over production duties, but sales generally fell away.
Malaco Records
editAfter a short stay at a small independent label in Los Angeles, Beverly Glen Records, Taylor signed withMalaco Records[5]after the company's founder Tommy Couch and producing partner Wolf Stephenson heard him sing at blues singerZ. Z. Hill's funeral in spring 1984.
Backed by members of theMuscle Shoals Rhythm Section,as well as in-house veterans such as formerStaxkeyboardistCarson Whitsettand guitarist/bandleader Bernard Jenkins, Malaco gave Taylor the type of recording freedom that Stax had given him in the late 1960s and early 1970s, enabling him to record ten albums for the label in his 16-year stint.
In 1996, Taylor's eighth album for Malaco,Good Love!,reached number one on theBillboardTop Blues Albumschart (No. 15 R&B), and was the biggest record in Malaco's history. With this success, Malaco recorded a live video of Taylor at theLonghorn BallroominDallas, Texas,in the summer of 1997. The club portion of theGood Lovevideo was recorded at 1001 Nightclub inJackson, Mississippi.
Taylor's final song was "Soul Heaven", in which he dreamed of being at a concert featuring deceased African-American music icons fromLouis ArmstrongtoOtis Reddingto Z.Z. Hill toThe Notorious B.I.G.,among others.
Radio
editIn the 1980s, Johnnie Taylor was a DJ onKKDA,a radio station in the Dallas area, where he had made his home. The station's format was mostly R&B and Soul oldies and their on-the-air personalities were often local R&B, Soul, blues, and jazz musicians. Taylor was billed as "The Wailer, Johnnie Taylor".
Death
editTaylor died of aheart attackat Charlton Methodist Hospital inDallas,Texas,on May 31, 2000, aged 66.[1]Stax billed Johnnie Taylor as "The Philosopher of Soul". He was also known as "the Blues Wailer". He was buried beside his mother, Ida Mae Taylor, at Forrest Hill Cemetery inKansas City,Missouri.[12][1]
His highly complex personal life was revealed after his death. Having six accepted children and three others with confirmed paternity born to three different mothers,[13]the difficulties associated with executing his will were presented in an episode of the TV programThe Will: Family Secrets Revealedcalled "The Estate of Johnnie Taylor".[14]In a 2021Rolling Stonearticle, Fonda Bryant, one of the nine heirs of Taylor's estate, shared some of the complexities that she and her other siblings have had to deal with during the past decade regarding her father's royalty payments fromSony Music.Bryant believed that the alleged lack of transparency concerning those payouts was reason enough for Sony to disclose her father's personal information. Sony's refusal to do so left Bryant and the other heirs in the dark. Music industry attorneyErin M. Jacobsonstated in the article that "'a label is not just going to turn over a bunch of financial records to anyone that asks for it.'" An audit is a viable option for "heirs who are distrustful of a label's accounting" practices. The down side to doing one, though, is the exorbitant amount of money that it would cost to do so, something too "unrealistic for most heirs like Bryant."[15]
Awards and nominations
editTaylor was given a Pioneer Award by theRhythm and Blues Foundationin 1999. Taylor was also a three-timeGrammy Awardnominee.[16]In 2015 Taylor was inducted into theNational Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame.In 2022, Taylor was inducted into theBlues Hall of Fame.[4]His induction citation stated "Taylor liked to emphasize that he could sing more than blues, as indeed he amply proved when performing gospel and soul, but among African-American audiences, he reigned as the top headliner of his era at blues events".[4]
Grammy Awards
editTaylor was nominated for three careerGrammy Awardswithout a win.[16]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | "Who's Making Love" | Best Male R&B Vocal Performance | Nominated |
| 1977 | "Disco Lady" | Best Male R&B Vocal Performance | Nominated |
| 2001 | Gotta Get the Groove Back | Best Traditional R&B Vocal Album | Nominated |
Johnnie Taylor was awarded thefirst-everPlatinum Record Award in history by theRIAAfor his two-million-selling smash hit, "Disco Lady".
Musical influence
editIn 2004, the UK'sShapeshifterssampledTaylor's 1982 "What About My Love?", for their No. 1 hit single, "Lola's Theme".[17]
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Year | Album | Peak chart positions | Label | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [18] |
US R&B [18] | ||||||
| 1967 | Wanted: One Soul Singer | — | 26 | Stax | |||
| 1968 | Who's Making Love... | 42 | 5 | ||||
| Raw Blues | 126 | 24 | |||||
| Rare Stamps | — | 33 | |||||
| 1969 | The Johnnie Taylor Philosophy Continues | 109 | 10 | ||||
| 1971 | One Step Beyond | 112 | 6 | ||||
| 1973 | Taylored in Silk | 54 | 3 | ||||
| 1974 | Super Taylor | 182 | 10 | ||||
| 1976 | Eargasm[19] | 5 | 1 | Columbia | |||
| 1977 | Rated Extraordinaire | 51 | 6 | ||||
| Reflections | — | 45 | RCA | ||||
| Disco 9000 | 183 | 22 | Columbia | ||||
| 1978 | Ever Ready | 164 | 35 | ||||
| 1979 | She's Killing Me | — | 53 | ||||
| 1980 | A New Day | — | 75 | ||||
| 1982 | Just Ain't Good Enough | 172 | 19 | Beverly Glen | |||
| 1984 | This Is Your Night | — | 55 | Malaco | |||
| 1985 | Wall to Wall | — | 46 | ||||
| 1987 | Lover Boy | — | 70 | ||||
| 1988 | In Control | — | 43 | ||||
| 1989 | Crazy 'Bout You | — | 47 | ||||
| 1991 | I Know It's Wrong But I... Just Can't Do Right | — | 59 | ||||
| 1993 | Real Love | — | 76 | ||||
| 1996 | Good Love! | 108 | 15 | ||||
| 1998 | Taylored to Please | — | 44 | ||||
| 1999 | Gotta Get the Groove Back | 140 | 30 | ||||
| 2001 | There's No Good in Goodbye | — | 30 | ||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | |||||||
Live albums
edit- FunkSoulBrother- Fuel/Universal. Retrospective album 1970[20]
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Chart positions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [21] |
US R&B [22] |
UK [23] |
CAN [24] [25] | ||
| 1963 | "Baby, We've Got Love" | 98 | *[26] | — | — |
| 1966 | "I Had a Dream" | — | 19 | — | — |
| "I Got to Love Somebody's Baby" | — | 15 | — | — | |
| 1967 | "Somebody's Sleeping in My Bed" | 95 | 33 | — | — |
| 1968 | "Next Time" | — | 34 | — | — |
| "I Ain't Particular" | — | 45 | — | — | |
| "Who's Making Love" | 5 | 1 | — | 7 | |
| 1969 | "Take Care of Your Homework" | 20 | 2 | — | 27 |
| "Testify (I Wanna)" | 36 | 4 | — | 35 | |
| "I Could Never Be President" | 48 | 10 | — | — | |
| "Love Bones" | 43 | 4 | — | 38 | |
| 1970 | "Steal Away" | 37 | 3 | — | 36 |
| "I Am Somebody Part II" | 39 | 4 | — | 45 | |
| 1971 | "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone" | 28 | 1 | — | — |
| "I Don't Wanna Lose You" | 86 | 13 | — | — | |
| "Hijackin' Love" | 64 | 10 | — | — | |
| 1972 | "Standing in for Jody" | 74 | 12 | — | — |
| "Doing My Own Thing (Part I)" | 109 | 16 | — | — | |
| "Stop Doggin' Me" | 101 | 13 | — | — | |
| 1973 | "I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)" | 11 | 1 | — | 35 |
| "Cheaper to Keep Her" | 15 | 2 | — | — | |
| 1974 | "We're Getting Careless with Our Love" | 34 | 5 | — | 77 |
| "I've Been Born Again" | 78 | 13 | — | — | |
| "It's September" | — | 26 | — | — | |
| 1975 | "Try Me Tonight" | — | 51 | — | — |
| 1976 | "Disco Lady" | 1 | 1 | 25 | 14 |
| "Somebody's Gettin' It" | 33 | 5 | — | 94 | |
| 1977 | "Love Is Better in the A.M. (Part 1)" | 77 | 3 | — | 63 |
| "Your Love Is Rated X" | — | 17 | — | — | |
| "Disco 9000" | 86 | 24 | — | — | |
| 1978 | "Keep On Dancing" | 101 | 32 | — | — |
| "Ever Ready" | — | 84 | — | — | |
| 1979 | "(Ooh-Wee) She's Killing Me" / "Play Something Pretty" |
— | 37 79 |
— | — |
| 1980 | "I Got This Thing for Your Love" | — | 77 | — | — |
| 1982 | "What About My Love" | — | 24 | — | — |
| 1983 | "I'm So Proud" | — | 55 | — | — |
| 1984 | "Lady, My Whole World Is You" | — | 74 | — | — |
| 1987 | "Don't Make Me Late" | — | 74 | — | — |
| 1990 | "Still Crazy for You" | — | 60 | — | — |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||
References
edit- ^abc"Johnnie Harrison Taylor (1934-2000)".Encyclopedia of Arkansas.RetrievedApril 7,2014.
- ^Montier, Patrick."Johnnie Taylor".Staxrecords.free.fr.RetrievedApril 7,2014.
- ^Huey, Steve."Artist Biography".AllMusic.RetrievedMarch 5,2022.
- ^abc"BLUES HALL OF FAME - About/Inductions".Blues.org.RetrievedMarch 20,2022.
- ^abcdefghLarkin, Colin,ed. (1997).The Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music(Concise ed.).Virgin Books.pp. 1164/5.ISBN1-85227-745-9.
- ^"Johnnie Taylor" Who's Making Love "Gold RIAA 45 White Matte Record Award -".honormusicawards.com.December 15, 2011.
- ^"Estate sale showcases blues singer's personal effects".Myplainview.com.(subscription required)
- ^Murrells, Joseph (1978).The Book of Golden Discs(2nd ed.). London: Barrie and Jenkins Ltd. pp.249 and 338.ISBN0-214-20512-6.
- ^Tobler, John (1992).NME Rock 'N' Roll Years(1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 241. CN 5585.
- ^Christgau, Robert(1981)."Consumer Guide '70s: T".Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies.Ticknor & Fields.ISBN089919026X.RetrievedMarch 15,2019– via robertchristgau.com.
- ^Roberts, David (2006).British Hit Singles & Albums(19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 550.ISBN1-904994-10-5.
- ^Weber, Erika (August 6, 2018)."Johnnie Harrison Taylor (1934-2000) •".Blackpast.org.RetrievedJuly 9,2021.
- ^"Contact Support".Estateofdenial.com.RetrievedMay 18,2018.
- ^"The Estate of Johnnie Taylor".IMDb.com.November 16, 2011.RetrievedMay 18,2018.
- ^Bernstein, Jonathan (November 2, 2021)."He Scored the First Platinum Hit. 45 Years Later, His Family Is Fighting for Every Penny".Rolling Stone.RetrievedJuly 16,2022.
- ^ab"Johnnie Taylor".Grammy.com.June 4, 2019.
- ^Copsey, Rob (July 22, 2021)."Official Charts Flashback 2004: Rachel Stevens' Some Girls vs. Lola's Theme".Official Charts.RetrievedNovember 2,2022.
- ^ab"Johnnie Taylor - Awards".AllMusic. Archived fromthe originalon September 12, 2012.RetrievedMarch 5,2022.
- ^"Eargasm - Johnnie Taylor".AllMusic.RetrievedJune 23,2021.
- ^"CD Reviews: The Beta Band, Default, Toploader and many more".Chart Attack.July 17, 2001. Archived from the original on July 19, 2001.
{{cite web}}:CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^Whitburn, Joel(2003).Top Pop Singles 1955-2002(1st ed.). Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p.700.ISBN0-89820-155-1.
- ^Whitburn, Joel (1996).Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-1995.Record Research. p. 435.
- ^Betts, Graham (2004).Complete UK Hit Singles 1952-2004(1st ed.). London: Collins. p. 772.ISBN0-00-717931-6.
- ^"RPM Top 100 Singles".Library and Archives Canada.
- ^"RPM Top 100 Singles".Library and Archives Canada.
- ^NoBillboardR&B chart published in this period.