Johnnie Taylor
Encyclopedia
Johnnie Harrison Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American vocalist in a wide variety of genres, from rhythm and blues
, soul
, blues
and gospel
to pop
, doo-wop
and disco
.
. As a child, he grew up in West Memphis, Arkansas
and performed in gospel groups as a youngster. As an adult, he had one release, "Somewhere to Lay My Head", on Chicago
's Chance Records label
in the 1950s, as part of the gospel group Highway QCs, which had been founded by a young Sam Cooke. His singing was strikingly close to that of Sam Cooke
, and he was hired to take Cooke's place in the latter's gospel group, the Soul Stirrers, in 1957.
A few years later, after Cooke had established his independent SAR Records
, Taylor signed on as one of the label's first acts and recorded "Rome Wasn't Built In A Day" in 1962. However, SAR Records quickly became defunct after Cooke's death in 1964.
In 1966, Taylor moved to Stax Records
in Memphis, Tennessee
, where he was dubbed "The Philosopher of Soul". Whilst there he recorded with the label's house band
, Booker T. & the MGs. His hits included "I Had a Dream", "I've Got to Love Somebody's Baby" (both written
by the team of Isaac Hayes
and David Porter
) and most notably "Who's Making Love
", which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100
chart
and No. 1 on the R&B
chart in 1968. "Who's Making Love" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
.
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
) and record producer
Don 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 in excess of one million units, and was awarded gold disc status by the R.I.A.A. in October 1973. Taylor, along with Isaac Hayes and The Staple Singers
was one of the label's flagship artists. He appeared in the documentary film, Wattstax
, which was released in 1973.
, where he made his best known hit, "Disco Lady
", in 1976. It peaked at #25 in the UK Singles Chart
in May 1976. "Disco Lady" was the first certified platinum
single (two million copies sold) by the RIAA
.
after the label's founder Tommy Couch and producing partner Wolf Stephenson heard him sing at blues
singer Z. Z. Hill's funeral in the spring of 1984.
Backed by members of The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section as well as in-house veterans like former Stax
keyboardist Carson Whitsett
and 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 sixteen year stint.
In 1996, Taylor's eighth album for Malaco, Good Love!, made it to Number One on Billboard's
Blues chart (#15 R&B), and was the biggest record in Malaco's history. With this success, Malaco recorded a live video of Taylor at the Longhorn Ballroom
in Dallas, Texas
in the summer of 1997. The club portion of the "Good Love" video was recorded at 1001 Nightclub in Jackson, Mississippi.
Taylor's final song was "Soul Heaven", in which he dreamed of being at a concert featuring deceased soul music
icons Otis Redding
, Jackie Wilson
, Marvin Gaye
, Sam Cooke
, and MGs drummer Al Jackson, Jr., among others. In one verse, Taylor sang, "I didn't want to wake up/I was havin' such a good time".
at Charlton Methodist Hospital in Dallas, Texas
on May 31, 2000, aged 66. 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, in Arkansas.
sampled
Taylor's 1982 "What About My Love?", for their #1 hit single, "Lola's Theme
".
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
and gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
to pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, doo-wop
Doo-wop
The name Doo-wop is given to a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music that developed in African American communities in the 1940s and achieved mainstream popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. It emerged from New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Baltimore, Newark, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati and...
and disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
.
Early years
Johnnie Taylor was born in Crawfordsville, ArkansasCrawfordsville, Arkansas
Crawfordsville, historically Crawfordville, is a town in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 514 at the 2000 census.Late R&B singer Johnnie Taylor was born in Crawfordsville.-Geography:...
. As a child, he grew up in West Memphis, Arkansas
West Memphis, Arkansas
West Memphis is the largest city in Crittenden County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 27,666 at the 2000 census, with an estimated population of 28,181 in 2005, and 31,329 in 2011 ranking it as the state's 11th largest city, behind Hot Springs...
and performed in gospel groups as a youngster. As an adult, he had one release, "Somewhere to Lay My Head", on Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
's Chance Records label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
in the 1950s, as part of the gospel group Highway QCs, which had been founded by a young Sam Cooke. His singing was strikingly close to that of Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
, and he was hired to take Cooke's place in the latter's gospel group, the Soul Stirrers, in 1957.
A few years later, after Cooke had established his independent SAR Records
SAR Records
SAR Records was a record company founded by soul music legend Sam Cooke in 1961. The meaning of "SAR" has been disputed; it has been listed as "Sam & Alex Records" and also as "Sam, Alex, & Roy Records" SAR Records was a record company founded by soul music legend Sam Cooke in 1961. The meaning of...
, Taylor signed on as one of the label's first acts and recorded "Rome Wasn't Built In A Day" in 1962. However, SAR Records quickly became defunct after Cooke's death in 1964.
In 1966, Taylor moved to Stax Records
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, where he was dubbed "The Philosopher of Soul". Whilst there he recorded with the label's house band
House band
For the British band that existed from 1984-2001, see The House BandA house band is a group of musicians, often centrally organized by a band leader, who regularly play an establishment. It is widely used to refer both to the bands who work on entertainment programs on television or radio, and to...
, Booker T. & the MGs. His hits included "I Had a Dream", "I've Got to Love Somebody's Baby" (both written
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
by the team of Isaac Hayes
Isaac Hayes
Isaac Lee Hayes, Jr. was an American songwriter, musician, singer and actor. Hayes was one of the creative influences behind the southern soul music label Stax Records, where he served both as an in-house songwriter and as a record producer, teaming with his partner David Porter during the...
and David Porter
David Porter (musician)
David Porter is an American soul musician. Porter is best known as the songwriting and production partner of Isaac Hayes at Stax Records during the 1960s...
) and most notably "Who's Making Love
Who's Making Love
"Who's Making Love" is a single recorded by singer Johnnie Taylor and released on the Stax label in the late summer of 1968. The single became Taylor's breakthrough single, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot R&B Singles chart and number five on the Billboard Hot 100. It became one of the few...
", which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart
Record chart
A record chart is a ranking of recorded music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
and No. 1 on the R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
chart in 1968. "Who's Making Love" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
.
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
Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone
"Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone" is a 1971 R&B single by Johnnie Taylor. The single was his second number one on the U.S. R&B chart and crossed over to the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number twenty-eight..-Chart positions:...
", which reached No. 23 on the Hot 100 chart, "Cheaper to Keep Her" (Mack Rice
Mack Rice
Mack Rice , is a American songwriter, whose compositions have been performed by many well-known artists, including The Staple Singers, Ike and Tina Turner, Albert King, Johnnie Taylor, Shirley Brown, Rufus Thomas, Etta James, Billy Eckstine, Eddie Floyd, Buddy Guy, The Rascals, Wilson Pickett,...
) and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Don 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 in excess of one million units, and was awarded gold disc status by the R.I.A.A. in October 1973. Taylor, along with Isaac Hayes and The Staple Singers
The Staple Singers
The Staple Singers were an American gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. Roebuck "Pops" Staples , the patriarch of the family, formed the group with his children Cleotha , Pervis , Yvonne , and Mavis...
was one of the label's flagship artists. He appeared in the documentary film, Wattstax
Wattstax
Wattstax is a 1973 documentary film by Mel Stuart that focused on the 1972 Wattstax music festival and the African American community of Watts in Los Angeles, California. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Documentary Film in 1974...
, which was released in 1973.
Columbia Records
After Stax folded in the mid 1970s, Taylor switched to Columbia RecordsColumbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
, where he made his best known hit, "Disco Lady
Disco Lady
"Disco Lady" is a 1976 single for Johnnie Taylor that went on to become his biggest hit. It spent four weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and six weeks on the Billboard R&B chart in the U.S. It was also the first single to be certified platinum by the RIAA...
", in 1976. It peaked at #25 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
in May 1976. "Disco Lady" was the first certified platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
single (two million copies sold) by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
.
Malaco Records
After a brief stint at Beverly Glen Records, Taylor signed with Malaco RecordsMalaco Records
Malaco Records is an independent record label based in Jackson, Mississippi. Malaco is and has been the home of various major soul, blues and gospel acts, such as Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, ZZ Hill, Denise LaSalle, Benny Latimore, Dorothy Moore, Little Milton, Shirley Brown, Marvin Sease, and the...
after the label's founder Tommy Couch and producing partner Wolf Stephenson heard him sing at blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer Z. Z. Hill's funeral in the spring of 1984.
Backed by members of The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section as well as in-house veterans like former Stax
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
keyboardist Carson Whitsett
Carson Whitsett
Carson Whitsett was an American keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer.-Biography:...
and 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 sixteen year stint.
In 1996, Taylor's eighth album for Malaco, Good Love!, made it to Number One on Billboard's
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
Blues chart (#15 R&B), and was the biggest record in Malaco's history. With this success, Malaco recorded a live video of Taylor at the Longhorn Ballroom
Longhorn Ballroom
The Longhorn Ballroom is a music venue and country western dance hall in Dallas, Texas . It was known in the early 1950s as Bob Wills' Ranch House when the large ballroom was built and operated by western swing bandleader Bob Wills. When Wills sold the facility for tax purposes, the sprawling...
in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
in the summer of 1997. The club portion of the "Good Love" video was recorded at 1001 Nightclub in Jackson, Mississippi.
Taylor's final song was "Soul Heaven", in which he dreamed of being at a concert featuring deceased soul music
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
icons Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
, Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson
Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history...
, Marvin Gaye
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. , better known by his stage name Marvin Gaye, was an American singer-songwriter and musician with a three-octave vocal range....
, Sam Cooke
Sam Cooke
Samuel Cook, , better known under the stage name Sam Cooke, was an American gospel, R&B, soul, and pop singer, songwriter, and entrepreneur. He is considered to be one of the pioneers and founders of soul music. He is commonly known as the King of Soul for his distinctive vocal abilities and...
, and MGs drummer Al Jackson, Jr., among others. In one verse, Taylor sang, "I didn't want to wake up/I was havin' such a good time".
Radio
In the 1980s Johnnie Taylor was a DJ on KKDA, a Dallas/Fort Worth radio station. The station's format is mostly R&B and Soul oldies and their on-the-air personalities are often local R&B, Soul, blues, and jazz musicians. Mr. Taylor was billed as "The Wailer, Johnnie Taylor."Death
Taylor died of a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
at Charlton Methodist Hospital in Dallas, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
on May 31, 2000, aged 66. 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, in Arkansas.
Musical influence
In 2004, the UK's ShapeshiftersShapeshifters (band)
The Shapeshifters are Simon Marlin and Max Reich, a house music production duo based in London, England. They have a recording contract with Defected Records, and were previously signed to Positiva...
sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
Taylor's 1982 "What About My Love?", for their #1 hit single, "Lola's Theme
Lola's Theme
Lola's Theme is a disco house song, released by the UK based production duo Shapeshifters in 2004.- Background :The name "Lola's Theme" was originally a working title for this record; Lola is Simon Marlin's wife and it was while listening to her record collection that the initial idea for the track...
".
Personal life
Taylor has four children who have been recording artists. Johnnie Taylor Jr., Floyd Taylor, Latasha "Tasha" Taylor and T.J. Hooker-Taylor. The best known is Floyd Taylor, who has recorded three albums for Malaco Records. Other children include Fonda Bryant, Schiffon Taylor-Brown, Sabrina Taylor, Jonathan Taylor, and Anthony Arnold.External links
- Complete Discography
- [ Allmusic.com bio]
- Find A Grave bio