Mick Taylor
Encyclopedia
Michael Kevin "Mick" Taylor (born 17 January 1949 in Welwyn Garden City
, Hertfordshire
) is an English
musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
(1966–69) and The Rolling Stones
(1969–74). Since resigning from the Rolling Stones in December 1974 at age 25, Taylor has worked with numerous other artists and has released solo albums.
, but was raised in Hatfield, Hertfordshire
, England
, where his father worked as a fitter for De Havilland
aircraft company. He began playing guitar at age nine, learning to play from his mother's younger brother. As a teenager, he formed bands with schoolmates and started performing concerts under names such as The Juniors and the Strangers. They also appeared on television and put out a single. Part of the band was recruited for a new group called The Gods
, which included Ken Hensley
(later of Uriah Heep
fame). In 1966, The Gods opened for Cream
at the Starlite Ballroom in Wembley
.
In 1965 at age 16, Taylor went to see a John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
performance at "The Hop" Community Centre, Welwyn Garden City. A former drummer with the Juniors, Danny Bacon, remembers: "On the night in question, I had gone to The Hop with some guys from our band, former schoolmates and Ex-Juniors Mick Taylor and Alan Shacklock
. It was after John Mayall
had finished his first set without a guitarist that it became clear that for some reason Eric Clapton
was not going to show up. A group of local musicians, which included myself, Robert 'Jab' Als, Herbie Sparks, and others, along with three local guitarists—Alan Shacklock, Mick Casey (formerly of the Trekkas) and Mick Taylor—were in attendance." Taylor himself has said after seeing that Clapton hadn't appeared, but that his guitar had already been set up on the stage, had approached John Mayall
during the interval, asking if he could play with them, mentioning that he'd heard their albums and knew some of the songs. After a moment of deliberation, Mayall agreed. Taylor amended, "I wasn't thinking that this was a great opportunity.. I just really wanted to get up on stage and play the guitar."
Taylor played the second set with Mayall's band, and afterwards, they exchanged phone numbers, which proved to be pivotal in his career a few years later. Taylor had won Mayall's respect, and when he was 17, Mayall was looking for another guitarist to fill the vacancy left after Peter Green
's resignation. Mayall contacted Taylor, and invited him to take Green's place. Taylor made his debut with the Bluesbreakers at the Manor House
, an old blues club in North London. For those in the music scene the night was an event... "Let's go and see this 17-year-old kid try and replace Eric".
Before he turned 18, Taylor toured and recorded the album Crusade
with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. From 1966 to 1969, Taylor developed a guitar style that is blues-based with Latin
and jazz
influences. Later on in his career, he further developed his skills as a slide guitar
ist.
In 1967, Mick made the drawings for Donovan's Gift From a Flower to a Garden double LP.
was removed from the The Rolling Stones
in June 1969, Mayall recommended Taylor to Mick Jagger. Taylor believed he was being called in to be a session musician
at his first studio session with the Rolling Stones. An impressed Jagger and Keith Richards
invited Taylor back the following day to continue rehearsing and recording with the band. He overdubbed guitar on "Country Honk" "Live With Me
" for the album Let It Bleed
, and for the single "Honky Tonk Women
" released in the UK, on 4 July 1969.
Taylor's onstage debut as a Rolling Stone, at the age of 20, was the free Hyde Park
concert on 5 July 1969. An estimated quarter of a million people attended for a show that turned into a tribute to Brian Jones, who had died 3 days before the concert.
The Rolling Stones' 1971 release Sticky Fingers
included "Sway
" and "Moonlight Mile" which Taylor and Jagger had completed in Richards's absence. At the time Jagger stated: "We made [tracks] with just Mick Taylor, which are very good and everyone loves, where Keith wasn't there for whatever reasons ... It's me and [Mick Taylor] playing off each other - another feeling completely, because he's following my vocal lines and then extemporizing on them during the solos." However, Taylor was only credited as co-author of one track "Ventilator Blues
", from the album Exile on Main St.
(1972). Taylor was noted for his smooth lyrical touch and tone which contrasted with Richards's jagged and cutting technique.
After the 1973 European tour, Richards's drug problems had worsened and began affecting the ability of the band to function as a whole. Between recording sessions, the band members were living in various countries and during this period Taylor appeared on Herbie Mann
's London Underground (1974) and also appeared on Mann's album Reggae (1974).
in Munich, Taylor missed some of the sessions whilst he underwent surgery for acute sinusitis
. Not much was achieved during the first 10 days at Musicland. Most of the actual recordings were made in January (Musicland) and April 1974 (Stargroves). When Taylor resumed work with the band, he found it difficult to get on with Richards. At one point during the Munich sessions, Richards confronted him, and said, "Oi! Taylor! You're playing too fuckin' loud. I mean, you're really good live, man, but you're fucking useless in the studio. Lay out, play later, whatever." Richards erased some of the tapes where Taylor had recorded guitar parts to some of the songs for It's Only Rock n' Roll Taylor was, however, present at all the sessions in April at Stargroves
, England, where the LP was finished and most of the overdubs were recorded.
Not long after those recording sessions, Taylor went on a six-week expedition to Brazil, travelling down the Amazon River
in a boat and exploring Latin music.
Just before the release of the album in October 1974, Taylor told Nick Kent
from the NME magazine about the new LP and that he had co-written "Till the Next Goodbye
" and "Time Waits for No One
" with Jagger. Kent showed Taylor the record sleeve, which revealed the absence of any songwriting credits for Taylor. In an interview with Gary James, Taylor later said: "I was a bit peeved about not getting credit for a couple of songs, but that wasn't the whole reason [I left the band]. I guess I just felt like I had enough. I decided to leave and start a group with Jack Bruce
. I never really felt, and I don't know why, but I never felt I was gonna stay with the Stones forever, even right from the beginning. In a 1997 interview with Mojo Magazine, Taylor said: "We used to fight and argue all the time. And one of the things I got angry about was that Mick had promised to give me some credit for some of the songs – and he didn't. I believed I'd contributed enough. Let's put it this way – without my contribution those songs would not have existed. There's not many but enough, things like "Sway
" and "Moonlight Mile" on Sticky Fingers
and a couple of others."
In December 1974, Taylor announced he was leaving the Rolling Stones. The bandmates were at a party in London when Taylor told Mick Jagger he was quitting and walked out. Taylor's decision came as a total shock to many. The Rolling Stones were due to start recording a new album in Munich, and the entire band was reportedly angry at Taylor for leaving at such short notice.
When interviewed by Jann Wenner
of Rolling Stone
magazine in 1995, Mick Jagger stated that Taylor never explained why he had left, and surmised that "[Taylor] wanted to have a solo career. I think he found it difficult to get on with Keith." In the same interview Jagger said of Taylor's contribution to the band: "I think he had a big contribution. He made it very musical. He was a very fluent, melodic player, which we never had, and we don't have now. Neither Keith nor [Ronnie Wood] plays that kind of style. It was very good for me working with him ... Mick Taylor would play very fluid lines against my vocals. He was exciting, and he was very pretty, and it gave me something to follow, to bang off. Some people think that's the best version of the band that existed". Asked if he agreed with that assessment, Jagger said: "I obviously can't say if I think Mick Taylor was the best, because it sort of trashes the period the band is in now." Charlie Watts
stated: "I think we chose the right man for the job at that time just as Ronnie was the right man for the job later on. I still think Mick is great. I haven't heard or seen him play in a few years. But certainly what came out of playing with him are musically some of the best things we've ever done". Another statement, made by Keith Richards, is: "Mick Taylor is a great guitarist, but he found out the hard way that that's all he is".
In an essay about the Rolling Stones, printed after Taylor's resignation, music critic Robert Palmer
of The New York Times
wrote that "Taylor is the most accomplished technician who ever served as a Stone. A blues guitarist with a jazzman's flair for melodic invention, Taylor was never a rock and roller and never a showman."
Taylor has worked with his former bandmates on various occasions since leaving the Rolling Stones. In 1977 he attended London-based sessions for the John Phillips
album Pay Pack & Follow
, appearing on several tracks alongside Jagger (vocals), Richards (guitar) and Wood (bass) - taking notable solos on the songs "Oh Virginia" and "Zulu Warrior". A possibly apocryphal story is that after Taylor played a particularly jaw-dropping solo in the studio, Richards half-jokingly exclaimed, "That's why I never liked you, you bastard!"
On 14 December 1981 he performed with the band at their concert at the Kemper Arena
in Kansas City, Missouri
. Keith Richards appeared on stage at a Mick Taylor show at the Lone Star Cafe
in New York on 28 December 1986, jamming on "Key to the Highway
" and "Can't You Hear Me Knocking
"; and Taylor is featured on one track ("I Could Have Stood You Up") on Richards' 1988 album Talk is Cheap. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
inducted Mick Taylor along with the Rolling Stones in 1989. Taylor also worked with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings
in the early 1990s.
In addition to his contributions to Rolling Stones albums released during his tenure with the band, Taylor's guitar is also on two tracks on their 1981 release Tattoo You
: "Tops" and "Waiting on a Friend
", both of which were originally recorded in 1972. (Taylor is sometimes mistakenly credited as playing on "Worried About You
", but the solo on that track is performed by Wayne Perkins
.)
Taylor's onstage presence with the Rolling Stones is preserved on the album Get Yer Ya-Yas Out!
, recorded over four concerts at Madison Square Garden
in New York and the Civic Center in Boston in November 1969; in the documentary films Stones in the Park (released on DVD in 2001), Gimme Shelter
(released in 1970) and Cocksucker Blues
(unreleased); and in the concert film Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones
(shown in cinemas in 1974). Bootleg recordings from the Rolling Stones' tours from 1969 through 1973 also document Taylor's concert performances with the Rolling Stones.
In March 2010, rumours started circulating that Taylor had contributed guitar work on the upcoming Exile on Main Street special edition release. This expanded version of the original double album includes 10 outtakes/alternate versions of songs. Taylor later revealed (in an interview with a journalist from Cleveland) that he had indeed recorded new guitar overdubs for the CD, at Mick Jagger's request. On 17 April 2010 (National Record Store Day), the new Rolling Stones single 'Plundered My Soul
' came out, featuring recently recorded vocals and guitars by Jagger and Taylor.
Around this time, Eagle Rock Entertainment also announced that a first official release of the concert film Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones
was planned for autumn 2010. Apart from a one-off cinema screening in the past, the film had previously only been available on bootleg videos and DVDs.
In June 1973, he joined Mike Oldfield
onstage at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
in a performance of Oldfield's Tubular Bells
. Taylor was asked to take part in this project by Richard Branson
as he felt Oldfield was unknown having just been signed to Branson's fledgling label, Virgin Records
. Taylor joined Oldfield once more for a BBC television
broadcast in November 1973.
After his resignation from the Rolling Stones, Jack Bruce
invited him to form a new band with keyboardist
Carla Bley
and drummer Bruce Gary
. In 1975, the band began rehearsals in London with tour dates scheduled for later that year. The group toured Europe, with a sound leaning more toward jazz
, including a performance at the Dutch Pinkpop festival, but disbanded the following year. A performance recorded on 1 June 1975 (which was finally released on CD in 2003 as "Live at the Manchester Free Trade Hall" by The Jack Bruce Band) and another performance from the Old Grey Whistle Test
seem to be the only material available from this brief collaboration.
Taylor appeared as a special guest of Little Feat
at the Rainbow Theatre in London, 1977, sharing slide guitar
with then-frontman Lowell George
on "A Apolitical Blues": this song appears on Little Feat
's critically acclaimed live album Waiting for Columbus
.
In the summer of 1977 he collaborated with Pierre Moerlen's Gong
for the album Espresso II, released in 1978. Taylor began writing new songs and recruiting musicians for a solo album and worked on projects with Miller Anderson, Alan Merrill
and others. He was present at many of the recording sessions for John Phillips
' first solo album. The recordings for Phillips' album took place in London over a prolonged period between 1973 and 1977. This led to Taylor working with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger who were also working on the Phillips' album. Atlantic Records
eventually cancelled the project but copies of the sessions(under titles "Half Stoned" and "Phillips '77") circulated among bootleg traders. The original tapes were rescued and restored and were officially released in 2002 as Pay Pack & Follow
.
In 1977 Taylor signed a solo recording deal with CBS Records
. By April 1978 he gave several interviews to music magazines to promote the new album which was finished, but would not be released for another year. In 1979 the album, titled Mick Taylor
, was released by CBS Records
. The album material mixed rock, jazz and Latin-flavoured blues musical styles. The album reached #119 on the Billboard
charts in early August with a stay of five weeks on the Billboard 200
. CBS advised Taylor to promote the album through American radio stations but was unwilling to back the guitarist for any supporting tour. Already frustrated with this situation, Taylor took a break from the music industry for about a year.
In 1981, he toured Europe and the United States with Alvin Lee
of Ten Years After
, sharing the bill with Black Sabbath
. He spent most of 1982 and 1983 on the road with John Mayall
, for the "Reunion Tour" with John McVie
of Fleetwood Mac
and Colin Allen
. During this tour Bob Dylan
showed up backstage at The Roxy
in Los Angeles in order to meet Taylor.
In 1983, Taylor joined Mark Knopfler
and played on Dylan's Infidels
album. He also appeared on Dylan's live album, Real Live
, as well as the follow-up studio album Empire Burlesque
. In 1984, Dylan asked Mick Taylor to assemble an experienced rock and roll band for a European tour he signed with Bill Graham
. Ian McLagan
was hired to play piano and hammond organ, Greg Sutton to play bass and Colin Allen, a long time friend of Taylor, on drums. The tour lasted for four weeks at venues such as Munich's Olympic Stadium Arena and Milan's San Siro Stadium, sharing the bill with Carlos Santana
and Joan Baez
, who appeared on the same bill for a couple of shows (in particular in the same Milan concert).
on September 24, 1988 at the last show of that year's Madison Square Garden
run in New York. Taylor lived in New York throughout the 1980s. He battled with addiction problems before getting back on track in the second half of the 1980s and moving to Los Angeles in 1990. During this time Taylor did session work and toured in Europe, America and Japan with a band including Max Middleton
(formerly of the Jeff Beck Group), Shane Fontayne
, and Blondie Chaplin
. In 1990 his CD "Stranger In This Town
" was released by Maze Records backed up by a mini-tour including the record release party at the Hard Rock Cafe
in Boston as well as gigs at the Paradise Theater
.
Taylor moved back to England in the mid 1990s. Taylor never seemed to feel comfortable in his role as a former Rolling Stone until he released a new album in 2000, entitled, A Stone's Throw. Playing at clubs and theatres as well as appearing at festivals has connected Taylor with an appreciative audience and fan base.
Mick began what was to be a significant series of collaborations with Carla Olson with their "Live at the Roxy" album Too Hot For Snakes; the centerpiece of which is a extended 7 minute performance of "Sway
". It was followed by Olson's Within An Ace which featured Taylor on seven songs, he appeared on three songs from Reap The Whirlwind and then again on Olson's The Ring Of Truth, on which he plays lead guitar on nine tracks including a twelve minute version of the Jagger and Taylor song "Winter". Further work by Olson and Taylor can be heard on the Olson produced Barry Goldberg
album Stoned Again. Taylor went on to appear on Percy Sledge
's Blue Night (1994), along with Steve Cropper
, Bobby Womack
and Greg Leisz
.
In 2003, Taylor reunited with John Mayall
for his 70th Birthday Concert
in Liverpool along with Eric Clapton
. A year later, in autumn 2004, he also joined John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers for a UK theatre tour. He toured the US East Coast with the Experience Hendrix group during October 2007. The Experience Hendrix group appeared at a series of concerts which were a homage to Jimi Hendrix
and his musical legacy. Taylor played with Mitch Mitchell
, Billy Cox
, Buddy Guy
, Hubert Sumlin
and Robby Krieger
.
In recent times Taylor reunited with Ronnie Wood (an old pal from his teenage years) at a benefit gig put on, organized and publicised by UK-domiciled US fellow Blues guitarist Stephen Dale Petit
to save the 100 Club
in London, on 1 December 2010. Other special guests at the show were Dick Taylor
(first bassplayer in the Rolling Stones) and blues/jazz trombonist Chris Barber
. Mick also toured the UK with Stephen Dale Petit appearing as Petit's Special Guest, featured on a Paul Jones BBC Radio 2 session with him and guested on Petit's 2010 Classic Rock magazine Album of the Year - "The Crave".
For the 2010 rerelease of Exile On Main Street Taylor recorded a new guitar part for the previously unreleased song, Plundered My Soul
.
He also helped to promote the "Boogie For Stu" album, which was recorded by Ben Waters to honour Ian Stewart
(original Stones pianist and co-founder of the band), by taking part in a concert to mark the CD's official launch at the Ambassadors Theatre, London on 9 March 2011. Proceeds from the event were donated to the British Heart Foundation
. Although Mick Jagger
and Keith Richards
didn't show up, Taylor noticeably enjoyed performing with, amongst others, Charlie Watts
, Ronnie Wood and Bill Wyman.
Taylor currently resides in Suffolk
.
Non-Rolling Stones work with Rolling Stones members:
released on CD (A& M - Japan, 2002)
Originally released by Alpha Music in 1996, this "Mick Taylor featuring Sasha" album should have read "Sasha featuring Mick Taylor", but the company felt it would sell better under a household name. It features Mick Taylor on guitar, but is basically a Sasha Gracanin album.
----
Music DVDs - Unofficial
Contributed to soundtrack. Played guitar on various songs, including "Hello Mary Lou" after developing ideas for soundtrack with John Phillips
.
Music composers: Mick Taylor and Max Middleton
. His first Les Paul was bought when he was still playing with The Gods (from Selmer's, London in '65). He acquired his second Les Paul in 1967, not long after joining The Bluesbreakers: Taylor came to Olympic Studios
to buy a Les Paul that Keith Richards wanted to sell. On the '72/'73 tours Taylor used a couple of Sunburst Les Paul guitars without a Bigsby. Other guitars include a Gibson ES-355 for the recording of Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street, a Gibson SG
on the 1969, 1970 and 1971 tours, and occasionally a Fender Stratocaster
and a Fender Telecaster
.
Welwyn Garden City
-Economy:Ever since its inception as garden city, Welwyn Garden City has attracted a strong commercial base with several designated employment areas. Among the companies trading in the town are:*Air Link Systems*Baxter*British Lead Mills*Carl Zeiss...
, Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire
Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...
) is an English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
musician, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
(1966–69) and The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
(1969–74). Since resigning from the Rolling Stones in December 1974 at age 25, Taylor has worked with numerous other artists and has released solo albums.
Early career
Taylor was born to a working-class family in Welwyn Garden CityWelwyn Garden City
-Economy:Ever since its inception as garden city, Welwyn Garden City has attracted a strong commercial base with several designated employment areas. Among the companies trading in the town are:*Air Link Systems*Baxter*British Lead Mills*Carl Zeiss...
, but was raised in Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield, Hertfordshire
Hatfield is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England in the borough of Welwyn Hatfield. It has a population of 29,616, and is of Saxon origin. Hatfield House, the home of the Marquess of Salisbury, is the nucleus of the old town...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, where his father worked as a fitter for De Havilland
De Havilland
The de Havilland Aircraft Company was a British aviation manufacturer founded in 1920 when Airco, of which Geoffrey de Havilland had been chief designer, was sold to BSA by the owner George Holt Thomas. De Havilland then set up a company under his name in September of that year at Stag Lane...
aircraft company. He began playing guitar at age nine, learning to play from his mother's younger brother. As a teenager, he formed bands with schoolmates and started performing concerts under names such as The Juniors and the Strangers. They also appeared on television and put out a single. Part of the band was recruited for a new group called The Gods
The Gods (band)
The Gods were an English group founded in 1965. The original bandmembers included Mick Taylor , Brian Glascock, and his brother John .-Career:...
, which included Ken Hensley
Ken Hensley
Kenneth William David Hensley is a keyboard player , guitarist, singer, songwriter and producer best known for his work with Uriah Heep during the 1970s....
(later of Uriah Heep
Uriah Heep (band)
Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and regarded as a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always been massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and David Byron's operatic vocals...
fame). In 1966, The Gods opened for Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
at the Starlite Ballroom in Wembley
Wembley
Wembley is an area of northwest London, England, and part of the London Borough of Brent. It is home to the famous Wembley Stadium and Wembley Arena...
.
In 1965 at age 16, Taylor went to see a John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers
John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers are a pioneering English blues band, led by singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist John Mayall, OBE. Mayall used the band name between 1963 and 1967, but then dropped it for some fifteen years. However, in 1982 a 'Return of the Bluesbreakers' was announced and...
performance at "The Hop" Community Centre, Welwyn Garden City. A former drummer with the Juniors, Danny Bacon, remembers: "On the night in question, I had gone to The Hop with some guys from our band, former schoolmates and Ex-Juniors Mick Taylor and Alan Shacklock
Alan Shacklock
Alan Shacklock is an English musician, composer, arranger and recording producer who currently lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee...
. It was after John Mayall
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
had finished his first set without a guitarist that it became clear that for some reason Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
was not going to show up. A group of local musicians, which included myself, Robert 'Jab' Als, Herbie Sparks, and others, along with three local guitarists—Alan Shacklock, Mick Casey (formerly of the Trekkas) and Mick Taylor—were in attendance." Taylor himself has said after seeing that Clapton hadn't appeared, but that his guitar had already been set up on the stage, had approached John Mayall
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
during the interval, asking if he could play with them, mentioning that he'd heard their albums and knew some of the songs. After a moment of deliberation, Mayall agreed. Taylor amended, "I wasn't thinking that this was a great opportunity.. I just really wanted to get up on stage and play the guitar."
Taylor played the second set with Mayall's band, and afterwards, they exchanged phone numbers, which proved to be pivotal in his career a few years later. Taylor had won Mayall's respect, and when he was 17, Mayall was looking for another guitarist to fill the vacancy left after Peter Green
Peter Green (musician)
Peter Green is a British blues-rock guitarist and the founder of the band Fleetwood Mac...
's resignation. Mayall contacted Taylor, and invited him to take Green's place. Taylor made his debut with the Bluesbreakers at the Manor House
Manor House, London
Manor House is a district of North London.-Location:Built up in the mid 19th century as part of an area called Brownswood Park, today, like other areas of London, it is a district without a formal town centre, but distant enough from other town centres that it has come to be recognised as an area...
, an old blues club in North London. For those in the music scene the night was an event... "Let's go and see this 17-year-old kid try and replace Eric".
Before he turned 18, Taylor toured and recorded the album Crusade
Crusade (album)
Crusade is a studio album by the British Blues-rock band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, released on September 1, 1967 for London Records. It was the follow-up to A Hard Road, also released in 1967...
with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. From 1966 to 1969, Taylor developed a guitar style that is blues-based with Latin
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
influences. Later on in his career, he further developed his skills as a slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
ist.
In 1967, Mick made the drawings for Donovan's Gift From a Flower to a Garden double LP.
The Rolling Stones
After Brian JonesBrian Jones
Lewis Brian Hopkins Jones , known as Brian Jones, was an English musician and a founding member of the Rolling Stones....
was removed from the The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
in June 1969, Mayall recommended Taylor to Mick Jagger. Taylor believed he was being called in to be a session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
at his first studio session with the Rolling Stones. An impressed Jagger and Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
invited Taylor back the following day to continue rehearsing and recording with the band. He overdubbed guitar on "Country Honk" "Live With Me
Live With Me
"Live with Me" is a song by the Rolling Stones from their classic album Let It Bleed, released in November 1969. The song is unique in a number of respects: It was one of the first recorded contributions by guitarist Mick Taylor, who joined the band in June, 1969...
" for the album Let It Bleed
Let It Bleed
Let It Bleed is the eighth British and tenth American album by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in December 1969 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States...
, and for the single "Honky Tonk Women
Honky Tonk Women
"Honky Tonk Women" is a 1969 hit song by The Rolling Stones. Released as a single on 4 July 1969 in the UK and a week later in the US, it topped the charts in both nations.-Inspiration and Recording:...
" released in the UK, on 4 July 1969.
Taylor's onstage debut as a Rolling Stone, at the age of 20, was the free Hyde Park
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is one of the largest parks in central London, United Kingdom, and one of the Royal Parks of London, famous for its Speakers' Corner.The park is divided in two by the Serpentine...
concert on 5 July 1969. An estimated quarter of a million people attended for a show that turned into a tribute to Brian Jones, who had died 3 days before the concert.
The Rolling Stones' 1971 release Sticky Fingers
Sticky Fingers
-Personnel:The Rolling Stones*Mick Jagger – lead vocals, acoustic guitar on "Dead Flowers", electric guitar on "Sway", percussion*Keith Richards – electric guitar, six & twelve string acoustic guitar, backing vocals...
included "Sway
Sway (The Rolling Stones song)
"Sway" is a song by the English rock 'n roll band The Rolling Stones from their 1971 album Sticky Fingers. It was also released as the b-side of the "Wild Horses" single in June 1971. This single was released in the US only...
" and "Moonlight Mile" which Taylor and Jagger had completed in Richards's absence. At the time Jagger stated: "We made [tracks] with just Mick Taylor, which are very good and everyone loves, where Keith wasn't there for whatever reasons ... It's me and [Mick Taylor] playing off each other - another feeling completely, because he's following my vocal lines and then extemporizing on them during the solos." However, Taylor was only credited as co-author of one track "Ventilator Blues
Ventilator Blues
"Ventilator Blues" is a song by English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones featured on their 1972 release Exile on Main St."Ventilator Blues" marks the first and only time guitarist Mick Taylor would be given credit alongside regular Stones scribes Mick Jagger and Keith Richards...
", from the album Exile on Main St.
Exile on Main St.
Exile on Main St. is the tenth British and 12th American studio album by English rock band The Rolling Stones. Released as a double LP in May 1972, it draws on many genres including rock and roll, blues, soul, R&B, gospel and country. The release of Exile on Main St. met with mixed reviews, but is...
(1972). Taylor was noted for his smooth lyrical touch and tone which contrasted with Richards's jagged and cutting technique.
After the 1973 European tour, Richards's drug problems had worsened and began affecting the ability of the band to function as a whole. Between recording sessions, the band members were living in various countries and during this period Taylor appeared on Herbie Mann
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was a Jewish American jazz flutist and important early practitioner of world music...
's London Underground (1974) and also appeared on Mann's album Reggae (1974).
It's Only Rock 'n Roll and departure
In November 1973, while the band were to begin work on the LP It's Only Rock 'n Roll at Musicland StudiosMusicland Studios
Musicland Studios was a recording studio located in Munich, Germany. It was established by Italian record producer, songwriter and performer Giorgio Moroder in the late 1960s...
in Munich, Taylor missed some of the sessions whilst he underwent surgery for acute sinusitis
Sinusitis
Sinusitis is inflammation of the paranasal sinuses, which may be due to infection, allergy, or autoimmune issues. Most cases are due to a viral infection and resolve over the course of 10 days...
. Not much was achieved during the first 10 days at Musicland. Most of the actual recordings were made in January (Musicland) and April 1974 (Stargroves). When Taylor resumed work with the band, he found it difficult to get on with Richards. At one point during the Munich sessions, Richards confronted him, and said, "Oi! Taylor! You're playing too fuckin' loud. I mean, you're really good live, man, but you're fucking useless in the studio. Lay out, play later, whatever." Richards erased some of the tapes where Taylor had recorded guitar parts to some of the songs for It's Only Rock n' Roll Taylor was, however, present at all the sessions in April at Stargroves
Stargroves
Stargroves is a manor house and associated estate at East Woodhay in the English county of Hampshire. It best known for being the home of Mick Jagger during the 1970s and a recording venue for The Rolling Stones and various other rock bands.-History:...
, England, where the LP was finished and most of the overdubs were recorded.
Not long after those recording sessions, Taylor went on a six-week expedition to Brazil, travelling down the Amazon River
Amazon River
The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined...
in a boat and exploring Latin music.
Just before the release of the album in October 1974, Taylor told Nick Kent
Nick Kent
Nick Kent is a British rock critic and musician.-Career:Along with writers including Paul Morley, Charles Shaar Murray and Danny Baker, Nick Kent is seen as one of the most important and influential UK music journalists of the 1970s. He wrote for the British music publication New Musical Express,...
from the NME magazine about the new LP and that he had co-written "Till the Next Goodbye
Till the Next Goodbye
"Till the Next Goodbye" is a song by rock-and-roll band the Rolling Stones, featured on its 1974 album It's Only Rock 'n' Roll.Credited to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and uncredited to Mick Taylor, recording on "Till the Next Goodbye" began at Munich's Musicland Studios in November 1973...
" and "Time Waits for No One
Time Waits for No One (song)
"Time Waits for No One" is a song by British rock and roll band the Rolling Stones from its 1974 album It's Only Rock 'n' Roll. It was the first song recorded for the album....
" with Jagger. Kent showed Taylor the record sleeve, which revealed the absence of any songwriting credits for Taylor. In an interview with Gary James, Taylor later said: "I was a bit peeved about not getting credit for a couple of songs, but that wasn't the whole reason [I left the band]. I guess I just felt like I had enough. I decided to leave and start a group with Jack Bruce
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce is a Scottish musician and songwriter, respected as a founding member of the British psychedelic rock power trio, Cream, for a solo career that spans several decades, and for his participation in several well-known musical ensembles...
. I never really felt, and I don't know why, but I never felt I was gonna stay with the Stones forever, even right from the beginning. In a 1997 interview with Mojo Magazine, Taylor said: "We used to fight and argue all the time. And one of the things I got angry about was that Mick had promised to give me some credit for some of the songs – and he didn't. I believed I'd contributed enough. Let's put it this way – without my contribution those songs would not have existed. There's not many but enough, things like "Sway
Sway (The Rolling Stones song)
"Sway" is a song by the English rock 'n roll band The Rolling Stones from their 1971 album Sticky Fingers. It was also released as the b-side of the "Wild Horses" single in June 1971. This single was released in the US only...
" and "Moonlight Mile" on Sticky Fingers
Sticky Fingers
-Personnel:The Rolling Stones*Mick Jagger – lead vocals, acoustic guitar on "Dead Flowers", electric guitar on "Sway", percussion*Keith Richards – electric guitar, six & twelve string acoustic guitar, backing vocals...
and a couple of others."
In December 1974, Taylor announced he was leaving the Rolling Stones. The bandmates were at a party in London when Taylor told Mick Jagger he was quitting and walked out. Taylor's decision came as a total shock to many. The Rolling Stones were due to start recording a new album in Munich, and the entire band was reportedly angry at Taylor for leaving at such short notice.
When interviewed by Jann Wenner
Jann Wenner
Jann Simon Wenner is the co-founder and publisher of the music and politics biweekly Rolling Stone, as well as the owner of Men's Journal and Us Weekly magazines.-Childhood:...
of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine in 1995, Mick Jagger stated that Taylor never explained why he had left, and surmised that "[Taylor] wanted to have a solo career. I think he found it difficult to get on with Keith." In the same interview Jagger said of Taylor's contribution to the band: "I think he had a big contribution. He made it very musical. He was a very fluent, melodic player, which we never had, and we don't have now. Neither Keith nor [Ronnie Wood] plays that kind of style. It was very good for me working with him ... Mick Taylor would play very fluid lines against my vocals. He was exciting, and he was very pretty, and it gave me something to follow, to bang off. Some people think that's the best version of the band that existed". Asked if he agreed with that assessment, Jagger said: "I obviously can't say if I think Mick Taylor was the best, because it sort of trashes the period the band is in now." Charlie Watts
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert "Charlie" Watts is an English drummer, best known as a member of The Rolling Stones. He is also the leader of a jazz band, a record producer, commercial artist, and horse breeder.-Early life:...
stated: "I think we chose the right man for the job at that time just as Ronnie was the right man for the job later on. I still think Mick is great. I haven't heard or seen him play in a few years. But certainly what came out of playing with him are musically some of the best things we've ever done". Another statement, made by Keith Richards, is: "Mick Taylor is a great guitarist, but he found out the hard way that that's all he is".
In an essay about the Rolling Stones, printed after Taylor's resignation, music critic Robert Palmer
Robert Palmer (author/producer)
Robert Franklin Palmer Jr. was a 20th century American writer, musicologist, clarinetist, saxophonist, and blues producer...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
wrote that "Taylor is the most accomplished technician who ever served as a Stone. A blues guitarist with a jazzman's flair for melodic invention, Taylor was never a rock and roller and never a showman."
Taylor has worked with his former bandmates on various occasions since leaving the Rolling Stones. In 1977 he attended London-based sessions for the John Phillips
John Phillips (musician)
John Edmund Andrew Phillips , was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter and promoter . Known as Papa John, Phillips was a member and leader of the singing group The Mamas & the Papas...
album Pay Pack & Follow
Pay Pack & Follow
Pay Pack & Follow is an album by John Phillips, released in April 2001 following his death in March of the same year. It was recorded in the 1970s for release on The Rolling Stones' record label "Rolling Stones Records" but remained unissued until 2001...
, appearing on several tracks alongside Jagger (vocals), Richards (guitar) and Wood (bass) - taking notable solos on the songs "Oh Virginia" and "Zulu Warrior". A possibly apocryphal story is that after Taylor played a particularly jaw-dropping solo in the studio, Richards half-jokingly exclaimed, "That's why I never liked you, you bastard!"
On 14 December 1981 he performed with the band at their concert at the Kemper Arena
Kemper Arena
Kemper Arena is a 19,500 seat indoor arena, in Kansas City, Missouri.It is named for R. Crosby Kemper Sr., a member of the powerful Kemper financial clan and who donated $3.2 million, from his estate for the arena...
in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. Keith Richards appeared on stage at a Mick Taylor show at the Lone Star Cafe
Lone Star Cafe
The Lone Star Cafe was a cafe and club in New York City at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 13th Street, from 1976 to 1989. The Texas-themed cafe opened in February 1976 and became the premier country music venue in New York and booked big names and especially acts from Texas, like Asleep at the...
in New York on 28 December 1986, jamming on "Key to the Highway
Key to the Highway
"Key to the Highway" is a blues standard first recorded by blues pianist Charlie Segar in 1940. The song was also recorded by Jazz Gillum and Big Bill Broonzy in 1940–41, and it was later a R&B record chart success for Little Walter in 1958...
" and "Can't You Hear Me Knocking
Can't You Hear Me Knocking
"Can't You Hear Me Knocking" is a song by English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones from their 1971 album Sticky Fingers.-Details:The song is over seven minutes long, and begins with a signature Keith Richards open-G tuned guitar intro...
"; and Taylor is featured on one track ("I Could Have Stood You Up") on Richards' 1988 album Talk is Cheap. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
inducted Mick Taylor along with the Rolling Stones in 1989. Taylor also worked with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings
Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings
Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings are a blues-rock band founded and led by former Rolling Stones bass guitarist Bill Wyman. Together with his lifelong musical partner Terry Taylor, The "Dirty Boys" duo produce, arrange and compose original material for the award winning band.The Rhythm Kings are known for...
in the early 1990s.
In addition to his contributions to Rolling Stones albums released during his tenure with the band, Taylor's guitar is also on two tracks on their 1981 release Tattoo You
Tattoo You
Tattoo You is the 16th British and 18th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1981. The follow-up to Emotional Rescue, it proved to be a big critical and commercial success...
: "Tops" and "Waiting on a Friend
Waiting On A Friend
"Waiting on a Friend" is a song by The Rolling Stones from their 1981 album Tattoo You. Released as the album's second single, it reached #13 on the US singles chart.-History:...
", both of which were originally recorded in 1972. (Taylor is sometimes mistakenly credited as playing on "Worried About You
Worried About You
"Worried About You" is a song featured on the 1981 Rolling Stones album Tattoo You.Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Worried About You" is slow ballad first produced for 1975's Black and Blue, an album well-known for its ballads...
", but the solo on that track is performed by Wayne Perkins
Wayne Perkins
Wayne Perkins is a rock and R & B guitarist, singer, songwriter and session musician. He was the oldest of six children, a brother and four sisters. Both of his parents sang and played guitar...
.)
Taylor's onstage presence with the Rolling Stones is preserved on the album Get Yer Ya-Yas Out!
Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert
`Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!´ The Rolling Stones in Concert is a live album by The Rolling Stones, released 4 September 1970 on Decca Records in the UK and on London Records in the US. It was recorded in New York and Maryland in November 1969, just before the release of Let It Bleed...
, recorded over four concerts at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
in New York and the Civic Center in Boston in November 1969; in the documentary films Stones in the Park (released on DVD in 2001), Gimme Shelter
Gimme Shelter (documentary)
Gimme Shelter is a 1970 documentary film directed by Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin, chronicling the last weeks of The Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour, which culminated in the disastrous Altamont Free Concert. The film is named after "Gimme Shelter", the lead track from The Rolling...
(released in 1970) and Cocksucker Blues
Cocksucker Blues
Cocksucker Blues is an unreleased documentary film directed by the noted still photographer Robert Frank chronicling The Rolling Stones' North American tour in 1972 in support of their album Exile on Main St..-Production:...
(unreleased); and in the concert film Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones
Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones
Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones is a concert movie featuring the British rock band The Rolling Stones that was first released in 1974...
(shown in cinemas in 1974). Bootleg recordings from the Rolling Stones' tours from 1969 through 1973 also document Taylor's concert performances with the Rolling Stones.
In March 2010, rumours started circulating that Taylor had contributed guitar work on the upcoming Exile on Main Street special edition release. This expanded version of the original double album includes 10 outtakes/alternate versions of songs. Taylor later revealed (in an interview with a journalist from Cleveland) that he had indeed recorded new guitar overdubs for the CD, at Mick Jagger's request. On 17 April 2010 (National Record Store Day), the new Rolling Stones single 'Plundered My Soul
Plundered My Soul
"Plundered My Soul" is a song by The Rolling Stones featured as a bonus track on the 2010 re-release of their 1972 album Exile on Main St.. It was the first song released by the band from the new recordings, limited-edition copies of the single shelved in independent stores on 17 April 2010, in...
' came out, featuring recently recorded vocals and guitars by Jagger and Taylor.
Around this time, Eagle Rock Entertainment also announced that a first official release of the concert film Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones
Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones
Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones is a concert movie featuring the British rock band The Rolling Stones that was first released in 1974...
was planned for autumn 2010. Apart from a one-off cinema screening in the past, the film had previously only been available on bootleg videos and DVDs.
Post-Stones: 1975 to 1981
Taylor worked on various side projects during his tenure with the Rolling Stones.In June 1973, he joined Mike Oldfield
Mike Oldfield
Michael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
onstage at the Queen Elizabeth Hall
Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is a music venue on the South Bank in London, United Kingdom that hosts daily classical, jazz, and avant-garde music and dance performances. The QEH forms part of Southbank Centre arts complex and stands alongside the Royal Festival Hall, which was built for the Festival...
in a performance of Oldfield's Tubular Bells
Tubular Bells
Tubular Bells is the debut record album of English musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. It was the first album released by Virgin Records and an early cornerstone of the company's success...
. Taylor was asked to take part in this project by Richard Branson
Richard Branson
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson is an English business magnate, best known for his Virgin Group of more than 400 companies....
as he felt Oldfield was unknown having just been signed to Branson's fledgling label, Virgin Records
Virgin Records
Virgin Records is a British record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell in 1972. The company grew to be a worldwide music phenomenon, with platinum performers such as Roy Orbison, Devo, Genesis, Keith Richards, Janet Jackson, Culture Club, Lenny...
. Taylor joined Oldfield once more for a BBC television
BBC Television
BBC Television is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation. The corporation, which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927, has produced television programmes from its own studios since 1932, although the start of its regular service of television...
broadcast in November 1973.
After his resignation from the Rolling Stones, Jack Bruce
Jack Bruce
John Symon Asher "Jack" Bruce is a Scottish musician and songwriter, respected as a founding member of the British psychedelic rock power trio, Cream, for a solo career that spans several decades, and for his participation in several well-known musical ensembles...
invited him to form a new band with keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
Carla Bley
Carla Bley
Carla Bley, née Borg, is an American jazz composer, pianist, organist and band leader. An important figure in the Free Jazz movement of the 1960s, she is perhaps best known for her jazz opera Escalator Over The Hill , as well as a book of compositions that have been performed by many other...
and drummer Bruce Gary
Bruce Gary
Bruce Gary was best known as the drummer for the music group The Knack. He was nominated for two Grammy Awards as a stage performer, producer, and recording artist....
. In 1975, the band began rehearsals in London with tour dates scheduled for later that year. The group toured Europe, with a sound leaning more toward jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, including a performance at the Dutch Pinkpop festival, but disbanded the following year. A performance recorded on 1 June 1975 (which was finally released on CD in 2003 as "Live at the Manchester Free Trade Hall" by The Jack Bruce Band) and another performance from the Old Grey Whistle Test
Old Grey Whistle Test
The Old Grey Whistle Test was an influential BBC2 television music show that ran from 1971 to 1987. It took over the BBC2 late night slot from "Disco Two", which had been running since January 1970, while continuing to feature non-chart music. It was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers...
seem to be the only material available from this brief collaboration.
Taylor appeared as a special guest of Little Feat
Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
at the Rainbow Theatre in London, 1977, sharing slide guitar
Slide guitar
Slide guitar or bottleneck guitar is a particular method or technique for playing the guitar. The term slide refers to the motion of the slide against the strings, while bottleneck refers to the original material of choice for such slides: the necks of glass bottles...
with then-frontman Lowell George
Lowell George
Lowell Thomas George was an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer, who was the main guitarist and songwriter for the rock band Little Feat.- Early years :...
on "A Apolitical Blues": this song appears on Little Feat
Little Feat
Little Feat is an American rock band formed by singer-songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist Lowell George and keyboardist Bill Payne in 1969 in Los Angeles....
's critically acclaimed live album Waiting for Columbus
Waiting for Columbus
Waiting for Columbus is the first live album by the Southern roots-rock band, Little Feat. The album was recorded during seven performances in 1977. The first four shows were held at the Rainbow Theatre in London on August 1-4, 1977. The final three shows were recorded in George Washington...
.
In the summer of 1977 he collaborated with Pierre Moerlen's Gong
Pierre Moerlen's Gong
Pierre Moerlen's Gong is a jazz fusion outfit which is very different from the first incarnation of Gong, the psychedelic space-rock act led by Daevid Allen...
for the album Espresso II, released in 1978. Taylor began writing new songs and recruiting musicians for a solo album and worked on projects with Miller Anderson, Alan Merrill
Alan Merrill
Alan Merrill is an American vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. In the early 1970s Merrill was the first westerner to achieve pop star status in Japan...
and others. He was present at many of the recording sessions for John Phillips
John Phillips (musician)
John Edmund Andrew Phillips , was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter and promoter . Known as Papa John, Phillips was a member and leader of the singing group The Mamas & the Papas...
' first solo album. The recordings for Phillips' album took place in London over a prolonged period between 1973 and 1977. This led to Taylor working with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger who were also working on the Phillips' album. Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records
Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz...
eventually cancelled the project but copies of the sessions(under titles "Half Stoned" and "Phillips '77") circulated among bootleg traders. The original tapes were rescued and restored and were officially released in 2002 as Pay Pack & Follow
Pay Pack & Follow
Pay Pack & Follow is an album by John Phillips, released in April 2001 following his death in March of the same year. It was recorded in the 1970s for release on The Rolling Stones' record label "Rolling Stones Records" but remained unissued until 2001...
.
In 1977 Taylor signed a solo recording deal with CBS Records
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
. By April 1978 he gave several interviews to music magazines to promote the new album which was finished, but would not be released for another year. In 1979 the album, titled Mick Taylor
Mick Taylor (album)
Mick Taylor is the debut album by former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor. Though the album was acclaimed by critics, the album's blues-based style was somewhat unfashionable at the time of release, when punk and new wave were becoming more popular....
, was released by CBS Records
CBS Records
CBS Records is a record label founded by CBS Corporation in 2006 to take advantage of music from its entertainment properties owned by CBS Television Studios. The initial label roster consisted of only three artists; rock band Señor Happy and singer/songwriters Will Dailey and P.J...
. The album material mixed rock, jazz and Latin-flavoured blues musical styles. The album reached #119 on the Billboard
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...
charts in early August with a stay of five weeks on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. CBS advised Taylor to promote the album through American radio stations but was unwilling to back the guitarist for any supporting tour. Already frustrated with this situation, Taylor took a break from the music industry for about a year.
In 1981, he toured Europe and the United States with Alvin Lee
Alvin Lee
Alvin Lee is an English rock guitarist and singer. He began playing guitar at the age of 13, and with Leo Lyons formed the core of the band Ten Years After in 1960...
of Ten Years After
Ten Years After
Ten Years After is an English blues-rock band, most popular in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Between 1968 and 1973, Ten Years After scored eight Top 40 albums on the UK Albums Chart...
, sharing the bill with Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
. He spent most of 1982 and 1983 on the road with John Mayall
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
, for the "Reunion Tour" with John McVie
John McVie
John Graham McVie is a British bass guitarist best known as a member of the rock group Fleetwood Mac. His surname, combined with that of Mick Fleetwood, was the inspiration for the band's name...
of Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...
and Colin Allen
Colin Allen
Colin Allen is an English blues drummer and songwriter.-Career:Allen took up drums at the age of 18, playing initially with local jazz musician in Dorset...
. During this tour Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
showed up backstage at The Roxy
The Roxy Theatre
The Roxy Theatre is a famous nightclub, on the Sunset Strip, in West Hollywood, California. The Roxy is owned by Lou Adler and Adler's son, Nic, who operates the club.- History :...
in Los Angeles in order to meet Taylor.
In 1983, Taylor joined Mark Knopfler
Mark Knopfler
Mark Freuder Knopfler, OBE is a Scottish-born British guitarist, singer, songwriter, record producer and film score composer. He is best known as the lead guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the British rock band Dire Straits, which he co-founded in 1977...
and played on Dylan's Infidels
Infidels
Infidels is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 22nd studio album, released by Columbia Records in October 1983.Produced by Mark Knopfler and Dylan himself, Infidels is seen as his return to secular music, following a conversion to Christianity and three evangelical, gospel records...
album. He also appeared on Dylan's live album, Real Live
Real Live
Real Live is a live album documenting Bob Dylan's 1984 tour of Europe, released at the end of that same year by Columbia Records. Most of the concert was recorded at Wembley Stadium on 7 July, but "License to Kill" and "Tombstone Blues" come from St James' Park, Newcastle on 5 July, and "I and I"...
, as well as the follow-up studio album Empire Burlesque
Empire Burlesque
Empire Burlesque is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 23rd studio album, released by Columbia Records in June 1985. The album peaked at #33 in the US and #11 in the UK....
. In 1984, Dylan asked Mick Taylor to assemble an experienced rock and roll band for a European tour he signed with Bill Graham
Bill Graham (promoter)
Bill Graham was an American impresario and rock concert promoter from the 1960s until his death.-Early life:...
. Ian McLagan
Ian McLagan
Ian McLagan is an English keyboard instrumentalist, best known as a member of the English rock bands Small Faces and Faces.-Small Faces and Faces:...
was hired to play piano and hammond organ, Greg Sutton to play bass and Colin Allen, a long time friend of Taylor, on drums. The tour lasted for four weeks at venues such as Munich's Olympic Stadium Arena and Milan's San Siro Stadium, sharing the bill with Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana
Carlos Augusto Alves Santana is a Mexican rock guitarist. Santana became famous in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band, Santana, which pioneered rock, salsa and jazz fusion...
and Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
, who appeared on the same bill for a couple of shows (in particular in the same Milan concert).
Later career
Taylor guested with the Grateful DeadGrateful Dead
The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...
on September 24, 1988 at the last show of that year's Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
run in New York. Taylor lived in New York throughout the 1980s. He battled with addiction problems before getting back on track in the second half of the 1980s and moving to Los Angeles in 1990. During this time Taylor did session work and toured in Europe, America and Japan with a band including Max Middleton
Max Middleton
David Maxwell "Max" Middleton . He is an English composer and keyboardist and was originally a docker on the Liverpool docks. Middleton is known for his work on the Fender Rhodes Electric piano, the Minimoog synthesiser and his percussive playing style of the Hohner Clavinet...
(formerly of the Jeff Beck Group), Shane Fontayne
Shane Fontayne
Shane Fontayne is the professional name of English rock guitarist Mick Barakan. Active since the 1970s, he was the guitarist for Bruce Springsteen during the 1992-1993 "Other Band" Tour, as Springsteen had disbanded his own E Street Band three years earlier...
, and Blondie Chaplin
Blondie Chaplin
Terence William 'Blondie' Chaplin is a musician from Durban, South Africa who first became known to international audiences through his brief stint in the early 1970s as a singer and guitarist for The Beach Boys...
. In 1990 his CD "Stranger In This Town
Stranger In This Town
-Personnel:* Richie Sambora - acoustic guitar, electric guitar, vocals, producer, string arrangements* David Bryan - keyboards, string arrangements* Tico Torres - drums, percussion* Dean Fasano - background vocals* Tony Levin - bass guitar, Chapman Stick...
" was released by Maze Records backed up by a mini-tour including the record release party at the Hard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe
Hard Rock Cafe is a chain of theme restaurants founded in 1971 by Americans Peter Morton & Isaac Tigrett. In 1979, the cafe began covering its walls with rock and roll memorabilia, a tradition which expanded to others in the chain. In 2006, Hard Rock was sold to the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and...
in Boston as well as gigs at the Paradise Theater
Paradise Theater
The Paradise Theater, formerly Loew's Paradise Theatre, is a movie palace-type theater and live entertainment venue located at 2413 Grand Concourse in Bronx, New York.-History:...
.
Taylor moved back to England in the mid 1990s. Taylor never seemed to feel comfortable in his role as a former Rolling Stone until he released a new album in 2000, entitled, A Stone's Throw. Playing at clubs and theatres as well as appearing at festivals has connected Taylor with an appreciative audience and fan base.
Mick began what was to be a significant series of collaborations with Carla Olson with their "Live at the Roxy" album Too Hot For Snakes; the centerpiece of which is a extended 7 minute performance of "Sway
Sway (The Rolling Stones song)
"Sway" is a song by the English rock 'n roll band The Rolling Stones from their 1971 album Sticky Fingers. It was also released as the b-side of the "Wild Horses" single in June 1971. This single was released in the US only...
". It was followed by Olson's Within An Ace which featured Taylor on seven songs, he appeared on three songs from Reap The Whirlwind and then again on Olson's The Ring Of Truth, on which he plays lead guitar on nine tracks including a twelve minute version of the Jagger and Taylor song "Winter". Further work by Olson and Taylor can be heard on the Olson produced Barry Goldberg
Barry Goldberg
Barry Goldberg is a blues and rock keyboardist, songwriter and record producer.-Career:As a teenager in Chicago, Goldberg sat in with Muddy Waters, Otis Rush, and Howlin' Wolf. He played keyboards in the band supporting Bob Dylan during his 1965 'electrified' appearance at the Newport Folk Festival...
album Stoned Again. Taylor went on to appear on Percy Sledge
Percy Sledge
Percy Sledge is an American R&B and soul performer who recorded the hit "When a Man Loves a Woman" in 1966.-Early career:...
's Blue Night (1994), along with Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper
Steve Cropper , also known as Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T...
, Bobby Womack
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40...
and Greg Leisz
Greg Leisz
Greg Leisz is an American multi-instrumentalist, playing lap and pedal steel guitars, guitar, mandolin, and bass.- Biography :Leisz was influenced early on by the Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers, especially pedal steel player "Sneaky" Pete Kleinow...
.
In 2003, Taylor reunited with John Mayall
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
for his 70th Birthday Concert
70th Birthday Concert
70th Birthday Concert is a live Electric blues video recording of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers to celebrate Mayall's 70th Birthday. Recorded in Liverpool, England on July 19 2003, the concert was notable as it featured Eric Clapton as a guest, so marked the first time he and Mayall had performed...
in Liverpool along with Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton
Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...
. A year later, in autumn 2004, he also joined John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers for a UK theatre tour. He toured the US East Coast with the Experience Hendrix group during October 2007. The Experience Hendrix group appeared at a series of concerts which were a homage to Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
and his musical legacy. Taylor played with Mitch Mitchell
Mitch Mitchell
John Ronald "Mitch" Mitchell was an English drummer, best known for his work in The Jimi Hendrix Experience.-Early life and the Jimi Hendrix Experience:...
, Billy Cox
Billy Cox
William "Billy" Cox is an American bassist, best known for performing with Jimi Hendrix.-Early years:Born in Wheeling, West Virginia, Cox was raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and attended Schenley High School. He first met Jimi Hendrix in the early 1960s, when they were both in the United States...
, Buddy Guy
Buddy Guy
George "Buddy" Guy is an American blues and jazz guitarist and singer. He is a critically acclaimed artist who has established himself as a pioneer of the Chicago blues sound, and has served as an influence to some of the most notable musicians of his generation...
, Hubert Sumlin
Hubert Sumlin
Hubert Sumlin is an American Chicago blues and electric blues guitarist and singer, best known for his celebrated work, from 1955, as guitarist in Howlin' Wolf's band. His singular playing is characterized by "wrenched, shattering bursts of notes, sudden cliff-hanger silences and daring rhythmic...
and Robby Krieger
Robby Krieger
Robert Alan "Robby" Krieger is an American rock guitarist and songwriter. He was the guitarist in The Doors, and wrote some of the band's best known songs, including "Light My Fire," "Love Me Two Times," "Touch Me," and "Love Her Madly."...
.
In recent times Taylor reunited with Ronnie Wood (an old pal from his teenage years) at a benefit gig put on, organized and publicised by UK-domiciled US fellow Blues guitarist Stephen Dale Petit
Stephen Dale Petit
Stephen Dale Petit is a guitarist, singer, songwriter, and New Blues musician.Petit’s blues guitar experience started at a young age in California, and continued through drug addiction, alcoholism, homelessness, and subsequent recovery...
to save the 100 Club
100 Club
The 100 Club is a music venue in London situated at 100 Oxford Street, W1, originally called The Feldman Swing Club.The 100 Club attained legendary status in modern British music, having played host to live music since 24 October 1942....
in London, on 1 December 2010. Other special guests at the show were Dick Taylor
Dick Taylor
Richard Clifford 'Dick' Taylor is an English musician who was an early bass guitarist for The Rolling Stones. He left to become an art student at Sidcup Art College and while there formed The Pretty Things in September 1963...
(first bassplayer in the Rolling Stones) and blues/jazz trombonist Chris Barber
Chris Barber
Donald Christopher 'Chris' Barber is best known as a jazz trombonist. As well as scoring a UK top twenty trad jazz hit he helped the careers of many musicians, notably the blues singer Ottilie Patterson, who was at one time his wife, and vocalist/banjoist Lonnie Donegan, whose appearances with...
. Mick also toured the UK with Stephen Dale Petit appearing as Petit's Special Guest, featured on a Paul Jones BBC Radio 2 session with him and guested on Petit's 2010 Classic Rock magazine Album of the Year - "The Crave".
For the 2010 rerelease of Exile On Main Street Taylor recorded a new guitar part for the previously unreleased song, Plundered My Soul
Plundered My Soul
"Plundered My Soul" is a song by The Rolling Stones featured as a bonus track on the 2010 re-release of their 1972 album Exile on Main St.. It was the first song released by the band from the new recordings, limited-edition copies of the single shelved in independent stores on 17 April 2010, in...
.
He also helped to promote the "Boogie For Stu" album, which was recorded by Ben Waters to honour Ian Stewart
Ian Stewart (musician)
Ian Andrew Robert Stewart was a Scottish keyboardist, co-founder of The Rolling Stones and inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...
(original Stones pianist and co-founder of the band), by taking part in a concert to mark the CD's official launch at the Ambassadors Theatre, London on 9 March 2011. Proceeds from the event were donated to the British Heart Foundation
British Heart Foundation
The British Heart Foundation is a charity organisation in Britain that funds research, education, care and awareness campaigns aimed to prevent heart diseases in humans.-Foundation:...
. Although Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
didn't show up, Taylor noticeably enjoyed performing with, amongst others, Charlie Watts
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert "Charlie" Watts is an English drummer, best known as a member of The Rolling Stones. He is also the leader of a jazz band, a record producer, commercial artist, and horse breeder.-Early life:...
, Ronnie Wood and Bill Wyman.
Personal life
Taylor has been married twice and has two daughters. Chloe (born 6 January 1971) is a daughter by his first wife Rose Millar. Taylor married Rose in 1975 after leaving the Stones, but the relationship was reportedly "on the rocks" before long and resulted in divorce only a few years later. His second daughter Emma was born from a short relationship with an American woman, who sang backing vocals with Taylor's band on one occasion.Taylor currently resides in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
.
With John Mayall's Bluesbreakers
- CrusadeCrusade (album)Crusade is a studio album by the British Blues-rock band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers, released on September 1, 1967 for London Records. It was the follow-up to A Hard Road, also released in 1967...
(Decca, 1967/LP, 1987/CD) - Diary of a Band Volume 1 & 2 (Decca, 1968/LP)
- Bare WiresBare Wires- Reissue Bonus Tracks :- Personnel :John Mayall's Bluesbreakers* John Mayall – vocals, harmonica, piano, harpsichord, organ, harmonium, guitar* Mick Taylor – lead guitar, Hawaiian guitar* Chris Mercer – tenor, baritone saxophone...
(Decca, 1968/LP, 1988/CD ) - Blues from Laurel CanyonBlues from Laurel CanyonBlues from Laurel Canyon is a 1968 album by John Mayall, featuring British blues music. It was his first album after the breakup of his band the Bluesbreakers on 14 July 1968. It was also his last album with Decca before moving to Polydor....
(Decca, 1968/LP, 1989/CD) - Primal Solos (Decca, 1969/LP)
- Back to the RootsBack to the rootsBack to the roots is an Austrian exchange program. A group of fifteen young Israelis who have Austrian family roots are invited to Austria and together with fifteen young local Austrians do genealogical research about their ancestors and sometimes travel to the places where those ancestors...
(Decca, 1971/LP, 2001 on 2CD) - Return Of The Bluesbreakers (AIM, 1985/LP, 1993/CD)
- The 1982 Reunion ConcertThe 1982 Reunion ConcertThe 1982 Reunion Concert is a recording from a concert by British Bluesman John Mayall. His sidemen are Mick Taylor on guitar, John McVie on bass and Colin Allen on drums. The concert took place at the Wax Museum, Washington DC, on 17 June 1982...
(Repertoire records, 1994/CD) with John Mayall, Mick Taylor, Colin Allen and John McVie - Wake Up Call (1993)
- Silver Tones - The Best of John Mayall & The Bluesbreakers (Silvertone Records, 1998)
- Along For The Ride (2001)
- Rolling With The Blues (2003) - selection of live recordings '72-'82
- Essentially John Mayall (Eagle Rock Records, 2007) 5 CD Box Set
With The Rolling Stones
- Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2)Through the Past, Darkly is The Rolling Stones' second official compilation album, released in 1969 shortly following Brian Jones's departure from the group and subsequent death. The album was released by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records/ABKCO Records in the United States.In...
(1969) (compilation)
- Taylor plays on "Honky Tonk WomenHonky Tonk Women"Honky Tonk Women" is a 1969 hit song by The Rolling Stones. Released as a single on 4 July 1969 in the UK and a week later in the US, it topped the charts in both nations.-Inspiration and Recording:...
"- Let It BleedLet It BleedLet It Bleed is the eighth British and tenth American album by English rock band The Rolling Stones, released in December 1969 by Decca Records in the United Kingdom and London Records in the United States...
(1969)
- Let It Bleed
- Taylor plays on "Country Honk" and "Live With Me"
- Get Yer Ya-Yas Out!Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert`Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!´ The Rolling Stones in Concert is a live album by The Rolling Stones, released 4 September 1970 on Decca Records in the UK and on London Records in the US. It was recorded in New York and Maryland in November 1969, just before the release of Let It Bleed...
(1970) - Sticky FingersSticky Fingers-Personnel:The Rolling Stones*Mick Jagger – lead vocals, acoustic guitar on "Dead Flowers", electric guitar on "Sway", percussion*Keith Richards – electric guitar, six & twelve string acoustic guitar, backing vocals...
(1971) - Hot Rocks, 1964-1971 (1972) (compilation)
- Exile on Main St.Exile on Main St.Exile on Main St. is the tenth British and 12th American studio album by English rock band The Rolling Stones. Released as a double LP in May 1972, it draws on many genres including rock and roll, blues, soul, R&B, gospel and country. The release of Exile on Main St. met with mixed reviews, but is...
(1972) - Goats Head SoupGoats Head SoupGoats Head Soup is the 11th British and 13th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1973. It featured the song "Angie", which went to #1 as a single in the US and UK.-Recording:...
(1973) - It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974)
- Made in the ShadeMade in the ShadeMade in the Shade, released in 1975, is the first official compilation album by The Rolling Stones during their Atlantic Records contract. It draws entirely from their first four albums on that label.-Release history:...
(1975) (compilation of hits 1971-1974) - MetamorphosisMetamorphosis (Rolling Stones album)Metamorphosis is the third compilation album of The Rolling Stones music released by former manager Allen Klein's ABKCO Records after the band's departure from Decca and Klein...
(1975)
- Get Yer Ya-Yas Out!
- Taylor plays on "I Don't Know Why" and "Jiving Sister Fanny".
- Sucking in the SeventiesSucking in the SeventiesSucking in the Seventies is the fourth official compilation album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1981. As the successor to 1975's Made in the Shade, it covers material from 1974's It's Only Rock 'n' Roll to 1980's Emotional Rescue....
(1981) (compilation of hits, album cuts and outtakes 1974-1981) - Tattoo YouTattoo YouTattoo You is the 16th British and 18th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1981. The follow-up to Emotional Rescue, it proved to be a big critical and commercial success...
(1981)
- Sucking in the Seventies
- Taylor plays on "Tops" and "Waiting on a FriendWaiting On A Friend"Waiting on a Friend" is a song by The Rolling Stones from their 1981 album Tattoo You. Released as the album's second single, it reached #13 on the US singles chart.-History:...
", both tracks recorded in 1972 during the Goats Head SoupGoats Head SoupGoats Head Soup is the 11th British and 13th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1973. It featured the song "Angie", which went to #1 as a single in the US and UK.-Recording:...
sessions.- Rewind (1971-1984)Rewind (1971-1984)Rewind is a compilation album by The Rolling Stones and was released in 1984. Coming only three years after Sucking in the Seventies, the album was primarily compiled to mark the end of the band's worldwide alliance with EMI , both of whom were the distributors of Rolling Stones Records...
(1984) (compilation of hits 1971-1983) - Singles Collection: The London YearsSingles Collection: The London YearsSingles Collection: The London Years is a compilation album of Rolling Stones music released by former manager Allen Klein's ABKCO Records after the band's departure from Decca and Klein....
. (1989) (compilation of singles 1963-1971) - Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling StonesJump Back: The Best of The Rolling StonesJump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones is the sixth official compilation album by The Rolling Stones and was initially released worldwide, except in North America, in 1993...
(1993) (compilation of hits 1971-1989) - Forty LicksForty LicksForty Licks is a double compilation album by The Rolling Stones. A 40-year career-spanning retrospective, Forty Licks is notable for being the first retrospective to combine the band's formative Decca/London era of the 1960s, now licensed by ABKCO Records , with their self-owned post-1970 material,...
(2002) (compilation 1964-2002) - Rarities 1971-2003Rarities 1971-2003Rarities 1971–2003 is a compilation album by The Rolling Stones that was released in 2005 worldwide by Virgin Records - as well as by the coffee-chain Starbucks in North America - and features a selection of rare and obscure material recorded between 1971 and 2003...
(2005)
- Rewind (1971-1984)
- Taylor plays on "Let It Rock" (live 1971) and the 1974 b-side "Through The Lonely Nights".
Non-Rolling Stones work with Rolling Stones members:
- Pay, Pack and Follow (John PhillipsJohn Phillips (musician)John Edmund Andrew Phillips , was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter and promoter . Known as Papa John, Phillips was a member and leader of the singing group The Mamas & the Papas...
, first official release by Eagle Rock RecordsEagle Rock EntertainmentEagle Rock Entertainment is the largest producer and distributor of music programming for DVD, Blu-Ray, TV and Digital Media in the world. Eagle works directly alongside talent to produce top quality, high-definition and 3D programs, both concerts and documentaries, including The Rolling Stones,...
, 2001)
- from 1973-1979 recording sessions in London aka "Half Stoned" sessions
- produced by Mick JaggerMick JaggerSir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
and Keith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
- I've Got My Own Album to DoI've Got My Own Album to DoI've Got My Own Album to Do is the first solo album of Ronnie Wood. It reached #27 on UK's New Musical Express chart. The title was a dig at Rod Stewart as he was more focused with his solo albums than with The Faces.-Track listing:...
(Ronnie Wood solo album) (1974) - Now LookNow LookNow Look is the second solo album of Ronnie Wood, with 6 weeks on the Billboard Top 200, it peaked at #118.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Ronnie Wood, except where indicated.# "I Got Lost When I Found You" - 4:26...
(Ronnie Wood solo album) (July 1975) - Talk Is CheapTalk Is CheapTalk Is Cheap is the solo album debut by Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, released in 1988. Recorded and released following a brief creative and personal fallout with Mick Jagger, Talk Is Cheap received glowing reviews upon its release....
(Keith RichardsKeith RichardsKeith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
solo album) (1988)
- I've Got My Own Album to Do
With Jack Bruce
- Live on the Old Grey Whistle TestOld Grey Whistle TestThe Old Grey Whistle Test was an influential BBC2 television music show that ran from 1971 to 1987. It took over the BBC2 late night slot from "Disco Two", which had been running since January 1970, while continuing to feature non-chart music. It was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers...
(Strange Fruit, 1995). Tracks from several Whistle Test shows recorded between '75 and '81. Seven of the songs feature Taylor on guitar. - Live at the Manchester Free Trade Hall (2 CD, Polydor, 2003)
With Bob Dylan
- InfidelsInfidelsInfidels is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 22nd studio album, released by Columbia Records in October 1983.Produced by Mark Knopfler and Dylan himself, Infidels is seen as his return to secular music, following a conversion to Christianity and three evangelical, gospel records...
(1983) - Real Live (In Europe, 1984)Real LiveReal Live is a live album documenting Bob Dylan's 1984 tour of Europe, released at the end of that same year by Columbia Records. Most of the concert was recorded at Wembley Stadium on 7 July, but "License to Kill" and "Tombstone Blues" come from St James' Park, Newcastle on 5 July, and "I and I"...
(1984) - Empire BurlesqueEmpire BurlesqueEmpire Burlesque is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 23rd studio album, released by Columbia Records in June 1985. The album peaked at #33 in the US and #11 in the UK....
(1985) - The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991 (1991)
Solo discography
- Mick TaylorMick Taylor (album)Mick Taylor is the debut album by former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor. Though the album was acclaimed by critics, the album's blues-based style was somewhat unfashionable at the time of release, when punk and new wave were becoming more popular....
(1979) US #119 [5 wks on top 200] - Stranger in This Town (1990)
- Arthur's Club-Geneve 1995Arthur's Club-Geneve 1995Arthur's Club-Geneve 1995 was a 75-minute performance in Geneva by blues guitarist Mick Taylor, featuring Snowy White, recorded for a television special and a promotional album...
(Mick Taylor & Snowy WhiteSnowy WhiteSnowy White is an English guitarist, known for having played with Thin Lizzy and with Pink Floyd and, more recently, for Roger Waters'...
) (Promo CD/TV Especial) - A Stone's Throw (2000)
- Coastin' Home aka Live at the 14 Below (1995) re-issued 2002
- 14 Below (2003)
- Shadow Man (2003)
With Carla Olson
- Too Hot For Snakes (Live at the Roxy) (1991 live album)
- Within An Ace (1993)
- Reap The Whirlwind(1994, Virgin Records Europe)
- Special - The best of Carla Olson (1995, Virgin Records Sweden)
- The Ring of Truth (2001)
- Too Hot For Snakes plus (2008, Collectors' Choice) 2 CD set of the Roxy album plus "You Gotta Move" and a 2nd disc of 13 studio tracks 1993 - 2004 including a previously unreleased version of "Winter" and "Think I'm Goin' Mad" from the Carla-produced Barry Goldberg album Stoned Again.
Other session work
- Tubular Bells Premiere Mike OldfieldMike OldfieldMichael Gordon Oldfield is an English multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, working a style that blends progressive rock, folk, ethnic or world music, classical music, electronic music, New Age, and more recently, dance. His music is often elaborate and complex in nature...
(June '73) Queen Elizabeth Hall - Tubular BellsTubular BellsTubular Bells is the debut record album of English musician Mike Oldfield, released in 1973. It was the first album released by Virgin Records and an early cornerstone of the company's success...
(Mike Oldfield) Telecast Tubular Bells Part One and Tubular Bells Part Two. Recorded at BBC Broadcasting House November 1973 and aired in early '74 and June '74. Available on Oldfield's ElementsElements - The Best of Mike Oldfield (video)Elements - The Best of Mike Oldfield is a video collection by Mike Oldfield released in October 1993. It was released by Virgin Records on VHS and Laser disc...
DVD. - The Tin Man Was A Dreamer (Nicky HopkinsNicky HopkinsNicholas Christian "Nicky" Hopkins was an English pianist and organist.He recorded and performed on noted British and American popular music recordings of the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s as a session musician....
) (1973) - "London Underground" (Herbie MannHerbie MannHerbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was a Jewish American jazz flutist and important early practitioner of world music...
1974) - Live European TourLive European TourLive European Tour is the first live album by Billy Preston, released in 1974 in Europe & Japan. It was recorded during his opening act stint for The Rolling Stones 1973 European Tour, featuring Mick Taylor on lead guitar & Preston's own band "The God Squad"...
Billy PrestonBilly PrestonWilliam Everett "Billy" Preston was a musician who gained notoriety and fame, first as a session musician for the likes of Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and The Beatles, and later finding fame as a solo artist with hits such as "Space Race", "Will It Go Round in Circles" and "Nothing from...
- (A&M RecordsA&M RecordsA&M Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that operates under the mantle of its Interscope-Geffen-A&M division.-Beginnings:...
, 1974). Recorded with Stones Mobile Studio during the '73 tour. Preston opened up for the band with Mick Taylor on guitar.
released on CD (A& M - Japan, 2002)
- Have Blues Will Travel (Speedo Jones) (Integrity Records, 1988)
- Reggae II (Herbie Mann) (Atlantic, 1976)
- Just A Story From America (Elliott Murphy) (Columbia 1977)
- Waiting for ColumbusWaiting for ColumbusWaiting for Columbus is the first live album by the Southern roots-rock band, Little Feat. The album was recorded during seven performances in 1977. The first four shows were held at the Rainbow Theatre in London on August 1-4, 1977. The final three shows were recorded in George Washington...
(Little Feat) (1978) double CD released 2002 - Expresso IIExpresso IIExpresso II is an album by Pierre Moerlen's Gong, issued in 1978.Like the other Pierre Moerlen's Gong albums, the album is predominantly jazz-fusion and has little to do with the psychedelic space rock of Daevid Allen's Gong, even though the bands share a common history.Expresso II is a companion...
(GongGong (band)Gong is a Franco-British progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. Their music has also been described as space rock. Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Francis Moze, Mike Howlett...
) (1978) - Downwind (Pierre Moerlen's GongPierre Moerlen's GongPierre Moerlen's Gong is a jazz fusion outfit which is very different from the first incarnation of Gong, the psychedelic space-rock act led by Daevid Allen...
) (1979) lead guitar on What you know - Alan MerrillAlan MerrillAlan Merrill is an American vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. In the early 1970s Merrill was the first westerner to achieve pop star status in Japan...
(Alan MerrillAlan MerrillAlan Merrill is an American vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter. In the early 1970s Merrill was the first westerner to achieve pop star status in Japan...
)'s solo album (Polydor, 1985) recorded in London in 1977 - VinylGramophone recordA gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
(DramaramaDramaramaDramarama is an alternative rock band.It may also refer to:* Dramarama , a 1980s British television series* Dramarama , a 2006 film that was to star Lindsay Lohan but was unreleased...
) (1991) - Burnin' Blues (Coupe De Villes) (1992)
- Once in a Blue Moon (Gerry Groom) (1993)
- Cartwheels (Anthony ThistlethwaiteAnthony ThistlethwaiteAnthony "Anto" Thistlethwaite is a British multi-instrumentalist best known as a founder member of the folk-rock group The Waterboys and later as a long-standing member of Irish rock band The Saw Doctors.After a year busking in Paris, playing tenor saxophone around the streets of the Latin...
) (1993) - Hecho en Memphis (Ratones Paranoicos, Sony Music) (1993)
- Let's get stoned (The Chesterfield KingsThe Chesterfield KingsThe Chesterfield Kings are a rock band from Rochester, New York, who began as a retro-1960s garage band, and who have heavily mined 1960s music, including some borrowing from the 1960s recordings of The Rolling Stones...
) (Mirror Records,1994) - Crawfish and Caviar (Anthony ThistlethwaiteAnthony ThistlethwaiteAnthony "Anto" Thistlethwaite is a British multi-instrumentalist best known as a founder member of the folk-rock group The Waterboys and later as a long-standing member of Irish rock band The Saw Doctors.After a year busking in Paris, playing tenor saxophone around the streets of the Latin...
) - Blue Night (Percy SledgePercy SledgePercy Sledge is an American R&B and soul performer who recorded the hit "When a Man Loves a Woman" in 1966.-Early career:...
, Virgin Records, 1994) - Mick & I (2001) Miyuki & Mick Taylor
- From Clarksdale to Heaven (BlueStorm, 2002) John Lee Hooker Tribute Album.
- Stoned Again (Barry Goldberg, Antone's Records, 2002)
- Meaning Of Life (Todd SharpvilleTodd SharpvilleTodd Sharpville is the younger son of the 3rd Viscount St Davids and younger brother of 4th Viscount St Davids. Sharpville is a British musician, singer-songwriter and lead guitarist, mainly in the blues field...
) (Cathouse/Universal, 2003) - Key To Love (Debbie Davies) (Shanachie Records, 2003)
- Shadow Man (re-release of a Sasha album from '96) (2003)
Originally released by Alpha Music in 1996, this "Mick Taylor featuring Sasha" album should have read "Sasha featuring Mick Taylor", but the company felt it would sell better under a household name. It features Mick Taylor on guitar, but is basically a Sasha Gracanin album.
- Treasure Island (Nikki SuddenNikki SuddenNikki Sudden was a prolific English singer-songwriter and guitarist. He co-founded the post-punk band Swell Maps with his brother Epic Soundtracks while attending Solihull School in Solihull.-Career:...
) (Secretly Canadian, 2004) - Unterwegs (Crazy Chris Kramer) (2009)
Music DVDs
- Blues AliveBlues AliveBlues Alive is an album by the Northern Irish guitar player Gary Moore released in 1993. It is a collection of live recordings taken from a 1992 tour and draws most of its material from Moore's then-recent Still Got the Blues and After Hours albums....
video (RCA/Columbia Pictures 1983), recorded at Capitol Theatre, NJ 1982 - Jamming with the Blues Greats - DVD release from the 1983 video, featuring John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (Mick Taylor, Colin Allen, John McVie) and special guests Albert King, Etta James, Buddy Guy, Junior Wells and Sippie Wallace (Lightyear/Image Entertainment 2005)
- The Stones in the Park Hyde Park concert video (Granada Television, 1969)
- released on DVD (VCI, 2001)
- Gimme ShelterGimme Shelter (documentary)Gimme Shelter is a 1970 documentary film directed by Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin, chronicling the last weeks of The Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour, which culminated in the disastrous Altamont Free Concert. The film is named after "Gimme Shelter", the lead track from The Rolling...
(Maysles Films, 1970) music documentary film by Albert and David Maysles, shot at the Rolling Stones concerts at Madison Square Garden, NY on 27/28 November and Altamont, CA on 6th Dec December 1969.
- Gimme Shelter
- restored and released on DVD (Criterion, 2000)
- John Mayall, the Godfather of British Blues documentary about John Mayall's life and career (Eagle Rock, 2004. Region 1: 2005)
- 70th Birthday Concert70th Birthday Concert70th Birthday Concert is a live Electric blues video recording of John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers to celebrate Mayall's 70th Birthday. Recorded in Liverpool, England on July 19 2003, the concert was notable as it featured Eric Clapton as a guest, so marked the first time he and Mayall had performed...
(Eagle Rock, 2004. Region 1: 2005). Bluesbreakers Charity Concert (Unite for Unicef) filmed in Liverpool, July 2003. John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers with special guests Chris Barber, Eric Clapton and Mick Taylor.
- "Stones In Exile" 2010
- "Ladies & Gentlemen The Rolling Stones" 2010
----
Music DVDs - Unofficial
- Cocksucker BluesCocksucker BluesCocksucker Blues is an unreleased documentary film directed by the noted still photographer Robert Frank chronicling The Rolling Stones' North American tour in 1972 in support of their album Exile on Main St..-Production:...
Filmography
- The Man Who Fell to EarthThe Man Who Fell to Earth (film)The Man Who Fell to Earth is a 1976 British science fiction film directed by Nicolas Roeg.The film is based on the 1963 novel of the same name by Walter Tevis, about an extraterrestrial who crash lands on Earth seeking a way to ship water to his planet, which is suffering from a severe drought...
(1976) directed by Nicolas RoegNicolas RoegNicolas Jack Roeg, CBE, BSC is an English film director and cinematographer.-Life and career:Roeg was born in London, the son of Mabel Gertrude and Jack Nicolas Roeg...
Contributed to soundtrack. Played guitar on various songs, including "Hello Mary Lou" after developing ideas for soundtrack with John Phillips
John Phillips (musician)
John Edmund Andrew Phillips , was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter and promoter . Known as Papa John, Phillips was a member and leader of the singing group The Mamas & the Papas...
.
- The Last of the Finest (1990) directed by John Mackenzie. Assisted composer Jack NitzscheJack NitzscheBernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche was an arranger, producer, songwriter, and film score composer. He first came to prominence in the late 1950s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spector, and went on to work with the Rolling Stones, Neil Young and others...
with the moviescore - Bad City Blues (1999) directed by Michael Stevens. After the book by Tim WillocksTim WillocksTimothy Willocks is a British doctor and novelist born in Stalybridge Greater Manchester, England. An experienced psychiatrist, Willocks has worked for some years on the rehabilitation of the sufferers of drug addiction.-Career:...
.
Music composers: Mick Taylor and Max Middleton
Max Middleton
David Maxwell "Max" Middleton . He is an English composer and keyboardist and was originally a docker on the Liverpool docks. Middleton is known for his work on the Fender Rhodes Electric piano, the Minimoog synthesiser and his percussive playing style of the Hohner Clavinet...
Awards
- Inducted into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame (with the Rolling Stones, 1989)
- Taylor's handprints have been on Hollywood's RockWalk since 6 September 1998.
Guitar history
Throughout his career, Taylor has used various guitars, but is mostly associated with the Gibson Les PaulGibson Les Paul
The Gibson Les Paul was the result of a design collaboration between Gibson Guitar Corporation and the late jazz guitarist and electronics inventor Les Paul. In 1950, with the introduction of the Fender Telecaster to the musical market, electric guitars became a public craze. In reaction, Gibson...
. His first Les Paul was bought when he was still playing with The Gods (from Selmer's, London in '65). He acquired his second Les Paul in 1967, not long after joining The Bluesbreakers: Taylor came to Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios
Olympic Studios was a renowned independent commercial recording studio located at 117 Church Road, Barnes, South West London, England. The studio is best known for the huge number of famous rock and pop recordings made there from the late 1960s onward....
to buy a Les Paul that Keith Richards wanted to sell. On the '72/'73 tours Taylor used a couple of Sunburst Les Paul guitars without a Bigsby. Other guitars include a Gibson ES-355 for the recording of Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main Street, a Gibson SG
Gibson SG
At the launch of the SG in 1961, Gibson offered four variants of the SG; the SG Junior , the SG Special, the SG Standard, and the top-of-the-line SG Custom. However, Gibson's current core variants as of 2010 are the SG Standard and the SG Special...
on the 1969, 1970 and 1971 tours, and occasionally a Fender Stratocaster
Fender Stratocaster
The Fender Stratocaster, often referred to as "Strat", is a model of electric guitar designed by Leo Fender, George Fullerton, and Freddie Tavares in 1954, and manufactured continuously by the Fender Musical Instruments Corporation to the present. It is a double-cutaway guitar, with an extended top...
and a Fender Telecaster
Fender Telecaster
The Fender Telecaster, colloquially known as the Tele , is typically a dual-pickup, solid-body electric guitar made by Fender.Its simple yet effective design and revolutionary sound broke ground and set trends in electric guitar manufacturing and popular music...
.