Myra Taylor (jazz singer)
Encyclopedia
Myra Taylor is an American
jazz
singer and songwriter from Bonner Springs, Kansas
. She began performing as a teen and has continued performing into her nineties. She currently lives at the Swope Ridge Geriatric Center in Kansas City
, Missouri
.
hired Taylor as the featured singer for his new band Harlan Leonard and His Rockets. The band had a lengthy engagement at Harlem's
Golden Gate Ballroom. The band recorded on RCA's Bluebird Records
label. Taylor wrote the song Dig It, and Leonard claimed co-writing credit, later omitting her name and denying her royalties.
Taylor and Leonard parted company, and she join Eubie Blake's
band for a single tour, then returned to Kansas City to sing with Jimmy Keith. In 1946, she had a hit with Spider and the Fly on Mercury Records
, but was denied royalties by publisher Blasco Music.
Frustrated at the American music business, Taylor began touring in Europe, and in 1965 moved to Frankfurt, Germany and opened her own club named Down by the Riverside. She performed in USO shows during World War II
, the Korean War
and the Vietnam War
, performing in 32 different countries.
In 1977, she moved back to the US and settled in Los Angeles, California
to work in film and television, and in 1994 relocated once again in Kansas City.
In 2000, she recorded My Night to Dream for Analogue Production Originals records and released it on the very inauspicious date of September 11, 2001. It was re-released on SACD
in 2010.
Taylor has continued singing, performing with the group Wild Women of Kansas City and celebrated her 94th birthday with a concert at Knuckleheads Saloon
with Samantha Fish and Mike Zito. Taylor performed as recently as June of 2011 with the Wild Women of Kansas City at the Corbin Theatre in Liberty, Missouri, but her health declined in the last half of 2011 following a fall and was no longer able to live in her home.
- The Arrival (Part 1) and The Arrival (Part 2) in 1980 and Men of the Cloth in 1982
She was the lead in the 1979 women's professional basketball comedy Scoring, as well as supporting roles in the Cher
thriller Suspect
, the Amy Irving
romance Crossing Delancey
, director Lasse Hallström's
Once Around
with Richard Dryfuss and Ron Howard's
The Paper
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
singer and songwriter from Bonner Springs, Kansas
Bonner Springs, Kansas
Bonner Springs is a river city in Johnson, Leavenworth, and Wyandotte counties in the U.S. state of Kansas. It is a suburb in the Kansas City, Missouri Metropolitan Area. The vast majority of the city, which lies in Wyandotte County, is part of the "Unified Government" which contains Kansas City,...
. She began performing as a teen and has continued performing into her nineties. She currently lives at the Swope Ridge Geriatric Center in Kansas City
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...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
.
Early life
Born in Bonner Springs, Kansas, Taylor's family moved to Kansas City, Missouri when she was a child to the historic 18th and Vine area. Working as a housekeeper at age 14, she began dancing at the Sunset and Reno clubs on 12th street. Being underage, she entered some clubs by sneaking in through a rear window and eventually attracted attention singing.Music career
In 1940, Harlan LeonardHarlan Leonard
Harlan Leonard was an American jazz bandleader and clarinetist from Kansas City, Missouri.A professional musician from the age of 17, he joined Benny Moten's orchestra in 1923, where he led the reed section until 1931. In 1931 he and Thamon Hayes formed the Kansas City Skyrockets, which included...
hired Taylor as the featured singer for his new band Harlan Leonard and His Rockets. The band had a lengthy engagement at Harlem's
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
Golden Gate Ballroom. The band recorded on RCA's Bluebird Records
Bluebird Records
Bluebird Records is a sub-label of RCA Victor Records originally created in 1932 to counter the American Record Company in the "3 records for a dollar" market. Along with ARC's Perfect Records, Melotone Records and Romeo Records, and the independent US Decca label, Bluebird became one of the best...
label. Taylor wrote the song Dig It, and Leonard claimed co-writing credit, later omitting her name and denying her royalties.
Taylor and Leonard parted company, and she join Eubie Blake's
Eubie Blake
James Hubert Blake was an American composer, lyricist, and pianist of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. In 1921, Blake and long-time collaborator Noble Sissle wrote the Broadway musical Shuffle Along, one of the first Broadway musicals to be written and directed by African Americans...
band for a single tour, then returned to Kansas City to sing with Jimmy Keith. In 1946, she had a hit with Spider and the Fly on Mercury Records
Mercury Records
Mercury Records is a record label operating as a standalone company in the UK and as part of the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group in the US; both are subsidiaries of Universal Music Group. There is also a Mercury Records in Australia, which is a local artist and repertoire division of Universal...
, but was denied royalties by publisher Blasco Music.
Frustrated at the American music business, Taylor began touring in Europe, and in 1965 moved to Frankfurt, Germany and opened her own club named Down by the Riverside. She performed in USO shows during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
and the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
, performing in 32 different countries.
In 1977, she moved back to the US and settled in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
to work in film and television, and in 1994 relocated once again in Kansas City.
In 2000, she recorded My Night to Dream for Analogue Production Originals records and released it on the very inauspicious date of September 11, 2001. It was re-released on SACD
Super Audio CD
Super Audio CD is a high-resolution, read-only optical disc for audio storage. Sony and Philips Electronics jointly developed the technology, and publicized it in 1999. It is designated as the Scarlet Book standard. Sony and Philips previously collaborated to define the Compact Disc standard...
in 2010.
Taylor has continued singing, performing with the group Wild Women of Kansas City and celebrated her 94th birthday with a concert at Knuckleheads Saloon
Knuckleheads Saloon
Knuckleheads Saloon is a music venue in Kansas City, Missouri. The facility is a complex of three stages - a large outdoor stage featuring a converted caboose to one side as a VIP seating area, a 220 seat indoor stage and a 50 seat lounge known as the "Retro Room". The last doubles as a blues music...
with Samantha Fish and Mike Zito. Taylor performed as recently as June of 2011 with the Wild Women of Kansas City at the Corbin Theatre in Liberty, Missouri, but her health declined in the last half of 2011 following a fall and was no longer able to live in her home.
Acting career
Taylor appeared as Pearl in three episodes of the US television program The JeffersonsThe Jeffersons
The Jeffersons is an American sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from January 18, 1975, through June 25, 1985, lasting 11 seasons and a total of 253 episodes. The show was produced by the T.A.T. Communications Company from 1975–1982 and by Embassy Television from 1982-1985...
- The Arrival (Part 1) and The Arrival (Part 2) in 1980 and Men of the Cloth in 1982
She was the lead in the 1979 women's professional basketball comedy Scoring, as well as supporting roles in the Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
thriller Suspect
Suspect (film)
Suspect is a 1987 mystery/courtroom film drama starring Cher, Dennis Quaid and Liam Neeson.Other notable cast members include John Mahoney, Joe Mantegna, Fred Melamed, and Philip Bosco...
, the Amy Irving
Amy Irving
Amy Davis Irving is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey, The Fury, Carrie, and Yentl as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway and Off-Broadway. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and has won an Obie award...
romance Crossing Delancey
Crossing Delancey
Crossing Delancey is a romantic comedy film starring Amy Irving and Peter Riegert released in 1988. It is directed by Joan Micklin Silver and based on a play by Susan Sandler, who also wrote the screenplay...
, director Lasse Hallström's
Lasse Hallström
Lars Sven "Lasse" Hallström is a Swedish film director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director for My Life as a Dog and later for The Cider House Rules .-Life and career:...
Once Around
Once Around
Once Around is a 1991 romantic comedy-drama film about a young woman who falls for and eventually marries an overbearing older man who proceeds to rub her close-knit family the wrong way...
with Richard Dryfuss and Ron Howard's
Ron Howard
Ronald William "Ron" Howard is an American actor, director, and producer. He came to prominence as a child actor, playing Opie Taylor in the sitcom The Andy Griffith Show for eight years, and later the teenaged Richie Cunningham in the sitcom Happy Days for six years...
The Paper
The Paper
The Paper is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Ron Howard and starring Michael Keaton, Robert Duvall, and Glenn Close. The film depicts 24 hours in a newspaper editor's professional and personal life.-Plot:...