Johnnie Taylor | Artist

Johnnie Taylor was an American soul and R&B singer/songwriter born 1934 in Crawfordsville, Arkansas. He performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco, leaving many superb album recordings. In the 1950s Taylor was a member of the gospel group The Highway Q.C.'s, which included the young Sam Cooke. Taylor's singing then was strikingly close to that of Cooke, and he was hired to take Cooke's place in the gospel group, the Soul Stirrers, in 1957. A few years later, after Cooke had established his independent SAR Records, Taylor signed on as one of the label's first acts and recorded "Rome Wasn't Built In A Day" in 1962. In 1966, Taylor moved to Stax Records in Memphis, where he was dubbed "The Philosopher of Soul". He recorded with the label's house band which included Booker T. & the MG's. His hits included "I Had a Dream", "I've Got to Love Somebody's Baby" (both written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter) and "Who's Making Love" which sold over one million copies and was awarded a gold disc. By the 70's Taylor had become one of Stax's flagship artists and, along with Isaac Hayes and The Staple Singers, was credited for keeping the company afloat in the late 1960s and early 1970s after the death of its biggest star, Otis Redding. After Stax folded in 1975, Taylor switched to Columbia where he recorded his biggest success with the single "Disco Lady" which spent four weeks at number one. As a recording artist, Taylor released over 20 studio albums, standouts include the early releases Wanted: One Soul Singer, Who's Making Love, Raw Blues, The Jonnie Taylor Philosophy Continues, One Step Beyond and Super Taylor.

Artist Website: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnnie_Taylor

Featured Albums: Johnnie Taylor

Related Artists: The Soul Stirrers, Sam Cooke