Hound Dog Taylor | Artist

Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor was an American blues guitarist and singer born 1915 in Natchez, Mississippi. Taylor moved to Chicago in 1942 and began playing small clubs and street markets. He was renowned for his slide guitar style and the cheap Japanese Teisco guitars he used. In 1967 he was part of the American Folk Blues Festival European tour alongside Little Walter and Koko Taylor with backing band The Houserockers comprising Brewer Philips on guitar/vocals and Ted Harvey on drums. In 1970 Taylor met Bruce Iglauer who was so impressed with Taylor, he used all his savings to form Alligator Records and record Taylor's debut album, the excellent Houndog Taylor and the Houserockers. This was Alligator's first release and they went on to become a major blues label. As Taylor's manager Iglauer got him nationwide bookings supporting Muddy Waters, Freddy King and Big Mama Thornton. Taylor and The Houserockers made one more studio album, the also excellent Natural Boogie, plus there were archival and live albums released posthumously after 1975. Taylor was one of the last of the great American blues masters and he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1984.

Artist Website: alligator.com/artists/Hound-Dog-Taylor/

Featured Albums: Hound Dog Taylor

Related Artists: The Houserockers