Johnnie Taylor

Throughout this course, I have learned that blues is a very diverse genre of music. With

influences and connections to various other genres of music, blues is by far one of the most

interesting genres of music out there. From deep roots in Mississippi blues to the Detroit sound,

there has been many artists that took blues in many directions. The one artist that stands out in

particular to me is three-time Grammy nominee, Johnnie Taylor. In this research paper, I will be

exploring Johnnie Taylor’s upbringing, his rise to fame, and the life behind the music.

Johnnie Harrison Taylor was born in Crawfordsville, Arkansas on May 5, 1934. He was

brought up in a very traditional, Christian home. His grandmother, who he was raised by was

very religious, and she “stressed the importance of attending church.” (AllMusic) This is

ultimately where Johnnie Taylor got his beginning in singing. While still a child, he moved to

Kansas City. He started performing with a gospel group called the Melody Kings. Through this

experience, he met the legendary Sam Cooke, and a long-standing friendship was born. Around

1953, Taylor left the Kansas City area and moved to Chicago, where he joined a group called the

Five Echoes. With this group, they mainly played at various clubs around Chicago and had a

pretty good following. This follows the migration trend of many other blues artists, both before

and during his time. There was a great need to expand the sites of blues music, and there seemed

to be much more opportunity in the northern states.

Not long after moving to Chicago, Taylor began singing with the gospel group, the

Highway Q.C.’s. Sam Cooke had also been a part of this group at one point in time. (AllMusic)

In 1957, Taylor replaced Cooke after he started making Soul/R&B music in the widely known

group, the Soul Stirrers. Taylor was a good artist, but was ultimately fired from the group when

he ran over a child in the group’s car, while intoxicated. (TvOne interview) Following this
incident, Taylor became an ordained minister. Through this first part of Taylor’s career, we can

see that he followed the traditional urban blues cities, even though he was not considered a blues

artist at this time. He hit all of the major blues cities, including Kansas City and Chicago. Taylor

went on to Los Angeles, California, to become a full-time preacher. With influence from Sam

Cooke by the early 60’s, Taylor followed Sam Cooke’s path and transitioned from gospel music

to R&B/Soul Music.

This is the first instance, where we can see that Taylor was very moved by money and

popularity. He was the first artist to sign with Sam Cooke’s label, Sar and also Derby. He made

his first hit by himself, which was an R&B hit, “Rome (Wasn’t Built in a Day). Through this

song, we can see that he really had a good, unusual voice. We can also see the influence Sam

Cooke had on Taylor’s music. “His success and quick rise in the R&B spotlight was quickly

brought down when his mentor and friend Sam Cooke was murdered.” (Blackpast) This was an

extremely hard time for Taylor, seeing as he was out of a record deal and a friend. His need for

money and fame was further driven by this. Consequently, he stole a song, called “Part Time

Love,” from a small artist named, Little Johnnie Taylor. He made it his own, and went all across

the country singing and performing what was originally someone else’s song. (TvOne interview)

From this, Taylor moved to Memphis, Tennessee in 1966, and signed with the Stax Label. When

he first arrived at Stax, Otis Redding was the number one artist there. Taylor was determined to

be first, and after Otis died in a plane crash a year later, his dream came true. This was a huge

turning point for his career. Don Davis, a widely known Detroit hit song maker, joined forces

with Johnnie Taylor and this was the start of a beautiful friendship.

Taylor’s first big song, “Who’s Making Love,” was a new era in music. It gave him the

nickname, as “the Soul Philosopher.” It was the first-time music had a message behind it.
Through his rise in success, there were many ups and downs and we see him start struggling with

drugs and alcohol. In 1970, he was arrested in Nassau, Bahamas and spent three months in jail

for the possession of drugs, a revolver, and brass knuckles. After his release, he was back to

making hits. The R&B song, “Jody’s Got your Girl and Gone,” was yet another song that gave

rise to popular culture. The infamous Jody, that we hear in a lot of other blues and R&B songs,

was brought to life. This could be connected to the reality of a lot of black men in the 70’s of

working hard and never home. He went on to make other hits like “I Believe in You (You

Believe in Me” which topped the charts again. It was no new feeling for Johnnie and the hits

would only continue with songs like “Cheaper to Keep Her.” He continued with seventeen top 20

hits. Johnnie Taylor’s music coincides of blues music turning into soul music, but in his case, he

started off with soul music that turned into blues. Just like Sam Cooke that started off in gospel

music, and landed in soul music, we see the same trend across many other artists, including

Johnnie Taylor.

His ego matched his fame. He refused to perform behind the legendary, Isaac Hayes at

the WattStax Concert. (TvOne Interview) His band members also noted that he was very

adamant about the way they dressed, looked, and played. In his 1977 interview, Johnnie Taylor

said, “I have always thought of myself as a trendsetter.” I think this is important to recognize,

because as an artist, it is important to have a uniqueness in your artistry. Through this, we also

see the many changes in direction he went through in the music industry, and the face that he

was very versatile. He was able to change his style of music and always seem to have a hit or

two no matter the genre he sang in. I think that it is important to note the willpower and work

ethic he had, although he had many other faults.

 “Disco Lady” is Johnnie Taylor’s most widely celebrated song. It was a huge hit on both

pop & R&B charts. He made history with being the first artist ever to go Platinum on the music

charts. After the huge success of “Disco Lady,” Taylor struggled to stay in the spotlight with

other songs that did not do as well as the platinum hit. This was the start of the downfall of

Johnnie Taylor. He faced several charges of DUI and possession of cocaine. There are many

reasons we could say Johnnie Taylor is a unique artist, but he has some undeniable similarities to

past blues legends, like Charley Patton. For one, they both had roots in gospel music. Charley

Patton had several noteworthy gospel songs, as did Johnnie Taylor. They both also were known

for their use of drugs and alcohol. Although Patton was a bit more aggressive in his drinking and

partying ways, Taylor did have his share of run-ins with the law concerning drugs and alcohol.

(R. Crumb, graphic novel) This is crucial, because it brings the attention to the struggle of many

musicians both past and present that struggle with substance abuse of many kinds.

Consequently, after all of the mishaps with drugs and alcohol, Taylor was dropped from

Columbia records. He came back in 1984, and signed with a small label, called Malaco records.

This was the start of his blues career. He created 12 albums with the label over fifteen years

(AllMusic). His style was noted as a hybrid of soul and blues. One of the things that surprised me

about Johnnie Taylor, was that unlike other artists, he never played an instrument. He always

performed with a live band, but I never heard of him having an instrument other than his voice. I

think this interesting and true for a lot of soul artists. Although his career seemed to have been

fairly successful, he suffered behind the music.

Another big part of Johnnie Taylor’s life was family. He fathered a total of ten kids, and

there has been a lot of controversy surrounding the nature of his children. In the tv show entitled,

The Will, his children discuss Taylor as a fairly good father, especially to his kids in Dallas. He
was only known to have six children, but after he died three children came forth saying that

Johnnie Taylor was their father. His children tie his addiction to drugs to an addiction to sex that

made him father many children across the country. This is crucial, because his children believe

that he was ultimately killed by the hiding of kids that he knew he had, but never took care of.

Although we can never know what truly drove his drug addiction, we can see how this may have

played a vital role in his persistent use of drugs. This can be true of many other artists. Although

they may all have different issues that drives addiction, there is a theme of drug use in the music

industry. This is important to recognize, because it seems to be a recurrent them throughout the

entertainment industry.

In conclusion, Johnnie Taylor was an undeniably, great talent. Through my research, I

have learned a lot about his life, career, the makings of a good artist, and his life behind the

music. His early upbringing in the church was much like other young, blues artist like Charley

Patton. The thing that set him apart from other artists, though, is the fact that he moved through

genres during his four decades in the music industry. From beginning in gospel, to moving to

soul, to pop, back to soul, and then blues; he has quite a repertoire. He broke records, being that

he was the first artist ever to have a platinum song. He also was a three-time Grammy nominee.

Although he had all of the accolades and attention, we can see that he still struggles with

addiction. Drugs and alcohol played a huge part in his life, and it contributed to some of his

music downfalls and the increase in the number of kids. In the end, Johnnie Taylor left behind a

great legacy, and his music will always be here. Maybe he is in Soul Heaven with the other

legendary greats.
 Sources

Hill, James. “Watch the Story of Johnnie Taylor.” TV One, 9 Jan. 2019, tvone.tv/video/watch-

the-story-of-johnnie-taylor-unsung/.

Huey, Steve. “Johnnie Taylor: Biography & History.” AllMusic,

www.allmusic.com/artist/johnnie-taylor-mn0000198162/biography.

“Johnnie Taylor 1977 Interview.” SoulMusic.com,

http://www.soulmusic.info/main.asp?S=3&T=3&ART=6130.

“The Estate of Johnnie Taylor: The Will: Family Secrets Revealed.” Investigation Discovery,

Nov. 2011, www.investigationdiscovery.com/tv-shows/the-will-family-secrets-

revealed/full-episodes/the-estate-of-johnnie-taylor.

Weber, E. Johnnie Harrison Taylor (1934-2000). 05 August 2018.

https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/taylor-johnnie-harrison-1934-2000/

Wells, Chris. “Johnnie Taylor.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 15 June 2000,

www.theguardian.com/news/2000/jun/15/guardianobituaries2.