Eddie Taylor
Encyclopedia
Eddie Taylor was an American
electric blues
guitarist
and singer.
, United States
, as a boy Taylor taught himself to play the guitar. He spent his early years playing at venues around Leland, Mississippi
, where he taught his friend Jimmy Reed
to play guitar. With a guitar style deeply rooted in the Mississippi Delta
tradition, in 1949 Taylor moved to Chicago
.
While Taylor never achieved the stardom of some of his compatriots in the Chicago blues
scene, he nevertheless was an integral part of that era and is especially noted as a main accompanist
for Jimmy Reed as well as working with John Lee Hooker
, Big Walter Horton
, Sam Lay
and others. Taylor's own records
"Big Town Playboy" and "Bad Boy" on Vee Jay Records became local hits
in the 1950s.
Taylor's son Eddie Taylor Jr. is a blues guitarist in Chicago, his stepson Larry Taylor is a blues drummer
and vocalist, and his daughter Demetria is a blues vocalist in Chicago. . Taylor's wife Vera was the niece of bluesmen Eddie "Guitar" Burns
and Jimmy Burns
.
Taylor died on Christmas Day in 1985 in Chicago, at age 62, and was interred in an unmarked grave in the Restvale Cemetery
in Alsip
, Illinois
. He was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame
in 1987.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
electric blues
Electric blues
Electric blues is a type of blues music distinguished by the amplification of the guitar, bass guitar, drums, and often the harmonica. Pioneered in the 1930s, it emerged as a genre in Chicago in the 1940s. It was taken up in many areas of America leading to the development of regional subgenres...
guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and singer.
Biography
Born Edward Taylor in Benoit, MississippiBenoit, Mississippi
Benoit is a town in Bolivar County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 611 at the 2000 census. The 1956 movie Baby Doll was shot on location in Benoit; many local residents played in minor roles.-Geography:...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, as a boy Taylor taught himself to play the guitar. He spent his early years playing at venues around Leland, Mississippi
Leland, Mississippi
Leland is a city in Washington County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 4,790 at the 2008 census.The town is located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta on the banks of Deer Creek, which is decorated each Christmas season with floats that bring visitors from afar to view the...
, where he taught his friend Jimmy Reed
Jimmy Reed
Mathis James "Jimmy" Reed was an American blues musician and songwriter, notable for bringing his distinctive style of blues to mainstream audiences. Reed was a major player in the field of electric blues, as opposed to the more acoustic-based sound of many of his contemporaries...
to play guitar. With a guitar style deeply rooted in the Mississippi Delta
Mississippi Delta
The Mississippi Delta is the distinctive northwest section of the U.S. state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo Rivers. The region has been called "The Most Southern Place on Earth" because of its unique racial, cultural, and economic history...
tradition, in 1949 Taylor moved to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
.
While Taylor never achieved the stardom of some of his compatriots in the Chicago blues
Chicago blues
The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois, by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues, making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier, and adding electrically amplified guitar, amplified bass guitar, drums,...
scene, he nevertheless was an integral part of that era and is especially noted as a main accompanist
Accompaniment
In music, accompaniment is the art of playing along with an instrumental or vocal soloist or ensemble, often known as the lead, in a supporting manner...
for Jimmy Reed as well as working with John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker
John Lee Hooker was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist.Hooker began his life as the son of a sharecropper, William Hooker, and rose to prominence performing his own unique style of what was originally closest to Delta blues. He developed a 'talking blues' style that was his trademark...
, Big Walter Horton
Big Walter Horton
Walter Horton, better known as Big Walter Horton or Walter "Shakey" Horton, was an American blues harmonica player. A quiet, unassuming and essentially shy man, Horton is remembered as one of the premier harmonica players in the history of blues...
, Sam Lay
Sam Lay
Sam Lay is an American drummer and vocalist, who has been performing since the late 1950s.-Life and career:...
and others. Taylor's own records
Gramophone record
A 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...
"Big Town Playboy" and "Bad Boy" on Vee Jay Records became local hits
Hit record
A hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay, club play, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings...
in the 1950s.
Taylor's son Eddie Taylor Jr. is a blues guitarist in Chicago, his stepson Larry Taylor is a blues drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
and vocalist, and his daughter Demetria is a blues vocalist in Chicago. . Taylor's wife Vera was the niece of bluesmen Eddie "Guitar" Burns
Eddie "Guitar" Burns
Eddie "Guitar" Burns is an American Detroit blues guitarist, harmonica player, singer and songwriter...
and Jimmy Burns
Jimmy Burns
Jimmy Burns is an award winning American soul blues and electric blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although he was born in the Mississippi Delta, Burns has spent nearly all his life in Chicago...
.
Taylor died on Christmas Day in 1985 in Chicago, at age 62, and was interred in an unmarked grave in the Restvale Cemetery
Burr Oak Cemetery and Restvale Cemetery
Burr Oak Cemetery is a cemetery located in unincorporated Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Alsip, a suburb slightly southwest of Chicago. As one of the few cemeteries focused on the needs of the African-American community, it is the final resting place of many black celebrities, including...
in Alsip
Alsip, Illinois
Alsip is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 19,725 at the 2000 census. It is a suburb of Chicago.Alsip was settled in the 1830s by German and Dutch farmers. The village is named after Frank Alsip, the owner of a brickyard that opened there in 1885...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. He was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame
Blues Hall of Fame
The Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1980 by the Blues Foundation, it honors those who have performed, recorded, or documented blues.-1980:*Big Bill Broonzy*Willie Dixon*John Lee Hooker...
in 1987.
Discography
- 1972 I Feel So Bad - The Blues Of Eddie Taylor
- 1975 Street Talkin (Muse 5087, French) - compilation of Vee Jay material w/seven Elmore James tracks and seven of Taylor's
- 1978 Bad Boy - A Long Way From Chicago with Louis Myers, Dave Myers and Odie Payne Jr.Odie PayneOdie Payne was an American Chicago blues drummer. Over his long career Payne worked with a range of musicians including Sonny Boy Williamson II, Muddy Waters, Jimmy Rogers, Eddie Taylor, Little Johnny Jones, Tampa Red, Otis Rush, Yank Rachell, Sleepy John Estes, Little Brother Montgomery, Memphis...
(JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese recording - P-Vine Special) (PLP-3501) - 1981 Big Town Playboy (Charly 1015, English) - contains all Vee Jay recordings under his name excepting "Good Hearted"
External links
- [ Eddie Taylor's biography] at Allmusic websiteWebsiteA website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...