Steve Taylor
Encyclopedia
Roland Stephen Taylor is an American Christian
singer, songwriter
, record producer
and film director
.
, California. Taylor's father, Roland Taylor, was a Baptist
minister. When Taylor was six years old, the family relocated to Northglenn, Colorado
, a suburb of Denver
. He graduated from Northglenn High School in 1976. While there, he attempted to learn the bass guitar, piano and trombone.
Upon graduation from high school, Taylor enrolled at Biola University
in California. During his freshman year, he was first of the 100 chosen, from 20,000 applicants, to spend the summer at John Davidson
's summer camp. At the camp, Taylor spent time learning from singers like Tony Orlando
, Florence Henderson
, and John Davidson. Also that year, Taylor heard one of his biggest influences, The Clash
's London Calling
. "It saved my life, musically," said Taylor.
Taylor returned home and enrolled at the University of Colorado at Boulder
, to study "serious music". He graduated there in 1980, but described his Bachelor of Arts
Degree in Music and Theater as being worth "slightly more than the cash value of a Pizza Hut
coupon."
. It had a short run at a community theater in Denver. He also wrote and starred in a short film, Joe's Distributing, a parody of avant-garde
films.
Taylor wrote articles during this time that were published in the Wittenburg Door and Contemporary Christian Music
magazine (for which he won an award from the Evangelical Press Association
).
After recording a demo of original songs, Taylor began to write for the musical group The Continentals. The Continentals' founder, Cam Floria invited Taylor to join the group on a tour of Poland
sponsored by Solidarity.
When he returned to the United States, he was asked to perform at the Christian Artists' 1982 Music Seminar in Denver. Billy Ray Hearn
, president of Sparrow Records
, was backstage and immediately signed Taylor to a recording contract
.
He recorded his debut solo project I Want to Be a Clone
in 1982 and released it in January 1983. He quickly gained a reputation for writing songs that satirized beliefs and practices with which he disagreed.
In 1983, Taylor recorded his first full length album. Released in 1984, Meltdown
included some of the demo material that was not on Clone along with some new material. His video single of the title track, "Meltdown (at Madame Tussaud's)" was played on MTV
, which was unusual for a Christian
artist at the time. The video featured an appearance by actress Lisa Whelchel
. The album also included "We Don't Need No Colour Code", which was critical of Bob Jones University
and its anti-interracial dating policy, a policy that was not abandoned by the university until 2000.
Another track on Meltdown, "Guilty By Association", one of the original demo songs, includes a jab with an impression in the middle eight at televangelist Jimmy Swaggart
. The song "On the Fritz", the title track from Taylor's next studio album, was also targeted at Swaggart. Swaggart later struck back by devoting part of a chapter of Religious Rock 'N' Roll, a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (ISBN 0-935113-05-3) to Taylor, whom he saw as playing evil rock music.
During a performance at 1984's Cornerstone Festival
, Taylor fractured his ankle while jumping off the stage. He finished the summer's tour in an electric wheelchair.
Taylor followed that release with On the Fritz
, produced by Foreigner
's Ian McDonald
. Fritz was Taylor's first album to use all studio musicians instead of his usual backing group. Some of the musicians who played on this album were George Small, Tony DaVilio, Hugh McCracken
, Carmine Rojas
, Larry Fast
and Allen Childs. Fritz, keeping with Taylor tradition, took aim once again at religious leaders, such as Bill Gothard
("I Manipulate"), greedy TV evangelists (again) ("You Don't Owe Me Nothing"), politicians using religion or avoiding questions of morality in order to get votes ("It's a Personal Thing"), and public schools teaching "values clarification" to children, asking them to determine who should be thrown overboard in an overcrowded lifeboat ("Lifeboat").
In 1985, Steve received his first Grammy nomination in the "Best Male Gospel Performance" category, while also being nominated for Dove Awards as "Gospel Artist of the Year" and for Meltdown as the "Best Contemporary Album of the Year". Taylor and "Some Band" performed at the Dove Awards ceremonies in Nashville
in April of that year, where they were introduced by Pat Boone
.
Taylor also recorded a duet with Sheila Walsh, "Not Gonna Fall Away", a tune written and recorded in 1981 by David Edwards. This was released as a 12" single titled Transatlantic Remixes. Taylor and Walsh embarked on the "Transatlantic Tour" which included dates in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Taylor and Walsh also participated in the recording of "Do Something Now", a collaborative effort, similar to "We Are The World
", to raise money for Compassion International
's famine
relief programs in Africa
. Other artists participating included Amy Grant
, Larry Norman
, Randy Stonehill
, Mylon LeFevre
, Steve Camp
, Evie
, Phil Keaggy
, Second Chapter of Acts, Sandi Patti, Bill Gaither, and Rick Cua
.
In between performing, recording and touring, Taylor met and married Debbie Butler of Irvine
, California. They were married by Taylor's father at a private ceremony in Connecticut
. Mrs. Taylor designed the album cover for a compilation on Sparrow, The Best We Could Find (Plus 3 That Never Escaped), as well as some of Taylor's more colorful stage costumes.
In 1987, Taylor once again lived up to his controversial reputation with a song called "I Blew Up The Clinic Real Good". The song criticizes anyone who claims to be a pro-life
activist who would blow up abortion clinics or kill doctors. The point of the song was lost on many and resulted in Taylor's album, I Predict 1990
, being pulled from the shelves at some Christian record stores. Taylor himself would occasionally call those stores to explain the song to them. With 1990, Taylor's targets included mainstream Universities ("Since I Gave Up Hope I Feel A Lot Better", featuring fiddle work from Papa John Creech of Jefferson Airplane
and Hot Tuna
). Other tracks included "Jim Morrison
's Grave", which once again brought Taylor some MTV
exposure, and the Flannery O'Connor
inspired "Harder to Believe Than Not To". Some stores also pulled the album as they thought the cover looked like a Tarot
Card.
Taylor's tour for "I Predict" was his most ambitious to date, bringing him to Australia
, Canada
, England, Finland
, Hong Kong
, Japan
, New Zealand
, Norway
, Scotland
, Sweden
and the Philippines
.
. Their first recording was "Tale o'the Twister," which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1990 film Pump Up the Volume
. The band released their only album, the self titled Chagall Guevara
, in 1991 on MCA records
. A follow-up album was begun, but not finished before the band was released from its contract, following slow sales for their debut.
Taylor returned with another solo album, Squint
, and a live CD, Liver
, in the mid-1990s. Squint included the track "Smug", which mocks Rush Limbaugh
and Barbra Streisand
as iconic masters of smugness. The album also included the song "Cash Cow", which takes a jab at yet another televangelist, Robert Tilton
, as well as "Bannerman" which is a tribute to American Football fans that hold up "John 3:16" banners behind the goalposts.
A tribute
to Taylor entitled I Predict A Clone was released in 1994 that featured performances by Sixpence None the Richer
, Fleming and John
, Starflyer 59
and others.
In the years following those releases, Taylor focused his efforts on running Squint Entertainment
and producing projects for other artists, including Sixpence None the Richer
's self titled 1997 release that featured the hit singles "Kiss Me" and a cover of The La's
"There She Goes". He would be most noted for his work with Newsboys
, co-producing five of the band's albums while making contributions to the band's songwriting. Squint Entertainment lost its financial backing in 2001 and Taylor was forced out of the company.
During this time, Taylor also directed and produced the Newsboys 1996 movie Down Under the Big Top
in which the band stars.
, Rich Mullins
, Sixpence None the Richer
, Newsboys
, Guardian
, Twila Paris
, Dakoda Motor Co.
, Out of the Grey
, and two video albums for himself. While still running Squint, Taylor had begun work on a film project called St. Gimp, co-written with Ben Pearson and Willie Williams
. That film was abandoned with the company. He co-wrote and directed the feature film The Second Chance
starring Michael W. Smith
, released February 17, 2006.
Taylor appears in the documentary film Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music? (released on DVD in 2006), in interview segments and performing part of "We Don't Need No Colour Code".
In 2007, Taylor recorded one track for the VeggieTales
movie The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything
, "Yo Ho Heroes".
In 2010, Taylor began working on a film adaptation
of Donald Miller's book, Blue Like Jazz
.
June 2011 saw the release of "Closer (Featuring Steve Taylor and Some Other Band)", a collaboration with Peter Furler
on his first solo album. According to Furler, an entire album was recorded from these sessions, the material consisting of Taylor/Furler songs unused by the Newsboys. The group, featuring Steve on vocals, Jimmy Abegg on guitar, John Painter on bass, and Furler on drums, hopes to release this album in late 2011 or early 2012.
Christian rock
Christian rock is a form of rock music played by individuals and bands whose members are Christians and who often focus the lyrics on matters concerned with the Christian faith. The extent to which their lyrics are explicitly Christian varies between bands...
singer, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
.
Early life
Taylor, the eldest of three children, was born in BrawleyBrawley, California
Brawley is a city in Imperial County, California, United States. Brawley is located north of El Centro. The population was 24,953 at the 2010 census, up from 22,052 at the 2000 census. The town has a significant cattle and feed industry, and hosts the annual Cattle Call Rodeo. Year-round...
, California. Taylor's father, Roland Taylor, was a Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
minister. When Taylor was six years old, the family relocated to Northglenn, Colorado
Northglenn, Colorado
Northglenn is a Home Rule Municipality in Adams and Weld counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 33,697 in 2008.-Geography:Northglenn is located at ....
, a suburb of Denver
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
. He graduated from Northglenn High School in 1976. While there, he attempted to learn the bass guitar, piano and trombone.
Upon graduation from high school, Taylor enrolled at Biola University
Biola University
Biola University is a private, evangelical Christian, liberal arts university located near Los Angeles. Biola's main campus is in La Mirada in Los Angeles County, California. In addition, the university has several satellite campuses in Chino Hills, Inglewood, San Diego, and Laguna Hills.-...
in California. During his freshman year, he was first of the 100 chosen, from 20,000 applicants, to spend the summer at John Davidson
John Davidson (entertainer)
John Hamilton Davidson, Sr. is an American singer, actor and game show host known for hosting That's Incredible!, Time Machine, and Hollywood Squares in the 1980s, and a revival of The $100,000 Pyramid in 1991....
's summer camp. At the camp, Taylor spent time learning from singers like Tony Orlando
Tony Orlando
Michael Anthony Orlando Cassavitis , better known as Tony Orlando, is an American show business professional, best known as the lead singer of the group Tony Orlando and Dawn in the early 1970s. Discovered by producer Don Kirshner, Orlando had songs on the charts in 1961 when he was 16, "Halfway to...
, Florence Henderson
Florence Henderson
Florence Agnes Henderson is an American actress and singer. She is perhaps best known for her role of Carol Brady on the ABC sitcom The Brady Bunch from 1969 to 1974...
, and John Davidson. Also that year, Taylor heard one of his biggest influences, The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
's London Calling
London Calling
London Calling is the third studio album by the English punk rock band The Clash. It was released in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1979 through CBS Records, and in the United States in January 1980 through Epic Records...
. "It saved my life, musically," said Taylor.
Taylor returned home and enrolled at the University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Colorado at Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder is a public research university located in Boulder, Colorado...
, to study "serious music". He graduated there in 1980, but described his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
Degree in Music and Theater as being worth "slightly more than the cash value of a Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut
Pizza Hut is an American restaurant chain and international franchise that offers different styles of pizza along with side dishes including pasta, buffalo wings, breadsticks, and garlic bread....
coupon."
1980s
In 1980, Taylor wrote and directed a pop musical comedy titled Nothing To Lose based on the story of the prodigal son from the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
. It had a short run at a community theater in Denver. He also wrote and starred in a short film, Joe's Distributing, a parody of avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
films.
Taylor wrote articles during this time that were published in the Wittenburg Door and Contemporary Christian Music
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music is a genre of modern popular music which is lyrically focused on matters concerned with the Christian faith...
magazine (for which he won an award from the Evangelical Press Association
Evangelical Press Association
The Evangelical Press Association is a professional association serving the Christian periodical publishing industry. Its members produce some 300 periodical titles with a combined circulation of over 20 million. EPA is a religious and educational non-profit corporation under the laws of the state...
).
After recording a demo of original songs, Taylor began to write for the musical group The Continentals. The Continentals' founder, Cam Floria invited Taylor to join the group on a tour of Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
sponsored by Solidarity.
When he returned to the United States, he was asked to perform at the Christian Artists' 1982 Music Seminar in Denver. Billy Ray Hearn
Billy Ray Hearn
Billy Ray Hearn is currently the founder and chairman of EMI Christian Music Group, the world's largest religious music label.In 1954, Billy Ray Hearn graduated from Baylor University with a degree in church music....
, president of Sparrow Records
Sparrow Records
-Background:Sparrow Records was founded in 1976 by Billy Ray Hearn, then A&R director at Myrrh Records. Purchased by EMI in 1992, it is now part of the EMI Christian Music Group, and has been named by Billboard Magazine as "America's Best Christian Music Record Label"...
, was backstage and immediately signed Taylor to a recording contract
Recording contract
A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote...
.
He recorded his debut solo project I Want to Be a Clone
I Want To Be A Clone
I Want to Be a Clone is the title of the debut EP by singer/songwriter Steve Taylor.After hearing this album, author Francis Schaeffer wrote the following to Steve; "The combination of music and lyrics really works on a very high level, and the message, therefore, comes across with real...
in 1982 and released it in January 1983. He quickly gained a reputation for writing songs that satirized beliefs and practices with which he disagreed.
In 1983, Taylor recorded his first full length album. Released in 1984, Meltdown
Meltdown (Steve Taylor album)
Meltdown is the title of the second album by singer/songwriter Steve Taylor.This album was listed at #18 in the book, CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music.-Side one:# "Meltdown " – 4:26...
included some of the demo material that was not on Clone along with some new material. His video single of the title track, "Meltdown (at Madame Tussaud's)" was played on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, which was unusual for a Christian
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
artist at the time. The video featured an appearance by actress Lisa Whelchel
Lisa Whelchel
Lisa Diane Whelchel is an American actress, singer, ventriloquist, and writer best known for her role in the television series The Facts of Life as the preppy and wealthy Blair Warner.-Life and career:...
. The album also included "We Don't Need No Colour Code", which was critical of Bob Jones University
Bob Jones University
Bob Jones University is a private, for-profit, non-denominational Protestant university in Greenville, South Carolina.The university was founded in 1927 by Bob Jones, Sr. , an evangelist and contemporary of Billy Sunday...
and its anti-interracial dating policy, a policy that was not abandoned by the university until 2000.
Another track on Meltdown, "Guilty By Association", one of the original demo songs, includes a jab with an impression in the middle eight at televangelist Jimmy Swaggart
Jimmy Swaggart
Jimmy Lee Swaggart is a Pentecostal American pastor, teacher, musician, television host, and televangelist. He has preached to crowds around the world through his weekly telecast...
. The song "On the Fritz", the title track from Taylor's next studio album, was also targeted at Swaggart. Swaggart later struck back by devoting part of a chapter of Religious Rock 'N' Roll, a Wolf in Sheep's Clothing (ISBN 0-935113-05-3) to Taylor, whom he saw as playing evil rock music.
During a performance at 1984's Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival
Cornerstone Festival is a Christian music festival put on by Jesus People USA and held annually around the 4th of July near Bushnell, Illinois. In a given year, many artists that play at Cornerstone also play at other events such as Creation Festival and mainstream festivals and tours such as the...
, Taylor fractured his ankle while jumping off the stage. He finished the summer's tour in an electric wheelchair.
Taylor followed that release with On the Fritz
On The Fritz
On the Fritz is the title of the third album by singer/songwriter Steve Taylor.-Side one:# "This Disco " – 4:06# "On the Fritz" – 3:56# "It's a Personal Thing" – 2:58# "To Forgive" – 3:54# "You've Been Bought" – 2:45...
, produced by Foreigner
Foreigner (band)
Foreigner is a British-American rock band, originally formed in 1976 by veteran English musicians Mick Jones and ex-King Crimson member Ian McDonald along with American vocalist Lou Gramm...
's Ian McDonald
Ian McDonald (musician)
Ian McDonald is an English multi-instrumental musician, best known as a founding member of progressive rock group King Crimson, formed in 1969, and of the hard rock band Foreigner in 1976. He is well-known as a rock session musician, predominantly as a saxophonist...
. Fritz was Taylor's first album to use all studio musicians instead of his usual backing group. Some of the musicians who played on this album were George Small, Tony DaVilio, Hugh McCracken
Hugh McCracken
Hugh McCracken is a rhythm guitar player and session musician, arranger and producer based in New York.Especially in demand in the 60s, 70s and 80s, he appears on many recordings by Steely Dan, as well as albums by Donald Fagen, Jimmy Rushing, Billy Joel, Roland Kirk, Roberta Flack, B. B...
, Carmine Rojas
Carmine Rojas
Carmine Rojas, Bassist, Musical Director, Composer & Producer born February 14, 1953, Brooklyn, NY.With the efforts and support of his family, friends and professional relationships, Carmine has traveled the World earning the reputation as one of the most renowned and respected bass players in the...
, Larry Fast
Larry Fast
Lawrence Roger 'Larry' Fast is a synthesizer expert and composer. He is best known for Synergy, his 1975–1987 series of synthesizer music albums, and for his contribution to a number of popular music acts, including Peter Gabriel, Foreigner, and Hall and Oates.- Biography :Fast grew up in...
and Allen Childs. Fritz, keeping with Taylor tradition, took aim once again at religious leaders, such as Bill Gothard
Bill Gothard
William W. Gothard is an American Christian minister, speaker and writer, and the founder of the Institute in Basic Life Principles , notable for his ultraconservative teachings...
("I Manipulate"), greedy TV evangelists (again) ("You Don't Owe Me Nothing"), politicians using religion or avoiding questions of morality in order to get votes ("It's a Personal Thing"), and public schools teaching "values clarification" to children, asking them to determine who should be thrown overboard in an overcrowded lifeboat ("Lifeboat").
In 1985, Steve received his first Grammy nomination in the "Best Male Gospel Performance" category, while also being nominated for Dove Awards as "Gospel Artist of the Year" and for Meltdown as the "Best Contemporary Album of the Year". Taylor and "Some Band" performed at the Dove Awards ceremonies in Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
in April of that year, where they were introduced by Pat Boone
Pat Boone
Charles Eugene "Pat" Boone is an American singer, actor and writer who has been a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He covered black artists' songs and sold more copies than his black counterparts...
.
Taylor also recorded a duet with Sheila Walsh, "Not Gonna Fall Away", a tune written and recorded in 1981 by David Edwards. This was released as a 12" single titled Transatlantic Remixes. Taylor and Walsh embarked on the "Transatlantic Tour" which included dates in the United Kingdom and the United States.
Taylor and Walsh also participated in the recording of "Do Something Now", a collaborative effort, similar to "We Are The World
We Are the World
"We Are the World" is a song and charity single originally recorded by the supergroup USA for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, and produced by Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian for the album We Are the World...
", to raise money for Compassion International
Compassion International
Compassion International is a Christian child sponsorship organization dedicated to the long-term development of children living in poverty around the world. Compassion International, headquartered in Colorado Springs, functions in 26 countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico, Haiti, Kenya, and...
's famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
relief programs in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
. Other artists participating included Amy Grant
Amy Grant
Amy Lee Grant is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, media personality and actress, best known for her Christian music. She has been referred to as "The Queen of Christian Pop"...
, Larry Norman
Larry Norman
Larry David Norman was an American Christian musician, singer, songwriter, record label owner, and record producer, who worked with Christian rock music...
, Randy Stonehill
Randy Stonehill
Randall Evan "Randy" Stonehill is an American singer-songwriter from Stockton, California, best known as one of the so-called "fathers of contemporary Christian music". His music is primarily folk rock in the style of James Taylor, but he has assayed other styles, with various albums focused on...
, Mylon LeFevre
Mylon LeFevre
Mylon LeFevre is an American Christian music singer, who was the leader of the Grammy Award-winning band Mylon and Broken Heart. He is a member of the Gospel Music Association Hall of Fame. He currently travels around the United States, ministering, teaching and singing...
, Steve Camp
Steve Camp
Steven J. Camp is a prominent American Dove Award and Grammy Award-nominated contemporary Christian music artist with an adult contemporary pop sound. He was very popular in the 1980s and early 1990s, where he has sold more than a million albums, who also has written or co-written 21 number one...
, Evie
Evie
Evie is a former parish and village on The Mainland, Orkney, Scotland. It now forms part of the civil parish of Evie and Rendall.-Economy:...
, Phil Keaggy
Phil Keaggy
Phil Keaggy is an American acoustic and electric guitarist and vocalist who has released more than 50 albums and contributed to many more recordings in both the contemporary Christian music and mainstream markets...
, Second Chapter of Acts, Sandi Patti, Bill Gaither, and Rick Cua
Rick Cua
Rick Cua is an American Dove Award and Grammy Award-winning Christian rock singer, songwriter, bassist, author, and ordained minister...
.
In between performing, recording and touring, Taylor met and married Debbie Butler of Irvine
Irvine, California
Irvine is a suburban incorporated city in Orange County, California, United States. It is a planned city, mainly developed by the Irvine Company since the 1960s. Formally incorporated on December 28, 1971, the city has a population of 212,375 as of the 2010 census. However, the California...
, California. They were married by Taylor's father at a private ceremony in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. Mrs. Taylor designed the album cover for a compilation on Sparrow, The Best We Could Find (Plus 3 That Never Escaped), as well as some of Taylor's more colorful stage costumes.
In 1987, Taylor once again lived up to his controversial reputation with a song called "I Blew Up The Clinic Real Good". The song criticizes anyone who claims to be a pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
activist who would blow up abortion clinics or kill doctors. The point of the song was lost on many and resulted in Taylor's album, I Predict 1990
I Predict 1990
I Predict 1990 is the fourth album by singer/songwriter Steve Taylor. Lyrically, the album explores actions that exploit others to various ends from multiple perspectives. CCM magazine found that the overall theme is that the ends never justify the means. It was released as a one-off on Myrrh...
, being pulled from the shelves at some Christian record stores. Taylor himself would occasionally call those stores to explain the song to them. With 1990, Taylor's targets included mainstream Universities ("Since I Gave Up Hope I Feel A Lot Better", featuring fiddle work from Papa John Creech of Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane
Jefferson Airplane was an American rock band formed in San Francisco in 1965. A pioneer of the psychedelic rock movement, Jefferson Airplane was the first band from the San Francisco scene to achieve mainstream commercial and critical success....
and Hot Tuna
Hot Tuna
Hot Tuna is an American blues-rock band formed by bassist Jack Casady and guitarist Jorma Kaukonen as a spin-off of Jefferson Airplane. It plays acoustic and electric versions of original and traditional blues songs.- Jefferson Airplane side project :...
). Other tracks included "Jim Morrison
Jim Morrison
James Douglas "Jim" Morrison was an American musician, singer, and poet, best known as the lead singer and lyricist of the rock band The Doors...
's Grave", which once again brought Taylor some MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
exposure, and the Flannery O'Connor
Flannery O'Connor
Mary Flannery O'Connor was an American novelist, short-story writer and essayist. An important voice in American literature, O'Connor wrote two novels and 32 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries...
inspired "Harder to Believe Than Not To". Some stores also pulled the album as they thought the cover looked like a Tarot
Tarot
The tarot |trionfi]] and later as tarocchi, tarock, and others) is a pack of cards , used from the mid-15th century in various parts of Europe to play a group of card games such as Italian tarocchini and French tarot...
Card.
Taylor's tour for "I Predict" was his most ambitious to date, bringing him to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, England, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Japan
Japan
Japan 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...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
1990s
Taylor then took a break from music, until 1990 when he returned as the lead singer of Chagall GuevaraChagall Guevara
Chagall Guevara was an American rock band formed in 1989 by solo artist Steve Taylor, guitarists Dave Perkins and Lynn Nichols , bassist Wade Jaynes, and drummer Mike Mead....
. Their first recording was "Tale o'the Twister," which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1990 film Pump Up the Volume
Pump Up the Volume (film)
Pump Up the Volume is a 1990 comedy-drama film written and directed by Allan Moyle and starring Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis.- Plot summary :...
. The band released their only album, the self titled Chagall Guevara
Chagall Guevara (album)
Chagall Guevara is the title of the only full length album by the band Chagall Guevara, released in 1991, on MCA Records.-Track listing:All songs written by Nichols, Perkins and Taylor.# "Murder In The Big House"# "Escher's World"# "Play God"...
, in 1991 on MCA records
MCA Records
MCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
. A follow-up album was begun, but not finished before the band was released from its contract, following slow sales for their debut.
Taylor returned with another solo album, Squint
Squint (album)
Squint was the 1993 critically acclaimed return of Steve Taylor as a solo artist after his stint as the lead singer of Chagall Guevara. Highlights of the album include "The Lament of Desmond RG Underwood Frederick IV," "Easy Listening," "Jesus is for Losers," "The Finish Line," "Bannerman," and...
, and a live CD, Liver
Liver (album)
Liver is a live album by Steve Taylor, released in 1995. Its contents cover all of Taylor's career, including his time with Chagall Guevara.-Track listing:# Jim Morrison's Grave# The Lament of Desmond R.G. Underwood- Frederick IV# I Want to Be a Clone...
, in the mid-1990s. Squint included the track "Smug", which mocks Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
and Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
as iconic masters of smugness. The album also included the song "Cash Cow", which takes a jab at yet another televangelist, Robert Tilton
Robert Tilton
Robert Tilton is an American televangelist who achieved notoriety in the 1980s and early 1990s through his infomercial-styled religious television program Success-N-Life, which at its peak in 1991 aired in all 235 American TV markets , brought in nearly $80 million per year, and was described as...
, as well as "Bannerman" which is a tribute to American Football fans that hold up "John 3:16" banners behind the goalposts.
A tribute
Tribute album
A tribute album is a recorded collection of cover versions of songs or instrumental compositions. Its concept may be either various artists making a tribute to a single artist, a single artist making a tribute to various artists, or a single artist making a tribute to another single artist.There...
to Taylor entitled I Predict A Clone was released in 1994 that featured performances by Sixpence None the Richer
Sixpence None the Richer
Sixpence None the Richer is an American rock/pop band that formed in New Braunfels, Texas, eventually settling in Nashville, Tennessee. They are best known for their songs "Kiss Me" and "Breathe Your Name" and their covers of "Don't Dream It's Over" and "There She Goes". The name of the band is...
, Fleming and John
Fleming and John
Fleming and John is a musical husband and wife team, Fleming McWilliams and John Mark Painter, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.The couple met while attending Belmont College in Nashville, and immediately began collaborating on songs...
, Starflyer 59
Starflyer 59
Starflyer 59 is an alternative rock band from Riverside, California that was founded in 1993 by Jason Martin, brother of Ronnie Martin of Joy Electric. While Jason Martin has written nearly all of Starflyer 59's songs, the band has included a number of different musicians over the years, including...
and others.
In the years following those releases, Taylor focused his efforts on running Squint Entertainment
Squint Entertainment
Squint Entertainment was a record label owned by Word Entertainment, started in 1997 and run by musician and songwriter Steve Taylor. Squint pushed Sixpence None the Richer to mainstream success with their single "Kiss Me"....
and producing projects for other artists, including Sixpence None the Richer
Sixpence None the Richer
Sixpence None the Richer is an American rock/pop band that formed in New Braunfels, Texas, eventually settling in Nashville, Tennessee. They are best known for their songs "Kiss Me" and "Breathe Your Name" and their covers of "Don't Dream It's Over" and "There She Goes". The name of the band is...
's self titled 1997 release that featured the hit singles "Kiss Me" and a cover of The La's
The La's
The La's were an English rock band from Liverpool, originally active from the mid-1980s to early 1990s. Fronted by singer, songwriter and guitarist Lee Mavers, the group is most famous for their hit single "There She Goes". The band was formed by Mike Badger in 1984 and Mavers joined soon after...
"There She Goes". He would be most noted for his work with Newsboys
Newsboys
Newsboys are a Christian pop rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Australia. They have released 15 studio albums, six of which have been certified gold...
, co-producing five of the band's albums while making contributions to the band's songwriting. Squint Entertainment lost its financial backing in 2001 and Taylor was forced out of the company.
During this time, Taylor also directed and produced the Newsboys 1996 movie Down Under the Big Top
Down Under the Big Top
Down Under the Big Top is the Newsboys' first and only feature film. It was released as a direct-to-video title.-Plot:When the band inherits a minor league circus on the verge of bankruptcy, they formulate a plan to put on one final show....
in which the band stars.
2000s
Taylor began working as a full time film maker, directing music videos for Fleming and JohnFleming and John
Fleming and John is a musical husband and wife team, Fleming McWilliams and John Mark Painter, currently living in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.The couple met while attending Belmont College in Nashville, and immediately began collaborating on songs...
, Rich Mullins
Rich Mullins
Richard Wayne "Rich" Mullins was an American Contemporary Christian music singer and songwriter born in Richmond, Indiana. He had two sisters and two brothers....
, Sixpence None the Richer
Sixpence None the Richer
Sixpence None the Richer is an American rock/pop band that formed in New Braunfels, Texas, eventually settling in Nashville, Tennessee. They are best known for their songs "Kiss Me" and "Breathe Your Name" and their covers of "Don't Dream It's Over" and "There She Goes". The name of the band is...
, Newsboys
Newsboys
Newsboys are a Christian pop rock band founded in 1985 in Mooloolaba, Australia. They have released 15 studio albums, six of which have been certified gold...
, Guardian
Guardian (band)
Guardian is an American Christian hard rock/metal band. The band released six studio albums, three additional albums in Spanish—and toured extensively worldwide...
, Twila Paris
Twila Paris
Twila Paris Wright is a Contemporary Christian Music songwriter, author, vocalist and pianist.-Musical career:Since 1980, Twila Paris has released 22 albums, amassed 33 number one Christian Radio singles, and was named the Gospel Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year three years in a row...
, Dakoda Motor Co.
Dakoda Motor Co.
-History:Dakoda Motor Co. formed in the early 1990s; among its members was Peter King, a professional surfboarder and host of the MTV show Sandblast...
, Out of the Grey
Out of the Grey
Out of the Grey is a husband-and-wife Contemporary Christian music project consisting of Scott and Christine Denté. Christine provides lead vocals, while Scott plays guitars and sings background, along with the occasional lead vocals. They have released six studio albums, one best-of compilation...
, and two video albums for himself. While still running Squint, Taylor had begun work on a film project called St. Gimp, co-written with Ben Pearson and Willie Williams
Willie Williams (lighting designer)
Willie Williams is a video director, stage and lighting designer for concerts, theatre, & multimedia projects...
. That film was abandoned with the company. He co-wrote and directed the feature film The Second Chance
The Second Chance
The Second Chance is a 2006 drama film, directed by veteran musician Steve Taylor. The film won Best Feature Film at the Christian WYSIWYG Film Festival....
starring Michael W. Smith
Michael W. Smith
Michael Whitaker Smith is a Billboard top ten Billboard Hot 100 recording artist and Grammy Award-winning American singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. He is one of the best-selling and most influential artists in Contemporary Christian music. Smith also has achieved a considerable amount of...
, released February 17, 2006.
Taylor appears in the documentary film Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music? (released on DVD in 2006), in interview segments and performing part of "We Don't Need No Colour Code".
In 2007, Taylor recorded one track for the VeggieTales
VeggieTales
VeggieTales is an American series of children's computer animated films featuring anthropomorphic vegetables in stories conveying moral themes based on Christianity...
movie The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie
The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie is a 2008 American animated feature-length family adventure film directed by Mike Nawrocki and written by Phil Vischer. Produced through Big Idea Productions animation studio and the animation by Starz Animation, it is the second film featuring...
, "Yo Ho Heroes".
In 2010, Taylor began working on a film adaptation
Blue Like Jazz: The Movie
Blue Like Jazz: The Movie is an upcoming film based on Donald Miller's semi-autobiographical book of the same name. Ben Pearson is the cinematographer for the film as well as one of the co-writers of the screenplay. Steve Taylor pitched the film to investors for four years until two investors, one...
of Donald Miller's book, Blue Like Jazz
Blue Like Jazz
Blue Like Jazz is the second book by Donald Miller. This semi-autobiographical work, subtitled "Non-Religious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality," is a collection of essays and personal reflections chronicling the author's growing understanding of the nature of God and Jesus, and the need and...
.
June 2011 saw the release of "Closer (Featuring Steve Taylor and Some Other Band)", a collaboration with Peter Furler
Peter Furler
Peter Andrew Furler is an Australian musician, songwriter, producer, and record executive but is best known as the former lead singer for the Christian rock band Newsboys.-Biography:...
on his first solo album. According to Furler, an entire album was recorded from these sessions, the material consisting of Taylor/Furler songs unused by the Newsboys. The group, featuring Steve on vocals, Jimmy Abegg on guitar, John Painter on bass, and Furler on drums, hopes to release this album in late 2011 or early 2012.
Solo work
- I Want to Be a CloneI Want To Be A CloneI Want to Be a Clone is the title of the debut EP by singer/songwriter Steve Taylor.After hearing this album, author Francis Schaeffer wrote the following to Steve; "The combination of music and lyrics really works on a very high level, and the message, therefore, comes across with real...
, 1983 debut EP (SparrowSparrow Records-Background:Sparrow Records was founded in 1976 by Billy Ray Hearn, then A&R director at Myrrh Records. Purchased by EMI in 1992, it is now part of the EMI Christian Music Group, and has been named by Billboard Magazine as "America's Best Christian Music Record Label"...
) - MeltdownMeltdown (Steve Taylor album)Meltdown is the title of the second album by singer/songwriter Steve Taylor.This album was listed at #18 in the book, CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music.-Side one:# "Meltdown " – 4:26...
, 1984 album (Sparrow) - On the FritzOn The FritzOn the Fritz is the title of the third album by singer/songwriter Steve Taylor.-Side one:# "This Disco " – 4:06# "On the Fritz" – 3:56# "It's a Personal Thing" – 2:58# "To Forgive" – 3:54# "You've Been Bought" – 2:45...
, 1985 album (Sparrow) - I Predict 1990I Predict 1990I Predict 1990 is the fourth album by singer/songwriter Steve Taylor. Lyrically, the album explores actions that exploit others to various ends from multiple perspectives. CCM magazine found that the overall theme is that the ends never justify the means. It was released as a one-off on Myrrh...
, 1987 album (MyrrhMyrrh RecordsMyrrh Records, also known as Myrrh Worship, is a Christian music record label. According to Encyclopedia of American Gospel Music, the label was instrumental in developing a popular following for Contemporary Christian music as the label that first published music by Barry McGuire, 2nd Chapter of...
) - SquintSquint (album)Squint was the 1993 critically acclaimed return of Steve Taylor as a solo artist after his stint as the lead singer of Chagall Guevara. Highlights of the album include "The Lament of Desmond RG Underwood Frederick IV," "Easy Listening," "Jesus is for Losers," "The Finish Line," "Bannerman," and...
, 1993 album (Warner AllianceWarner AllianceWarner Alliance was a Contemporary Christian imprint of Warner Music Group. Its operations were suspended in 1998. Artists on the label included Billy & Sarah Gaines, the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir, Caedmon's Call, Donnie McClurkin, First Call, Wayne Watson, Take 6, Mid South, and the Worldwide...
)
Live Albums
- Limelight, 1986 live album (Sparrow)
- LiverLiver (album)Liver is a live album by Steve Taylor, released in 1995. Its contents cover all of Taylor's career, including his time with Chagall Guevara.-Track listing:# Jim Morrison's Grave# The Lament of Desmond R.G. Underwood- Frederick IV# I Want to Be a Clone...
, 1995 live album (Warner Alliance)
Compilations
- The Best We Could Find (+3 That Never Escaped), 1988 album (Sparrow)
- Christmas, 1988 album (one track by Taylor)
- Now The Truth Can Be Told, 1994 two-disc box set (WAL)
- Roaring LambsRoaring Lambs (album)Roaring Lambs is a colaborative album based on the book, Roaring Lambs: A Gentle Plan to Radically Change Your World, by Bob Briner. Conceived and directed Dave Palmer, and produced by Steve Taylor, the recording includes a number of CCM artists' musical interpretations of Briner's message about...
Various Artists, 2000 compilation (one track by Taylor) - The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales MovieThe Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales MovieThe Pirates Who Don't Do Anything: A VeggieTales Movie is a 2008 American animated feature-length family adventure film directed by Mike Nawrocki and written by Phil Vischer. Produced through Big Idea Productions animation studio and the animation by Starz Animation, it is the second film featuring...
Soundtrack (one track by Taylor)
With Chagall Guevara
- Chagall GuevaraChagall Guevara (album)Chagall Guevara is the title of the only full length album by the band Chagall Guevara, released in 1991, on MCA Records.-Track listing:All songs written by Nichols, Perkins and Taylor.# "Murder In The Big House"# "Escher's World"# "Play God"...
, Chagall GuevaraChagall GuevaraChagall Guevara was an American rock band formed in 1989 by solo artist Steve Taylor, guitarists Dave Perkins and Lynn Nichols , bassist Wade Jaynes, and drummer Mike Mead....
, 1991 album (MCAMCA RecordsMCA Records was an American-based record company owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part. MCA Records was absorbed by Geffen Records in 2003...
) - Pump Up the VolumePump Up the Volume (film)Pump Up the Volume is a 1990 comedy-drama film written and directed by Allan Moyle and starring Christian Slater and Samantha Mathis.- Plot summary :...
soundtrack, includes one song by CG. - Treasure of the Broken Land (single) included on two albums Strong Hand of Love: A Tribute to Mark HeardStrong Hand of LoveStrong Hand of Love: A Tribute to Mark Heard is a compilation of songs by various artists in tribute to songwriter, Mark Heard.Recorded and released in 1994, after Heard's death in 1992. Proceeds benefit the Heard Family Fund....
and Orphans of GodOrphans of GodOrphans of God is a 2 CD compilation of songs performed by various artists in tribute to songwriter Mark Heard.Recorded and released after Heard's death in 1992, proceeds benefit the Heard Family Fund....
Video Collections
- Videoworks, 1985 video collection (Sparrow)
- Limelight, 1986 live video (Sparrow)
- I Predict 1990: The Video Album, 1987 video collection (Myrrh)
- Squint: Movies From the Soundtrack, 1993 video collection (Warner Alliance)
- Now The Truth Can Be Told, 1994 video collection (WAL)