Johnnie Taylor's 1999 album, "Gotta Get the Groove Back", also reached the # 1 Position on the Billboard Blues Charts. Malaco recorded a live video of Taylor at the Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas, Texas in the summer of 1997. In 1996, Taylor's eighth album for Malaco, Good Love!, made it to Number One on Billboard's Blues chart (#15 R&B), the biggest record in Malaco's history. Taylor's record sales were good but not enough for the singer to receive the measure of stardom he once had. Backed by members of The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section as well as in-house veterans like former Stax keyboardist Carson Whitsett, Malaco gave Taylor the type of recording freedom that Stax had given him in the late 1960s and early 1970s, enabling him to record ten albums for the Malaco label in his sixteen year stint. Not surprisingly, his record sales slipped.Īfter a brief stint at Beverly Glen Records, Taylor signed with Malaco Records after the label's founder Tommy Couch and producing partner Wolf Stephenson heard him sing at blues singer Z.Z. Columbia pigeonholed Taylor as a disco artist, however, and neglected his wide-ranging talent. "Disco Lady" was the first certified platinum single.
During his tenure at Stax, he became an R&B star, with over a dozen chart successes, such as "Cheaper to Keep Her" (Mack Rice) and producer Don Davis's "I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)".Īfter Stax folded in the mid 1970s, Taylor switched to Columbia Records, where he made his best-known hit, "Disco Lady", in 1976. His hits included "I Had a Dream", "I've Got to Love Somebody's Baby" (both written by the team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter) and most notably "Who's Making Love?", which reached No. While there he recorded with the label's house band, Booker T. In 1966, Taylor moved to Stax Records in Memphis, where he was dubbed "The Philosopher of Soul". However, SAR Records quickly became defunct after Cooke's tradic early death in 1964.
Then, after Cooke left the Soul Stirrers in 1957, Taylor was hired to take Cooke's place as lead singer.Ī few years later, after Cooke had established his independent SAR Records, Taylor signed on and recorded "Rome Wasn't Built In A Day" in 1962. Taylor was also part of the gospel group, The Highway QC's also, replacing r&b artist Sam Cooke that had left to become the lead singer of the Soul Stirrers in 1951. Growing up amidst music, Taylor had one release, "Somewhere to Lay My Head", on Chicago's Chance Records in the 50s as part of a doo-wop group called Five Echoes.
Often using an energetic, belting delivery, he's perhaps best known for his work for the iconic Stax/Volt label, particularly with southern soul classics such as "Who's Making Love" and "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone" in which he held his own against friendly rivals such as Otis Redding and Sam & Dave. Here are more artists.Johnnie Harrison Taylor (born May 5, 1937, Crawfordsville, Arkansas died May 31, 2000, Dallas, Texas) was an American musician that sang in a wide variety of genres, including blues, disco, gospel, pop, and soul. Many more! Delta Goodrem Killing Heidi Jet Michael Buble Hoobastank Simple plan Jack Johnson The John Butler Trio Cosima Kelly Clarkson Guy Sebastian Kylie Minogue No Doubt Taxi Ride Hillary Duff Frou Frou Smash Mouth Well as standards, songs from musicals, and 30,000 songs fromįind songs backing tracks, sometimes called backup We have the latest Top 50 hits as backing tracks, as Many thousands more can be found if you use our