Johnnie Taylor

Johnnie Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American vocalist in a wide variety of genres, from rhythm and blues, soul, blues and gospel to pop, doo-wop and disco.

Johnnie Harrison Taylor was born in Crawfordsville, Arkansas. As a child, he grew up in West Memphis, Arkansas and performed in gospel groups as a youngster. As an adult, he had one release, “Somewhere to Lay My Head”, on Chicago’s Chance Records label in the 1950s, as part of the gospel group Highway QCs, which had been founded by a young Sam Cooke. His singing was strikingly close to that of Sam Cooke, and he was hired to take Cooke’s place in Cooke’s gospel group, the Soul Stirrers, in 1957.

Johnnie Taylor (center) with The Soul Stirrers

A few years later, after Cooke had established his independent SAR Records, Taylor signed on as one of the label’s first acts and recorded “Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day” in 1962. However, SAR Records quickly became defunct after Cooke’s death in 1964.

In 1966, Taylor moved to Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was dubbed “The Philosopher of Soul”. Whilst there he recorded with the label’s house band, Booker T. & the MGs. 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. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 1 on the R&B chart in 1968. “Who’s Making Love” sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc.

Johnnie Taylor

During his tenure at Stax, he became an R&B star, with over a dozen chart successes, such as “Jody’s Got Your Girl and Gone”, which reached No. 23 on the Hot 100 chart, “Cheaper to Keep Her” (Mack Rice) and record producer Don Davis’ penned “I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)”, which reached No. 11 on the Hot 100 chart. “I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)” also sold in excess of one million units, and was awarded gold disc status by the R.I.A.A. in October 1973. Taylor, along with Isaac Hayes and The Staple Singers was one of the label’s flagship artists. He appeared in the documentary film, Wattstax, which was released in 1973.

After Stax folded in the mid 1970s, Taylor switched to Columbia Records, where he made his best known hit, “Disco Lady”, in 1976. It peaked at #25 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1976. “Disco Lady” was the first certified platinum single (two million copies sold) by the RIAA.

After 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. Hill’s funeral in the spring of 1984.

Backed by members of The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section as well as in-house veterans like former Stax keyboardist Carson Whitsett and guitarist/bandleader Bernard Jenkins, 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.

In 1996, Taylor’s eighth album for Malaco, Good Love!, made it to Number One on Billboard’s Blues chart (#15 R&B), and was the biggest record in Malaco’s history. With this success, Malaco recorded a live video of Taylor at the Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas, Texas in the summer of 1997. The club portion of the “Good Love” video was recorded at 1001 Nightclub in Jackson, Mississippi.

Taylor’s final song was “Soul Heaven”, in which he dreamed of being at a concert featuring deceased soul music icons Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, and MGs drummer Al Jackson, among others. In one verse, Taylor sang, “I didn’t want to wake up/I was havin’ such a good time”.

In the 1980s Johnnie Taylor was a DJ on KKDA, a Dallas/Fort Worth radio station. The station’s format is mostly R&B and Soul oldies and their on-the-air personalities are often local R&B, Soul, blues, and jazz musicians. Mr. Taylor was billed as “The Wailer, Johnnie Taylor.”

Taylor was given a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1999.

Johnnie Taylor

Taylor died of a heart attack at Charlton Methodist Hospital in Dallas, Texas on May 31, 2000, aged 63. Stax billed Johnnie Taylor as The Philosopher of Soul. He was also known as the Blues Wailer. He was buried beside his mother, Ida Mae Taylor, in Arkansas.

Taylor has four children who have been recording artists. Johnnie Taylor Jr., Floyd Taylor, Latasha “Tasha” Taylor & T.J. Hooker-Taylor. The best known is Floyd Taylor, who has recorded three albums for Malaco Records. Other children include Fonda Bryant, Schiffon Taylor-Brown, Sabrina Taylor, Jonathan Taylor, and Anthony Arnold.

In 2004, the UK’s Shapeshifters sampled Taylor’s 1982 “What About My Love?”, for their #1 hit single, “Lola’s Theme”.

WHO’S MAKIN’ LOVE?

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STEAL AWAY

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CHEAPER TO KEEP HER

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SOUL HEAVEN

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• On this date in 1902, British Pianist and Composer, Billy Mayerl was born
• On this date in 1930, American Actor, Director and Composer, Clint Eastwood was born
• On this date in 1938, American Country Musician, Singer and Songwriter, Johnny Paycheck was born
• On this date in 1938, American Folk Musician, Singer and Songwriter, Peter Yarrow of Peter Paul and Mary was born
• On this date in 1947, Scottish Musician, Singer, Songwriter, and Record Producer, Junior Campbell of Marmalade was born
• On this date in 1948, British Drummer, John Bonham of Led Zeppelin was born
• On this date in 1952, German Musician, Karl Bartos of Kraftwerk was born
• On this date in 1954, American Singer and Actress, Vicki Sue Robinson was born
• On this date in 1955, Australian Guitarist, Singer and Songwriter, Tommy Emmanuel was born
• On this date in 1967, American Pianist, Composer and Arranger, Billy Strayhorn died
• On this date in 2000, American Jazz and Salsa Musician and Producer, Tito Puente died
• On this date in 2000, American Soul and R&B Singer, Johnnie Taylor died
• On this date in 2004, American Guitarist, Robert Quine died
• On this date in 2006, American Songwriter and the mother of Stevie Wonder, Lula Mae Hardaway died

The Swinging Blue Jeans (L to R): Ralph Ellis, Ray Ennis, Norman Kuhlke, Les Braid

The Swinging Blue Jeans were a four piece 1960s British Merseybeat band, best known for their hit singles with the HMV label; “Hippy Hippy Shake”, the follow up, Little Richard’s “Good Golly Miss Molly”, and “You’re No Good”, a Clint Ballard song that provided a change of pace and furnished the group’s most enduring achievement. But subsequent singles released that year and the next made no impression. In 1966 their version of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s “Don’t Make Me Over” peaked at #31 in the UK Singles Chart, but the group never charted again.

The Blue Genes

The group had its origins in 1957 when Ray Ennis and Bruce McCaskill in 1957 formed a jazz influenced skiffle sextet group, called the Blue Genes. The skiffle group line-up included Bruce McCaskill on guitar and vocals, Tommy Hughes on banjo, Norman Kuhlke on washboard, and Spud Ward on oil drum bass. Ralph Ellis later joined on guitar, and Ward moved to Rory Storm’s band, and eventually Les Braid took over the bassist spot. Hughes and McCaskill left, the former for the army and the latter over personal disagreements, replaced by John E. Carter and Paul Moss, respectively. By 1962, they were working full-time and playing skiffle at venues in Liverpool and at the Star Club in Hamburg. However the German audiences booed them off the stage, and the group rapidly changed direction and focus.

They switched to rock and roll, and with a name change to reflect their attire, to the Swinging Blue Jeans. This earned them a recording contract with HMV with record producer, Walter Ridley. With the departure of Moss soon after, they were left as a quartet comprising Ray Ennis (rhythm guitar, vocals), Les Braid (bass, keyboards), Ralph Ellis (lead guitar), and Norman Kuhlke (drums). Nevertheless, they made their recording debut as a quintet, with an Ennis penned original, “It’s Too Late Now,” which made the UK Top 40.

The Swinging Blue Jeans performed on many popular TV shows in the United Kingdom and Europe, appearing with The Beatles, Gerry & The Pacemakers, The Searchers, and The Merseybeats. The Swinging Blue Jeans had the standard Shadows line-up of two guitars, a bass guitar and drums and achieved local fame with their appearances at the Mardi Gras Club and the Cavern Club. They had a three year spell of success, rising and falling with Merseybeat itself.

An album Hippy Hippy Shake was released in 1964 by EMI on their HMV label. In Canada it was issued by Capitol Records (T6069), and in the US on Imperial Records (LP-9261). A second album, Blue Jeans a’ Swinging was also released.

Ralph Ellis who, with Ray Ennis was one of the two songwriters in the group, left in early 1966, and was succeeded by Terry Sylvester from The Escorts. Finding themselves trying to keep up with the rapidly changing times, the band recorded a second album at Abbey Road Studios in early 1966 which had a limited release in Canada. The band drifted into a middle of the road direction which failed to bring them any success. In 1967, the band’s producer Ridley decided to try and transform Ray Ennis into a solo star, cutting the disc “Tremblin’” with session musicians and backing vocals by Madeline Bell and Kiki Dee, but it was ultimately released under the band’s name. Later that year another member from The Escorts – Mike Gregory joined the band making it a five piece line-up. Gregory played bass and Braid moved to the keyboards until 1972. Gregory left for family reasons and Braid reverted back to playing bass.

The Swinging Blue Jeans

June 1968 saw a one off disc credited to ‘Ray Ennis and The Blue Jeans’, but this failed to bring any change in fortune, and Sylvester left at the end of 1968 to replace Graham Nash in The Hollies. “Hey Mrs. Housewife” was credited to The Blue Jeans in April 1969, after which they were dropped by EMI. The band then changed their name to Music Motor for a one off single on Deram, “Happy”, after which they reverted back to The Swinging Blue Jeans name and the band eventually retired to the cabaret circuit.

The Swinging Blue Jeans, continued with Ray Ennis and Les Braid until Braid’s death in 2005, leaving Ennis as the sole original member. After fifty years as an active member, Ray Ennis announced he would retire after the band’s tour which ended in Liverpool on 30 May 2010.

IT’S TOO LATE NOW

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SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL/GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY

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THE HIPPY HIPPY SHAKE

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DON’T MAKE ME OVER

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SHAKIN’ ALL OVER

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YOU’RE NO GOOD

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• On this date in 1909, American Clarinetist and Bandleader, Benny Goodman was born
• On this date in 1950, American Jazz Bassist and Composer, Dann Glenn was born
• On this date in 1953, American Singer and Actor, Dooley Wilson died
• On this date in 1955, British Drummer, Topper Headon of The Clash was born
• On this date in 1958, Swedish Pianist, Singer and Songwriter, Marie Fredriksson of Roxette was born
• On this date in 1980, American Bassist, Carl Radle of Delaney and Bonnie and Friends and Derek & the Dominos died
• On this date in 1993, American Jazz Keyboardist, Pianist, Composer and Bandleader, Sun Ra died
• On this date in 2000, American Saxophonist, Singer and Bandleader, Tex Beneke died
• On this date in 2003, British Singer and Record Producer, Mickie Most died

The obituary for Alys Robi comes from The Montreal Gazette:

Alys Robi

Quebec’s first international superstar, Alys Robi, died Saturday in Montreal. She was 88.

Robi was a 1940s nightclub diva renowned for her Latin rhythms (Besame Mucho and Tico-Tico.)

Nat King Cole, Jack Benny and Sammy Davis Jr. were among her admirers.

Robi’s brilliant singing career was curtailed following a car accident in Hollywood in the late 1940s, depression following a love affair and subsequent mental illness.

She spent six years in a Quebec City mental hospital and survived the treatment of the era – electric shock therapy and a lobotomy in 1952.

Despite several comeback attempts, Robi, once known as Canada’s Shirley Temple, saw her career largely sidelined.

Her tumultuous life and singing career was the subject of a CBC biography in 1999 called Let Me Sing Again, and then in 2005 in a biopic called, Ma Vie en cinemascope, by Denise Filiatrault.

Robi had written two autobiographies, Ma Carrière, ma vie (1980) and later Long Cri dans la nuit: Cinq Années à l’Asile (1990), an account of her mental illness.

PLUS JE T’AIME/JE PRIE POUR NOTRE AMOUR

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SPEAK LOW/I’LL BE SEEING YOU/GOODNIGHT, WHEREVER YOU ARE

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CHICA, CHICA, BOOM CHICA

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H-Bomb Ferguson

H-Bomb Ferguson (May 9, 1929 – November 26, 2006) was an American jump blues singer from Cincinnati, Ohio. He was an early pioneer of the rock and roll sound of the mid 1950s, featuring driving rhythm, intensely shouted vocals, honking tenor saxophone solos, and outlandish personal appearance. Ferguson sang and played piano in a flamboyant style, wearing colorful wigs.

Born Robert Percell Ferguson in Charleston, South Carolina, he was the eleventh of twelve children. His father was a Baptist preacher who paid for piano lessons for his son, on condition he learned sacred melodies. But Ferguson had other ideas. “After church was over, while the people was all standing outside talking, me and my friends would run back inside and I’d play the blues on the piano.”

H-Bomb Ferguson

At the age of 19, he was on the road with Joe Liggins and the Honeydrippers. They moved to New York, where Ferguson branched off on his own, getting a gig at the nightclub Baby Grand Club in Harlem, billed as “The Cobra Kid.”

His 1951-1952 recording contract with Savoy Records produced some of his best recordings. Drummer, Jack “The Bear” Parker, who played on the Savoy dates, allegedly bestowed the singer with his explosive moniker. Other accounts credit Savoy record producer, Lee Magid, with coining H-Bomb’s handle; either way, his dynamite vocals fulfilled the billing. However, it was not until 1955 that rock and roll became a sensation, when Bill Haley & His Comets’ version of “Rock Around the Clock” became a hit.

H-Bomb Ferguson's album, "Wiggin' Out"

Ferguson retired from touring in the early 1970s, but made a number of comebacks. Backed by the Medicine Men, he recorded his first album, Wiggin’ Out, for Chicago’s Earwig Music in 1993. It showed him to be as wild as ever (witness the gloriously sleazy “Meatloaf”), a talented pianist to boot, and more his own man than ever before. H-Bomb became a regular on the blues and R&B festival circuit, keeping Cincinnati as his home base until his death there on November 26, 2006, at the Hospice of Cincinnati of complications from emphysema and cardiopulmonary disease.

His early work was featured in a compilation album H-Bomb Ferguson: Big City Blues, 1951-54.

MARY LITTLE MARY

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MIDNIGHT RAMBLIN’ TONIGHT

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ROCK, H-BOMB ROCK

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BOOKIE’S BLUES

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SHAKE YOUR APPLE TREE

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THE LIFE AND TIMES OF H-BOMB FERGUSON

(trailer for documentary)

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