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Koko Taylor (September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) was an American blues musician, popularly known as the "Queen of the Blues." She was known primarily for her rough, powerful vocals and traditional blues stylings.
In 1952, Taylor and her soon-to-be-husband, the late Robert “Pops” Taylor, traveled from Memphis to Chicago with nothing but, in Koko’s words, “thirty-five cents and a box of Ritz Crackers.” Encouraged by her husband, Koko began to sit in with the city’s top blues bands, and soon she was in demand as a guest artist. One evening in 1962 Koko was approached by arranger/composer Willie Dixon. Overwhelmed by Koko’s performance, Dixon landed Koko a Chess Records recording contract, where he produced her several singles, two albums and penned her million-selling 1965 hit “Wang Dang Doodle,” which would become Taylor’s signature song.
Koko appeared in the films Wild At Heart, Mercury Rising and Blues Brothers 2000. She performed on Late Night With David Letterman, Late Night With Conan O’Brien, CBS-TV’s This Morning, National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, CBS-TV’s Early Edition, and numerous regional television programs.
Over the course of her 40-plus-year career, Taylor received every award the blues world has to offer. On March 3, 1993, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley honored Taylor with a “Legend Of The Year” Award and declared “Koko Taylor Day” throughout Chicago. In 1997, she was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame. A year later, Chicago Magazine named her “Chicagoan Of The Year” and, in 1999, Taylor received the Blues Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2009 Taylor performed in Washington, D.C. at The Kennedy Center Honors honoring Morgan Freeman.
Koko Taylor was one of very few women who found success in the male-dominated blues world. She took her music from the tiny clubs of Chicago’s South Side to concert halls and major festivals all over the world. She shared stages with every major blues star, including Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King, Junior Wells and Buddy Guy as well as rock icons Robert Plant and Jimmy Page.
Released by Chess subsidiary Checker in 1969, Koko Taylor's eponymous LP debut compiles twelve singles recorded and released between 1965 and 1969 (plus two newly added bonus tracks). Koko was "discovered" by Chess recording artist and resident songsmith Willie Dixon, and Dixon is everywhere in this album: Bassist, songwriter, composer, arranger, backing vocalist, and Taylor's duet partner on the athmospheric "Insane Asylum".
Koko Taylor's self titled album is expertly backed by men like Sunnyland Slim and Lafayette Leake (both keyboards), Buddy Guy, Johnny Shines and Matt "Guitar" Murphy (guitars - duh), and harpist Walter Horton. This is one of the finest LPs in the Chess catalogue, and a terrific overview of Taylor's early Chess sides.
Tracklist:
01. Love You Like a Woman
02. I Love a Lover Like You
03. Don't Mess With the Messer
04. I Don't Care Who Knows
05. Wang Dang Doodle
06. I'm a Little Mixed Up
07. Nitty Gritty
08. Fire
09. Whatever I Am, You Made Me
10. Twenty-Nine Ways to My Baby's Door
11. Insane Asylum
12. Yes, It's Good for You
13. Lovesick Tears
14. He Always Knocks Me Out
Media Info:
Bitrate: 256 kbps
Channels: joint stereo
Samplerate: 44100
Encoder: LAME 3.97
MPEG-1 layer 3
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