Koko Taylor sometimes spelled KoKo Taylor (September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009)[1] 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.
Life and career
Born Cora Walton in Shelby County, Tennessee, Taylor was the daughter of a sharecropper.[2] She left Memphis for Chicago, Illinois in 1952 with her husband, truck driver Robert "Pops" Taylor.[1] In the late 1950s she began singing in Chicago blues clubs. She was spotted by Willie Dixon in 1962, and this led to wider performances and her first recording contract. In 1965, Taylor was signed by Chess Records where she recorded "Wang Dang Doodle," a song written by Dixon and recorded by Howlin' Wolf five years earlier. The song became a hit, reaching number four on the R&B charts in 1966, and selling a million copies.[1] Taylor recorded several versions of "Wang Dang Doodle" over the years, including a live version at the 1967 American Folk Blues Festival with harmonica player Little Walter and guitarist Hound Dog Taylor. Taylor subsequently recorded more material, both original and covers, but never repeated that initial chart success.
National touring in the late 1960s and early 1970s improved her fan base, and she became accessible to a wider record-buying public when she signed with Alligator Records in 1975. She recorded nine albums for Alligator, 8 of which were Grammy-nominated, and came to dominate the female blues singer ranks, winning twenty five W. C. Handy Awards (more than any other artist). After her recovery from a near-fatal car crash in 1989, the 1990s found Taylor in films such as Blues Brothers 2000 and Wild at Heart, and she opened a blues club on Division Street in Chicago in 1994, but it closed in 1999.
Taylor influenced musicians such as Bonnie Raitt, Shemekia Copeland, Janis Joplin, Shannon Curfman, and Susan Tedeschi. In the years prior to her death, she performed over 70 concerts a year and resided just south of Chicago in Country Club Hills, Illinois.
In 2008, the Internal Revenue Service said that Taylor owed $400,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest. Her tax problems concerned 1998, 2000 and 2001; for those years combined, her adjusted gross income was $949,000.[3]
Taylor died on June 3, 2009, after complications from surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding on May 19, 2009.[4] Her final performance was at the Blues Music Awards, on May 7, 2009. Awards Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album - 1985 Howlin' Wolf Award - 1996 Blues Hall of Fame - Inducted 1997 Blues Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award - 1999 NEA National Heritage Fellowship - 2004 Blues Music Award (formerly the W. C. Handy Award) - 24 times, including the following categories: Contemporary Blues Female Artist Entertainer of the Year Female Artist Traditional Blues Female Artist Vocalist of the Year At age 76 in 2004, she appeared as a special guest with Taj Mahal on an episode of Arthur. At age 80 in 2008, she appeared as a special guest with Umphrey's McGee at their New Year's Eve performance at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago. Taylor won for Best Blues Album in The 7th Annual Independent Music Awards [5] Discography Love You Like a Woman (Charly Records) - November 30, 1968 Koko Taylor (MCA/Chess) - 1969 Basic Soul (Chess Records) - 1972 South Side Lady (Evidence Records) - 1973 I Got What It Takes (Alligator) Southside Baby (Black and Blue Records) - 1975 The Earthshaker (Alligator) - 1978 From The Heart Of A Woman (Alligator) - 1981 Queen of the Blues (Alligator) - 1985 An Audience with Koko Taylor (Alligator) - 1987 Live from Chicago (Alligator) - 1987 "Wang Dang Doodle" (Huub Records) - 1991 Jump for Joy (Alligator) - 1992 Force of Nature (Alligator) - 1993 Royal Blue (Alligator) - 2000 Deluxe Edition (Alligator) - 2002 Old School (Alligator) - 2007
