Johnny Taylor
Kenji
like to know alot more about him.
Chris Burger
Do you want Johnnie Taylor, or "Little Johnny" Taylor?
"JT" is unfortunately gone, while LJT still reigns....
I found these two bios / discographies on AMG.com's
great site. (See it for better graphics.)
-Chris Burger
Boston
***********************************
Little Johnny Taylor
AKA born: Johnny Lamar Taylor
Born Feb 11, 1943 in Memphis, TN
Labels Ronn (5), West Side (2), Ichiban (2)
Some folks still get them mixed up, so let's get it
straight from the outset. Little Johnny Taylor is
best-known for his scorching slow blues smashes "Part
Time Love" (for Bay Area-based Galaxy Records in 1963)
and 1971's "Everybody Knows About My Good Thing" for
Ronn Records in Shreveport, LA.
He's definitely not the suave Sam Cooke protégé that
blitzed the charts with "Who's Making Love" for Stax
in 1968; that's Johnnie Taylor, who added to the
confusion by covering "Part Time Love" for Stax.
Another similarity between the two Taylors: both
hailed from strong gospel backgrounds. Little Johnny
came to Los Angeles in 1950 and did a stint with the
Mighty Clouds of Joy before going secular. Influenced
by Little Willie John, he debuted as an R&B artist
with a pair of 45s for Hunter Hancock's Swingin' logo,
but his career didn't soar until he inked a pact with
Fantasy's Galaxy subsidiary in 1963 (where he
benefited from crisp production by Cliff Goldsmith and
Ray Shanklin's arrangements).
The gliding mid-tempo blues "You'll Need Another
Favor," firmly in a Bobby Bland mode, was Taylor's
first chart item. He followed it up with the tortured
R&B chart-topper "Part Time Love," which found him
testifying in gospel-fired style over Arthur Wright's
biting guitar and a grinding, horn-leavened downbeat
groove. The singer also did fairly well with "Since I
Found a New Love" in 1964 and "Zig Zag Lightning" in
1966.
Taylor's tenure at Stan Lewis's Ronn imprint elicited
the slow blues smash "Everybody Knows About My Good
Thing" in 1971 and a similar witty hit follow-up,
"Open House at My House," the next year (both were
covered later by Z.Z. Hill for Malaco). While at Ronn,
Little Johnny cut some duets with yet another Taylor,
this one named Ted (no, they weren't related either).
He hasn't recorded much of late, but Little Johnny
Taylor remains an active performer. — Bill Dahl
Similar Artists: Ted Taylor Johnnie Taylor Z.Z. Hill
Peppermint Harris
Roots and Influences: Little Willie John Sam Cooke
The Mighty Clouds of Joy Bobby "Blue" Bland
Followers: Z.Z. Hill
Performed Songs By: Johnny Taylor
Miles Grayson Clay Hammond Sonny Thompson Bobby
Patterson Ted Taylor Stan Lewis Jewel Akens
Charles Brown Jerry Strickland Gene Redd R. Harris
L. Horton Bowie Bowie George Perkins
Worked With: Super Taylors
1962 Part Time Love Ronn
1963 Little Johnny Taylor [Galaxy] Galaxy
1970 Everybody Knows About My Good Thing Ronn
1973 Open House Ronn
1974 Super Taylors Ronn
1979 Little Johnny Taylor [Ronn] Ronn
1980 As Long as I Don't See You Charly
1981 I Shoulda Been a Preacher Red Lightnin'
1988 Stuck in the Mud Ichiban
1989 Ugly Man Ichiban
1997 You're Looking Good Nasha
2001 Everybody Knows About My Good Thing/Open...
West Side
2001 L.J.T./Part Time Love West Side
Galaxy Years Ace
Greatest Hits Fantasy
Various Artists Soul Shots, Vol. 7: Urban Blues
(1988)
Various Artists Stax: Superblues, Vol. 1: All-Time
(1990)
Various Artists Stax: Superblues: All-Time Classic
(1991)
Various Artists Blues Masters, Vol. 1: Urban Blues
(1992)
Various Artists Jewel/Paula Records Story: Blues,...
(1993) Producer
Various Artists Bad, Bad Whiskey (The Galaxy...
(1994)
Various Artists Mean Old World: The Blues from...
(1996) Vocals
Various Artists Downey Blues (1997) Vocals
Various Artists It's Christmas Time Again
Covers of LJT music:
W.C. Clark Texas Soul
Deborah Coleman Soft Place to Fall
Albert Collins and the Icebreaker on 4 albums: 1 2 3
4
Christian Dozzler Perfect Day
Dynatones Shake That Mess
Hosea Hargrove Love My Life
Eugene Huggins Life Is a Nightmare
Helen Humes 'Deed I Do / He May Be Your Man / New
Million Dollar Secret
The Icemen Midnight Run
Luther "Guitar Jr" Johnson It's Good to Me
Johnnie Johnson Johnnie Be Back
SOng Highlights:
You'll Need Another Favor from Greatest Hits
Part Time Love from Greatest Hits
It's My Fault Darling from Everybody Knows About
My Good Thing
I Can't See Myself as a One Woman Man from
Everybody Knows About My Good Thing
Everybody Knows About My Good Thing from Super
Taylors
Double or Nothing from Greatest Hits
You Win, I Lose from Greatest Hits
(THEN)**********************
Johnnie Taylor
Born May 5, 1938 in Crawfordsville, AR
Died May 31, 2000 in Dallas, TX
Labels Malaco (20), Stax (15), CBS (6), Beverly Glen
(2)
Aptly dubbed the "Philosopher of Soul" by the Stax
publicity department, Johnnie Taylor set the ladies'
hearts aflutter during the early '70s with his tender
brand of Memphis soul. Taylor wasn't always the
sincere crooner he developed into. A Sam Cooke protégé
who took over with The Soul Stirrers when Cooke went
secular, and who retained a hint of his mentor's
mellifluous delivery, Taylor took the same pop route
via Cooke's SAR label in 1961. Once he got on the Stax
label in 1966, the vocalist forged a sublime
blues/soul synthesis with a series of absolutely
gorgeous efforts. But there was nothing subtle about
Taylor's first number one in 1968: "Who's Making Love"
was an uncompromising treatise on cheating lovers,
with storming brass and slashing guitar. The
follow-ups "Take Care of Your Homework" and "Jody's
Got Your Girl and Gone" pounded the same message home
from different angles. As the decade turned, though,
Taylor perceptibly mellowed, turning increasingly to
ballads for inspiration — "I Believe in You (You
Believe in Me)," "We're Getting Careless with Our
Love." By the time he went platinum with the horribly
repetitive "Disco Lady" in 1976, the rough edges that
made his early work so absorbing were smoothed away,
although his latter-day Malaco output sometimes
managed to suggest Taylor's glory years. He died of an
apparent heart attack on May 31, 2000. — Bill Dahl
1967 Wanted: One Soul Singer Atlantic
1968 Who's Making Love... Stax
1969 The Johnnie Taylor Philosophy Continues Stax
1969 Raw Blues Stax
1970 Rare Stamps Stax
1971 One Step Beyond Stax
1973 Taylored in Silk Stax
1974 Super Taylor Stax
1976 Eargasm Columbia
1977 Rated Extraordinaire CBS
1977 Reflections RCA
1977 Disco 9000 CBS
1978 Ever Ready CBS
1979 She's Killing Me CBS
1980 New Day CBS
1982 Just Ain't Good Enough Beverly Glen
1984 This Is Your Night Malaco
1986 Wall to Wall Malaco
1986 Lover Boy Malaco
1988 In Control Malaco
1989 Crazy 'Bout You Malaco
1990 Little Bluebird Stax
1991 (I Know It's Wrong But I) Just Malaco
1994 Real Love Malaco
1995 Take This Heart of Mine Fania
1996 Brand New Malaco
1996 Good Love! Malaco
1996 Stop Half-Loving These Women Paula
1997 Disco Lady Amw
Compilation albums
1970 Greatest Hits Stax
1976 The Best of Johnnie Taylor [Stax] Stax
1977 Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits Stax
1978 The Chronicle, Vol. 1 Stax
1978 The Chronicle, Vol. 2 Stax
1981 The Best of Johnnie Taylor [CBS] CBS
1984 The Best of the Old & the New Beverly Glen
1984 The Best of Johnnie Taylor on Malaco, Vol. 1
Malaco
1995 The Johnnie Taylor Philosophy Continues/One...
ACE
1996 The Best of Johnnie Taylor: Rated...
Columbia/Legac
2000 Funksoulbrother Varese
2000 Lifetime Stax x
1996 Good Love [Cassette Single] Malaco s
1996 Good Love (Remix) Malaco s
1997 Last Two Dollars Malaco s
1991 Live in Dallas Malaco v
2001 Live at the Longhorn Ballroom Malaco v
Other appearances:
Bobby Blue Bland Live on Beale Street (1998) Vocals
Dan Burley South Side Shake 1945-1951 Organ,
Speech/Speaker/Speaking Part
Sam Cooke SAR Records Story (1994) Vocals, Talking
Eddie Floyd Chronicle (1979) Vocals
Gospel Music Workshop of... Chief Cornerstone (1993)
Drums
The Highway QC's Jesus Is Waiting (1960) Vocals
Jasper Liberation (1969) Bass
McAlmont & Butler Yes (1995) Violin
McAlmont & Butler Sound of..McAlmont & Butler (1996)
Violin
Neurotic Outsiders Neurotic Outsiders (1996) Bass,
Vocals
The Soul Stirrers Heaven Is My Home (1953)
*************************************************
Happy hunting!
-CB
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chuck n.
Peppermint Harris? I've heard he was a lot of things, but it's hard for me
to place him with the rest of those cats (stylistically).
BTW, I don't think I've seen it mentioned yet, but didn't George Smith blow
some harp on that LJT Galaxy stuff?
chuck
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Chris Burger
>>Similar Artists: Ted Taylor Johnnie >Taylor Z.Z. Hill Peppermint Harris
>
>Peppermint Harris? I've heard he was a lot of things, but it's hard for me
>to place him with the rest of those cats (stylistically).
AMG is great, but their "similiar artists" section is often way off. And
they don't truly amend their discographies and bios, as they suggest you
help them do. Their Hip Linkchain (to name one) remains unchanged, despite
updates I've sent.
RE>BTW, I don't think I've seen it mentioned yet, but didn't George Smith
blow some harp on that LJT Galaxy stuff?
>
Yes, he did, oddly enough. It's on that greatest hits comp.
-C.Burger
Dean F.
> Does a good discography exist for all of Johnnie Taylor's music? I'd like
to know alot more about him.
If it's the late, great Soul Philosopher you want, check out this link:
http://perso.wanadoo.fr/stax.site/jtaylor.htm
--Dean in Connecticut