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Koko Taylor
Photo: Sumori (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0)
Chicago

Koko Taylor

This artist is no longer with us.
Born: September 28, 1928, near Memphis, Tennessee · Died: June 3, 2009, Chicago, Illinois (complications from surgery)• United States
Chicago BluesElectric Blues
Critic Robert Christgau once wrote that Koko Taylor "sounds like you always wanted those women with Big in front of their names to sound — powerful, even rough, without ever altogether abandoning her rather feminine register." For half a century, that voice made her the undisputed Queen of the Blues, a title she wore as literally as any monarch — the Blues Foundation and everyone else in Chicago simply agreed there was no other candidate. She was born Cora Ann Walton on September 28, 1928, on a farm near Memphis, Tennessee, the daughter of a sharecropper (Kilde: Wikipedia). In 1952 she moved to Chicago with her husband, truck driver Robert "Pops" Taylor, and began working blues clubs on the side through the late 1950s while holding a day job as a domestic worker. Her break came in 1962, when the songwriter and bassist Willie Dixon heard her sing and took her under his wing (Kilde: Wikipedia). Dixon got her a deal with USA Records, where she cut her first single in 1963, then brought her to Chess Records' Checker subsidiary. In 1966 she recorded Dixon's own composition "Wang Dang Doodle" — the song became her signature for the rest of her life, climbing to number 4 on the R&B chart and number 58 on the pop chart, and eventually selling over a million copies (Kilde: Wikipedia). In 2023, the recording was added to the National Recording Registry. In 1975 she signed with the newly founded Chicago blues label Alligator Records, beginning a relationship that would produce nine albums over the following decades and effectively define the label's identity as a home for uncompromising, full-voltage Chicago blues. In 1985 she won the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. She survived a near-fatal car crash in 1989 that killed her longtime guitarist, and kept touring anyway. In 1994 she opened her own blues club on Division Street in Chicago (Kilde: Wikipedia). Taylor toured relentlessly into her final years, performing more than 70 concerts annually even into her seventies. Her honors piled up: 29 W.C. Handy/Blues Music Award wins from 32 nominations, the Blues Hall of Fame in 1997, a Blues Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999, and an NEA National Heritage Fellowship in 2004 (Kilde: Wikipedia). She appeared in the films "Blues Brothers 2000" and "Wild at Heart," and made a guest appearance on the children's television series "Arthur" in 2003 — introducing an entirely new generation to that same unmistakable roar. Her final performance came at the Blues Music Awards on May 7, 2009. She died less than a month later, on June 3, 2009, in Chicago, from complications following surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding, at age 80. She was survived by her daughter, two grandchildren and three great-grandchildren (Kilde: Wikipedia).

Musical Influence

Koko Taylor's roaring, unapologetically powerful vocal delivery on "Wang Dang Doodle" set the template for every woman who fronted a Chicago blues band after her, and Alligator Records built much of its identity around the nine albums she recorded for the label. She directly influenced Bonnie Raitt, Susan Tedeschi and Shemekia Copeland, and her 2003 appearance on the children's show "Arthur" introduced her voice — and the blues itself — to an entirely new generation (Kilde: Wikipedia).

Influences

Willie DixonChicago blues tradition

Family and personal life

Husband
Robert "Pops" Taylor

Truck driver; moved with her from Memphis to Chicago in 1952.

Father
—

A sharecropper near Memphis, Tennessee.

Formative experiences

  • •1952: Moved to Chicago from Memphis with husband Robert "Pops" Taylor. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1962: Discovered by Willie Dixon in a Chicago blues club. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1966: Records Dixon's "Wang Dang Doodle" for Checker Records — becomes her signature song and a million-seller. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1975: Signs with Alligator Records, beginning a partnership that produces nine albums. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1985: Wins the Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album. (Kilde: Wikipedia)
  • •1989: Survives a near-fatal car crash that kills her longtime guitarist. (Kilde: Wikipedia)

Instruments & Equipment

Vocals

Voice

A powerful, roaring contralto described by critic Robert Christgau as combining raw power with a feminine register.

Stories & Anecdotes

"Worked as a domestic worker by day while performing in Chicago blues clubs by night before Willie Dixon discovered her in 1962. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
""Wang Dang Doodle" was added to the National Recording Registry in 2023, nearly six decades after it was recorded. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"Survived a near-fatal 1989 car crash that killed her longtime guitarist, and returned to touring anyway. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"Made a guest appearance on the children's animated series "Arthur" in 2003, introducing her voice to a new generation. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"
"Her final performance came at the Blues Music Awards on May 7, 2009 — less than a month before her death. (Kilde: Wikipedia)"

Collaborators

Willie Dixon

Discovered her in 1962, wrote "Wang Dang Doodle" and shaped her early career.

Little Walter

Fellow Chess/Checker-era collaborator.

Hound Dog Taylor

Chicago blues collaborator.

Bonnie Raitt

Frequent collaborator and one of the artists she directly influenced.

Watch & Listen

Featured

Koko Taylor - Wang Dang Doodle – 1967 Live Performance [DES STEREO]

Her signature 1966 hit, written by Willie Dixon — added to the National Recording Registry in 2023.

Bob Zwolinski

Wang Dang Doodle - Koko Taylor (RARE 1985 live clip)

Wang Dang Doodle - Koko Taylor (RARE 1985 live clip)

Koko Taylor - Wang Dang Doodle - A Celebration of Blues and Soul

Koko Taylor - Wang Dang Doodle - A Celebration of Blues and Soul

Watch & Listen

Henter videoer fra YouTube…

Discography

YearTitleProducerStudioLabelChartSalesMusiciansYouTubeNotes
1963First single——USA Records———Her recording debut.
1964Spivey Records sessionsVictoria Spivey—Spivey Records———Early recordings.
1966"Wang Dang Doodle"Willie Dixon—Checker Records (Chess subsidiary)——Willie Dixon (Bass / songwriter)Her signature hit; #4 R&B, #58 pop; over a million copies sold; added to the National Recording Registry in 2023.
1975Alligator Records era beginsBruce Iglauer—Alligator Records———First of nine albums recorded for Alligator over the following decades.
1985Grammy-winning album——Alligator Records———Winner, Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album.

Famous songs

01Wang Dang Doodle
02I'm a Woman
03Voodoo Woman
04Insane Asylum

External links

YouTube Music Wikipedia

Sources

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