Since today (May 5th) would have been soul legend Johnnie Taylor’s 77th birthday, RareSoul.com has gathered Ten interesting facts about the soul singer.
Johnnie Taylor is a legendary member of The Soul Stirrers after Sam Cooke left the group, and he cut a number of sides for Sam Cooke’s record labels, SAR/Derby labels. When Sam Cooke died in 1964, Johnnie Taylor needed a new recording home.
“I was living in Kansas City,” Johnnie Taylor recalled in the book Soulsville U.S.A. “I got to St. Louis and I decided I’d up a dime. I said ‘Should I got Towards Detroit for Motown or should I take the southern route to Stax? Stax won out.”
– Johnnie Taylor is an Arkansas native.
– Joined sang in legendary Gospel groups The Highway QC’s and later the Soul Stirrers as a replacement for Sam Cooke
– Johnnie Taylor was Nicknamed the “Philosopher of Soul” in 1966
– The 1968 song “Who’s Making Love” is one of Johnny Taylor’s best known hits
– Johnnie Taylor’s middle name is “Harrison”
– Isaac Hayes and David Porter wrote Johnnie Taylor’s first big hit for Stax, titled “I Had a Dream”
– Johnnie Taylor’s had a big record named “Soul Heaven,” a fantasy about a meeting with famous deceased soul music icons
– He had a stint as a radio DJ in the 1980’s on KKDA Dallas/Fort Worth radio station
– Johnnie Taylor’s 8th album with Malaco records, Good Love!, reached number one on the billboard charts
-Johnnie Taylor has 9 children, 4 of whom became recording artists
One for the road: Johnnie Taylor died of a heart attack on May 31, 2000
*Johnnie is singing lead on the below tracks.
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