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About Johnnie Taylor
Hometown
Crawfordsville, AR, United States
Born
May 5, 1934
Genre
R&B/Soul
Known as the “Philosopher of Soul,” singer Johnnie Taylor touched on gospel, R&B, and disco over the course of his decades-long career. He’s perhaps best known for his 1976 No. 1 smash “Disco Lady.”
• Taylor grew up in West Memphis, Arkansas, and got his start singing in church. As a teen, he sang with the gospel group The Melody Kings and befriended Sam Cooke, then a member of the popular gospel outfit The Soul Stirrers.
• He moved to Chicago in the early ’50s and sang with the doo-wop group The Five Echoes and the gospel group The Highway QCs. In 1957, he replaced Cooke in the Soul Stirrers.
• In the early ’60s, after being fired from The Soul Stirrers, Taylor became the first artist signed to Cooke’s SAR label. He released a string of singles before the label dissolved following Cooke’s death in 1964.
• Taylor signed with Stax Records in 1966 and broke through with the 1968 smash “Who’s Making Love,” which topped the R&B charts and went Top 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• While at Stax, Taylor notched two more R&B chart-toppers: “Jody’s Got Your Girl and Gone” (1971) and “I Believe In You (You Believe In Me)” (1974).
• Having moved to Columbia Records after Stax folded, Taylor topped the pop and R&B charts with 1976’s “Disco Lady,” the first-ever single to be certified platinum.
• Taylor continued recording throughout the ’90s and died in May 2000 at age 66.
Johnnie Taylor has also released music as a member of The Five Echoes, The Soul Stirrers, and The Highway Q.C.'s.
Musical InfluencesJohnnie Taylor's musical influences include Sam Cooke, Joe Simon, Ray Charles and more.
Influenced by Johnnie TaylorJohnnie Taylor has influenced the music of Donnie Ray, Barry White, Teddy Pendergrass and more.
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