Johnnie Harrison Taylor (born May 5, 1937, Crawfordsville, Arkansas; died May 31, 2000, Dallas, Texas) was an American vocalist in a wide variety of genres, from gospel, blues and soul to pop, doo-wop and disco. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... is the 125th day of the year (126th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Crawfordsville is a town located in Crittenden County, Arkansas. ... May 31 is the 151st day of the year (152nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Motto: Live Large. ... Gospel music is a musical genre characterized by dominant vocals (often with strong use of harmony) referencing lyrics of a religious nature, particularly Christian. ... Blues is a vocal and instrumental form of music based on the use of the blue notes and a repetitive pattern that most often follows a twelve-bar structure. ... For other uses, see Soul music (disambiguation). ... For popular forms of music in general, see Popular music. ... Doo-wop is a style of vocal-based rhythm and blues music popular in the mid-1950s to the early 1960s in America. ... Disco is a genre of dance-oriented pop music that blends elements of funk and soul music that was first popularized in dance clubs (discothèques) in the mid-1970s. ...

Taylor had one release, "Somewhere to Lay My Head", on Chicago's Chance Records in the 1950s, as part of the doo-wop group Five Echoes. His singing was strikingly close to that of Sam Cooke, and he was hired to take Cooke's place in Cooke's gospel group, the Soul Stirrers, in 1957. This does not cite any references or sources. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... One of the most popular and influential gospel groups of the 20th century, The Soul Stirrers were pioneers in the development of the quartet style of gospel and, without intending it, in the creation of soul music, the secular music that owed much to gospel. ...

A few years later, after Cooke had established his independent SAR Records, Taylor signed on and recorded "Rome Wasn't Built In A Day" in 1962. However, SAR Records quickly became defunct after Cooke's death in 1964. SAR Records was a record company that soul music legend Sam Cooke founded in 1959. ...

In 1966, Taylor moved to Stax Records in Memphis, where he was dubbed "The Philosopher of Soul". While there he recorded with the label's house band, Booker T. & the MGs. His hits included "I Had a Dream", "I've Got to Love Somebody's Baby" (both written by the team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter) and most notably "Who's Making Love?", which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Top 40 and No. 1 on the R&B charts in 1968. Stax Records is an American record label, originally based out of Memphis, Tennessee. ... Booker T. & the M.G.s is a soul band, most prominent in the 1960s and 1970s. ... For the American arctic explorer, see Isaac Israel Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes (born August 20, 1942, in Covington, Tennessee) is an American soul and funk singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, arranger, and actor. ... David Porter (February 1, 1780 – March 3, 1843) was an officer in the United States Navy and later the commander-in-chief of the Mexican Navy. ...

During his tenure at Stax, he became an R&B star, with over a dozen chart successes, such as "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone", "Cheaper to Keep Her" (Mack Rice) and producer Don Davis's "I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)". Taylor, along with Isaac Hayes and The Staple Singers was one of the label's flagship artists. Rhythm and blues (or R & B) is a musical marketing term introduced in the United States in the late 1940s by Billboard magazine. ... Sir Mack Rice (born Bonnie Rice on Nov. ... The name Don Davis may refer to one of the following people: Don S. Davis - an actor who is known for his roles in Stargate SG-1 and Twin Peaks Don Davis - a composer who is known for his scores for films like The Matrix Don Davis - an astronomer who... For the American arctic explorer, see Isaac Israel Hayes Isaac Lee Hayes (born August 20, 1942, in Covington, Tennessee) is an American soul and funk singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, arranger, and actor. ... The Staple Singers were a United States gospel, soul, and R&B singing group. ...

After Stax folded in the mid 1970s, Taylor switched to Columbia Records, where he made his best-known hit, "Disco Lady", in 1976. "Disco Lady" was the first certified platinum single (2 million copies sold) by the RIAA. The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979. ... Columbia Records is the oldest brand name in recorded sound, dating back to 1888, and was the first record company to produce pre-recorded records as opposed to blank cylinders. ... Disco Lady is a 1976 chart-topping single for Johnnie Taylor. ... General Name, Symbol, Number platinum, Pt, 78 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 10, 6, d Appearance grayish white Standard atomic weight 195. ... The RIAA Logo. ...

Columbia pigeonholed Taylor as a disco artist, however, and neglected his wide-ranging talent. After a brief stint at Beverly Glen Records, Taylor signed with Malaco Records after the label's founder Tommy Couch and producing partner Wolf Stephenson heard him sing at blues singer Z.Z. Hill's funeral in the spring of 1984. Hill, like Taylor, had suffered from overly slick production and lack of artistic control on Columbia before abandoning attempts at mainstream popularity, in favor of attaining critical acclaim and regional fame in the South. Malaco Records is an independent record label based out of Jackson, Mississippi. ... Arzell Hill (September 30, 1935 in Naples, Texas - April 27, 1984 in Dallas), known popularly as Z. Z. Hill was an American blues singer, in the Soul blues tradition, known for his 1970s and 80s records for Malaco. ... The U.S. Southern states or the South, also known colloquially as Dixie, constitute a distinctive region covering a large portion of the United States, with its own unique heritage, historical perspective, customs, musical styles, and cuisine. ...

Backed by members of The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section as well as in-house veterans like former Stax keyboardist Carson Whitsett, Malaco gave Taylor the type of recording freedom that Stax had given him in the late 1960s and early 1970s, enabling him to record ten albums for the Malaco label in his sixteen year stint. Taylor's record sales were good but not enough for the singer to receive the measure of stardom he once had. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. ... Streaming API for XML (StAX) is an application programming interface (API) to read and write XML documents in the Java programming language. ... Carson Whitsett (b. ...

In 1996, Taylor's eighth album for Malaco, Good Love!, made it to Number One on Billboard's Blues chart (#15 R&B), as was the biggest record in Malaco's history. With this success, Malaco recorded a live video of Taylor at the Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas, Texas in the summer of 1997. It has been suggested that Billboard be merged into this article or section. ... On January 4, 1936, Billboard magazine published its first music hit parade and on July 20, 1940 the first Music Popularity Chart was calculated. ... The Longhorn Ballroom. ... Nickname: Motto: Live Large. ... Official language(s) No Official Language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ...

Taylor was given a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1999. He died of a massive heart attack at Charleton Methodist Hospital in Dallas in 2000. The Rhythm and Blues Foundation is an independent American nonprofit organization dedicated to the historical and cultural preservation of rhythm and blues music. ... Acute myocardial infarction (AMI or MI), more commonly known as a heart attack, is a disease state that occurs when the blood supply to a part of the heart is interrupted. ...

Taylor's final song was "Soul Heaven", in which he dreamed of being at a concert featuring deceased Soul music icons Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, and MGs drummer Al Jackson, among others. In one verse, Taylor sang, "I didn't want to wake up/I was havin' such a good time". For other uses, see Soul music (disambiguation). ... For the British author, see Jacqueline Wilson. ... Marvin Gaye (born Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article needs cleanup. ...

In 2004, The UK's Shapeshifters sampled Taylor's 1982 release "What About My Love?" for their single "Lola's Theme". Shapeshifting, transformation or transmogrification refers to a change in the form or shape of a person. ...

Taylor has three children that have been recording artists, the best known of which is Floyd Taylor, a Malaco signee whose first CD was titled Legacy. Malaco Records is an independent record label based out of Jackson, Mississippi. ...

See also

• Chicago Blues Festival

The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event that features four days of performances by top-tier blues musicians, both old favorites and the up-and-coming. ...

External links

• Complete Discography
• Allmusic.com bio
• [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=10175 Find A Grave bi