Eddie Taylor

Biography

Eddie Taylor (January 29, 1923 – December 25, 1985) was an American electric blues guitarist and singer.

Biography

Born Edward Taylor in Benoit, Mississippi, as a boy Taylor taught himself to play the guitar. He spent his early years playing at venues around Leland, Mississippi, where he taught his friend Jimmy Reed to play the guitar. With a guitar style deeply rooted in the Mississippi Delta tradition, Taylor moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1948.
While Taylor never achieved the stardom of some of his contemporaries in the post-World War II Chicago blues scene, he was nevertheless an integral part of that era. He is especially noted as a main accompanist for Jimmy Reed; he also worked for John Lee Hooker, Big Walter Horton, Sam Lay, and others. Earwig Music Company recorded him with Kansas City Red and Big John Wrencher for the album Original Chicago Blues×Original Chicago Blues1982 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 9 tracksA1Mama Talk to Your DaughterA2You're the OneA3Rock MeA4Open My HeartA5Crawling KingsnakeB1Sweet Black AngelB2Rollin' & Tumblin'B3Standing Around CryingB4Moon Is Rising. He later teamed up with Earring George Mayweather, and they jointly recorded several tracks, including "You'll Always Have a Home" and "Don't Knock at My Door". Several of these were released as singles, of which "Big Town Playboy×Big Town Playboy1997 · Album · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 23 tracks1Bad Boy3:032E.T. Blues2:463Ride 'Em on Down (alternate take)2:574Big Town Playboy3:005You Always Have a Home (alternate take)2:366Don't Knock at My Door2:487I'm Gonna Love You2:018Lookin' for Trouble2:279Find My Baby2:2110Stroll Out West2:3311I'm Sitting Here2:4912Do You Want Me to Cry2:4913Train Fare2:5314Leave This Neighborhood2:3015Cry for Me Baby2:5016Trouble Blues2:4617Schooldays on My Mind3:1618You Upset My Mind2:5319Baby, Don't Say That No More2:3620I'm Going Upside Your Head2:5721Ride 'Em on Down2:5722You'll Always Have a Home3:0023Somethin' for Nothin'1:40" and "Bad Boy×Bad BoyAlbum · CompilationSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 17 tracks1Bad Boy4:162Take Your Hands Down4:303Moon Is Rising5:434Pink Champagne3:295Keep On Pushing4:516I Have The Blues3:237I Found Out5:238Long Home Blues3:549I Do Know Right From Wrong3:2710Look Under Yonder Wall4:3711Three O' Clock In The Morning5:3612I Got Long To Stay3:3013Look Out2:4714All Your Lovin2:4015Feel Like Jumping2:5616You Make Me See5:0817Big Town Playboy6:13", issued by Vee Jay Records, were local hits in the 1950s, but Taylor's singles generally were not commercially successful.
In the 1970s, Taylor participated in the American Blues Legends '74 tour of Europe organised by Big Bear Records, appearing on the album of the same name as well as solo long-player, Ready For Eddie×Ready For Eddie2002 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1I'm A Country Boy3:442Seems Like A Million Years4:003Gamblin' Man2:574After Hours3:265Sloppy Drunk2:456Ready For Eddie3:317You Don't Love Me3:178Too Late To Cry4:389You'll Always Have A Home3:1910Playboy Boogie3:0411My Little Machine4:0312Cross Cut Saw4:3713I Used To Have Some Friends5:0614I Know My Baby5:24.
Later, in "semi-retirement", Taylor was the regular lead guitarist with Peter Dames and the Chicago River Blues Band, later known as Peter Dames and the Rhythm Flames.
Taylor played lead guitar on several songs (including the title track) on the album Be Careful How You Vote by Sunnyland Slim, and played live with Sunnyland Slim on some tour dates in the 1980s.
Taylor's wife, Vera, was a singer and songwriter, and was the niece of the bluesmen Eddie "Guitar" Burns and Jimmy Burns. Taylor's late son Eddie Taylor Jr. was a blues guitarist in Chicago, his stepson Larry Taylor is a blues drummer and vocalist, and his daughter Demetria is a blues vocalist in Chicago.
Taylor died on Christmas Day in 1985 in Chicago, at the age of 62, and was interred in Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois. He was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1987.

Albums recorded as sideman

1958: I'm Jimmy Reed – Jimmy Reed (Vee-Jay)
1959: I'm John Lee Hooker – John Lee Hooker (Vee-Jay)
1967: Soulin' – Jimmy Reed (BluesWay)
1968: Big Boss Man – Jimmy Reed (BluesWay)
1969: Carey Bell's Blues Harp – Carey Bell (Delmark)
1969: Down in Virginia – Jimmy Reed (BluesWay)
1972: Big Walter Horton with Carey Bell − Big Walter Horton and Carey Bel' (Alligator)
1973: Last Night – Carey Bell (BluesWay)
1975: Street Talkin' (Muse 5087), compilation of Vee Jay recordings with seven tracks by Elmore James tracks and seven by Taylor
1981: Big Town Playboy (Charly 1015), compilation of Vee Jay recordings under Taylor's name, except "Good Hearted"