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Johnnie Taylor

Person · male · United States · Crawfordsville · born 1934 · died 2000 · recording since 1964

American male singer and songwriter (1934–2000)

soul gospel music

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Also known as Johnie Taylor · Johnnie Taylor - · Johnny Taylor · 強尼·泰勒

Debut: 1964
Recording span: 36 years
Release groups: 66
Awards: 2
Timeline events: 32
Wiki language versions: 17

Compare this artist Read the biography Jump to timeline

Timeline

32 events▣ Album 28◦ Birth 1★ Debut release 1† Death 1✦ Award 1

1930s
1. 5 May 1934 · Birth
  Born 1934-05-05
  source: wikidata
1960s
1. 1 January 1964 · Debut release
  Debut release: Johnnie Taylor 1964
  First documented Single in the MusicBrainz discography.
  source: musicbrainz
2. 2 March 1967 · Album
  Album: Wanted: One Soul Singer
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
3. 1968 · Album
  Album: Who's Making Love
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
4. 1969 · Album
  Album: The Johnnie Taylor Philosophy Continues
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
5. April 1969 · Album
  Album: Raw Blues
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
1970s
1. 1970 · Album
  Album: One Step Beyond
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2. 1973 · Album
  Album: Taylored in Silk
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
3. 1974 · Album
  Album: Super Taylor
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
4. 1976 · Album
  Album: Eargasm
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
5. 1977 · Album
  Album: Reflections
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
6. 1977 · Album
  Album: Rated Extraordinaire
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
7. 1978 · Album
  Album: Ever Ready
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
8. 28 September 1979 · Album
  Album: She's Killing Me
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
1980s
1. 1980 · Album
  Album: A New Day
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2. 1982 · Album
  Album: Just Ain't Good Enough
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
3. 1984 · Album
  Album: Best Of The Old And The New
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
4. 1984 · Album
  Album: This Is Your Night
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
5. 1985 · Album
  Album: Wall To Wall
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
6. 1987 · Album
  Album: Lover Boy
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
7. 1988 · Album
  Album: In Control
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
8. 1989 · Album
  Album: Crazy 'bout You
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
1990s
1. 1991 · Album
  Album: I Know It's Wrong but I Just Can't Do Right
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2. 1993 · Album
  Album: Real Love
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
3. 1996 · Album
  Album: Good Love
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
4. 3 September 1996 · Album
  Album: Stop Half-Loving These Women
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
5. 7 April 1998 · Album
  Album: Taylored to Please
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
6. 1999 · Album
  Album: Gotta Get the Groove Back
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2000s
1. 31 May 2000 · Death
  Died 2000
  source: wikidata
2. 12 September 2000 · Album
  Album: Funksoulbrother
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
3. 1 July 2003 · Album
  Album: There's No Good In Goodbye
  Album
  source: musicbrainz
2020s
1. 2020 · Award
  Honoured: Kansas Music Hall of Fame
  source: wikidata

Biography

English biography1,179 words · 9 sectionssource: wikipedia-en · licence CC BY-SA 4.0 · revision 1378929223

Biography

Johnnie Harrison Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) was an American recording artist and songwriter who performed a wide variety of genres, from blues, rhythm and blues, soul, and gospel to pop, doo-wop, and disco. He was initially successful at Stax Records with the number-one R&B hits "Who's Making LoveWho's Making Love1968 · Studio albumSpotify YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Who's Making Love2:48A2I'm Not the Same Person3:06A3Hold on This Time2:37A4Woman Across the River3:15A5Can't Trust Your Neighbor2:40B1Take Care of Your Homework2:41B2I'm Trying3:01B3Poor Make Believer2:46B4Payback Hurts2:29B5Mr. Nobody Is Somebody Now3:21B6I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water2:59" (1968), "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone" (1971) and "I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)" (1973), and reached number one on the US pop charts with "Disco LadyDisco LadyJanuary 1976 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksADisco Lady4:20BYou're the Best Girl in the World3:18" in 1976.
In 2022, Taylor was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

Early years

Johnnie Taylor was born in Crawfordsville, Arkansas, United States. He grew up in West Memphis, Arkansas, performing in gospel groups as a youngster. As an adult, he had one release, "Somewhere to Lay My Head", on Chicago's Vee Jay Records label in the 1950s, as part of the gospel group The Highway Q.C.'s, which included a young Sam Cooke. Taylor's singing then was strikingly close to that of Cooke, and he was hired to take Cooke's place in the latter's gospel group, the Soul Stirrers, in 1957.
A few years later, after Cooke had established his independent SAR Records, Taylor signed on as one of the label's first acts and recorded "Rome Wasn't Built In A Day" in 1962. However, SAR Records quickly became defunct after Cooke's death in 1964.
In 1966, Taylor moved to Stax Records in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was dubbed "The Philosopher of Soul". He recorded with the label's house band, which included Booker T. & the M.G.'s. 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 LoveWho's Making Love1968 · Studio albumSpotify YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1Who's Making Love2:48A2I'm Not the Same Person3:06A3Hold on This Time2:37A4Woman Across the River3:15A5Can't Trust Your Neighbor2:40B1Take Care of Your Homework2:41B2I'm Trying3:01B3Poor Make Believer2:46B4Payback Hurts2:29B5Mr. Nobody Is Somebody Now3:21B6I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water2:59", which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 1 on the R&B chart in 1968. "Who's Making Love" sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. In 1970 Taylor married Gerlean Rocket, with their divorce finalized on May 10, 2000, 21 days before his passing. His children from that marriage are Jon Harrison Taylor, and Tasha Taylor, both musicians.
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", which reached No. 23 on the Hot 100 chart, "Cheaper to Keep HerCheaper to Keep HerStudio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Everything’s Out In the Open3:542That’s Just a Woman’s Way4:463You Knocked My Heart Out of Line4:014Money’s Running Funny6:135Nothing But the Blues4:096She’s Cheating On Me3:367Nothing As Beautiful As You4:138Cheaper to Keep Her4:229No Refund3:3610Something Is Going Wrong4:33" (Mack Rice) and record producer Don Davis's penned "I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)", which reached No. 11 on the Hot 100 chart. "I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)" also sold more than one million copies, and was awarded gold disc status by the R.I.A.A. in October 1973. Taylor, along with Isaac Hayes and The Staple Singers, was one of the label's flagship artists, who were credited for keeping the company afloat in the late 1960s and early 1970s after the death of its biggest star, Otis Redding, in an aviation accident. He appeared in the documentary film, Wattstax, which was released in 1973.

Columbia Records

After Stax folded in 1975, Taylor switched to Columbia Records, where he recorded his biggest success with Don Davis still in charge of production, "Disco LadyDisco LadyJanuary 1976 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksADisco Lady4:20BYou're the Best Girl in the World3:18", in 1976. It spent four weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and six weeks at the top of the R&B chart. It peaked at No. 25 in the UK Singles Chart in May 1976. "Disco Lady" was the first certified platinum single (two million copies sold) by the RIAA. Taylor recorded several more successful albums and R&B single hits with Davis on Columbia, before Brad Shapiro took over production duties, but sales generally fell away.

Malaco Records

After a short stay at a small independent label in Los Angeles, Beverly Glen Records, Taylor signed with Malaco Records after the company's founder Tommy Couch and producing partner Wolf Stephenson heard him sing at blues singer Z. Z. Hill's funeral in spring 1984.
Backed by members of the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, as well as in-house veterans such as former Stax keyboardist Carson Whitsett and guitarist/bandleader Bernard Jenkins, 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 label in his 16-year stint.
In 1996, Taylor's eighth album for Malaco, Good LoveGood Love1996 · Studio albumSpotify YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Good Love4:072Last Two Dollars5:193Sending You a Kiss4:284Walk Away4:525Too Many Memories6:016Ain't That Loving You3:117Too Late to Try to do Right5:488Whole Lotta Lovin'4:019You Got Me in the Mood for Love4:3210Slide On4:4611Body Rock3:0812This Masquerade5:29!, reached number one on the Billboard Top Blues Albums chart (No. 15 R&B), and 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. The club portion of the Good Love video was recorded at 1001 Nightclub in Jackson, Mississippi.
Taylor's final song was "Soul Heaven", in which he dreamed of being at a concert featuring deceased African-American music icons from Louis Armstrong to Otis Redding to Z.Z. Hill to The Notorious B.I.G., among others.

Radio

In the 1980s, Johnnie Taylor was a DJ on KKDA, a radio station in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, where he had made his home. The station's format was mostly R&B and Soul oldies and their on-the-air personalities were often local R&B, Soul, blues, and jazz musicians. Taylor was billed as "The Wailer, Johnnie Taylor".

Death

Taylor died of a heart attack at Charlton Methodist Hospital in Dallas, Texas, on May 31, 2000, aged 66. Stax billed Johnnie Taylor as "The Philosopher of Soul". He was also known as "the Blues Wailer". He was buried beside his mother, Ida Mae Taylor, at Forrest Hill Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri.
His highly complex personal life was revealed after his death. Having six accepted children and three others with confirmed paternity born to three different mothers, the difficulties associated with executing his will were presented in an episode of the TV program The Will: Family Secrets Revealed called "The Estate of Johnnie Taylor". In a 2021 Rolling Stone article, Fonda Bryant, one of the nine heirs of Taylor's estate, shared some of the complexities that she and her other siblings have had to deal with during the past decade regarding her father's royalty payments from Sony Music. Bryant believed that the alleged lack of transparency concerning those payouts was reason enough for Sony to disclose her father's personal information. Sony's refusal to do so left Bryant and the other heirs in the dark. Music industry attorney Erin M. Jacobson stated in the article that "'a label is not just going to turn over a bunch of financial records to anyone that asks for it.'" An audit is a viable option for "heirs who are distrustful of a label's accounting" practices. The down side to doing one, though, is the exorbitant amount of money that it would cost to do so, something too "unrealistic for most heirs like Bryant."

Grammy Awards

Taylor was nominated for three career Grammy Awards without a win.

Johnnie Taylor was awarded the first-ever Platinum Record Award in history by the RIAA for his two-million-selling smash hit, "Disco LadyDisco LadyJanuary 1976 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracksADisco Lady4:20BYou're the Best Girl in the World3:18".

Musical influence

In 2004, the UK's Shapeshifters sampled Taylor's 1982 "What About My Love?", for their No. 1 hit single, "Lola's Theme".

Live albums

FunkSoulBrother - Fuel/Universal. Retrospective album 1970/2006

Discography & profile

Normalised profile

Percentiles are computed over every artist in the database, so a tier-3 artist can still sit in the 95th percentile on a single axis.

Normalised profile metrics with percentile rank
Metric	Value	Percentile
Wikipedia language versions	17	76.4th
Spotify monthly listeners	—	no data
Release groups in DB	66	96th
Studio albums	29	98.1th
Awards recorded	2	92.6th
Timeline events	32	97.1th
Recording span (years)	36	75.4th
Genres	6	91th

Percentiles are computed at render time; missing values mean the artist has no data on that axis.

Discography (66 release groups · 29 studio albums)

Albums · 29

Wanted: One Soul Singer
1967 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 30:57
A1I Got to Love Somebody’s Baby2:53
A2Just the One I’ve Been Lookin’ For2:35
A3Watermelon Man3:11
A4Where Can a Man Go From Here3:10
A5Toe-Hold2:39
A6Outside Love2:15
B1Ain’t That Loving You (for More Reasons Than One)2:55
B2Blues in the Night3:05
B3I Had a Dream2:59
B4Sixteen Tons2:25
B5Little Bluebird2:50
Who's Making Love
1968 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 31:43
A1Who's Making Love2:48
A2I'm Not the Same Person3:06
A3Hold on This Time2:37
A4Woman Across the River3:15
A5Can't Trust Your Neighbor2:40
B1Take Care of Your Homework2:41
B2I'm Trying3:01
B3Poor Make Believer2:46
B4Payback Hurts2:29
B5Mr. Nobody Is Somebody Now3:21
B6I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water2:59
The Johnnie Taylor Philosophy Continues
1969 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 33:15
A1Testify (I Wonna)4:04
A2Separation Line3:40
A3Love Bones3:58
A4Love Is a Hurting Thing2:27
A5I Had a Fight With Love3:00
B1I Could Never Be President2:30
B2It’s Amazing2:55
B3Who Can I Turn To4:30
B4Games People Play3:46
B5It’s Your Thing2:25
Raw Blues
1969 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 11 tracks · 34:00
A1Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire3:04
A2Hello Sundown2:49
A3Pardon Me Lady2:59
A4Where Can a Man Go From Here3:16
A5That Bone2:58
B1That’s Where It’s At3:32
B2Part Time Love3:30
B3If I Had It to Do Over Again3:05
B4You’re Good for Me3:34
B5You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down2:38
B6You Can’t Win With a Losing Hand2:35
One Step Beyond
1970 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks · 33:51
A1Time After Time7:04
A2Party Life3:13
A3Will You Love Me Forever3:01
A4I Am Somebody, Parts 1 & 25:50
B1I Don't Wanna Lose You, Parts 1 & 25:27
B2Don't Take My Sunshine3:21
B3Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone3:03
B4A Fool Like Me2:52
Taylored in Silk
1973 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks · 35:11
A1We're Getting Careless With Our Love4:05
A2Starting All Over Again4:16
A3Cheaper to Keep Her3:30
A4Talk to Me5:43
B1I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)5:10
B2One Thing Wrong With My Woman3:58
B3I Can Read Between the Lines3:58
B4This Bitter Earth4:31
Super Taylor
1974 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks · 28:56
A1It’s September3:33
A2Darling I Love You2:50
A3Try Me Tonight3:19
A4Free3:52
B1I’ve Been Born Again3:18
B2At Night Time (My Pillow Tells a Tale on Me)3:44
B3It Don’t Pay to Get Up in the Morning3:43
B4Just One Moment4:37
Eargasm
1976 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 34:45
A1Disco Lady4:25
A2Please Don’t Stop (That Song From Playing)2:55
A3Don’t Touch Her Body (If You Can’t Touch Her Mind)3:13
A4I’m Gonna Keep On Loving You4:00
A5You’re the Best Girl in the World3:18
B1Running Out of Lies4:50
B2Somebody’s Gettin’ It4:01
B3It Don’t Hurt Me Like It Used To3:13
B4Pick Up the Pieces4:50
Reflections
1977 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks · 32:34
A1I Want You Back Again3:37
A2Stop-half Loving These Women3:42
A3I Worry About You4:56
A4Wanting What You Can't Have3:08
B1Heaven Bless This Home4:04
B2If You Really Love Your Girl5:02
B3Never My Love4:03
B4Forgive and Forget4:02
Rated Extraordinaire
1977 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 41:45
A1Your Love Is Rated X4:15
A2Stormy5:14
A3Here I Go (Through These Changes Again)3:59
A4Did He Make Love to You3:35
A5And I Panicked4:00
B1Love Is Better in the A.M., Parts 1 & 25:06
B2It Ain't What You Do (It's How You Do It)3:26
B3Not Just Another Booty Song3:43
B4I'm Just a Shoulder to Cry On4:40
B5Stop Giving People Hard Luck Stories3:47
Ever Ready
1978 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 8 tracks · 34:29
A1Hey Mister Melody Maker4:57
A2Ever Ready4:29
A3Keep On Dancing4:17
A4I Gotta Keep Groovin' You3:36
B1Soul Fillet4:26
B2Bittersweet Love4:20
B3I Love to Make Love When4:35
B4Give Me My Baby3:49
She's Killing Me
1979 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 7 tracks · 35:20
A1Little Dancin' Queen5:17
A2Play Something Pretty4:07
A3(Ooh-wee) She's Killing Me6:16
B1The Users6:21
B2Love Account4:56
B3Pulling the Train5:21
B4I Can't Leave Your Love Alone3:02
A New Day
1980 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 9 tracks · 39:12
A1The Heartbreak Kid3:54
A2I'd Rather Hurt Myself4:06
A3I Got This Thing for Love4:13
A4Signing Off With Love3:29
A5Baby Lay Down5:02
B1Sneakin' Sneakin'4:05
B2I Wanna Get Into You5:00
B3Sylvia4:21
B4Baby Don't Hesitate5:02
Just Ain't Good Enough
1982 · studio album
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Tracklist · 6 tracks · 35:03
A1What About My Love5:50
A2Don't Wait6:02
A3I'm So Proud6:00
B1Just Ain't Good Enough6:07
B2I Need a Freak5:33
B3Reaganomics5:31
Best Of The Old And The New
1984 · studio album
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Tracklist · 6 tracks · 34:12
A1Seconds Of Your Love4:54
A2What About My Love5:50
A3I'm So Proud5:50
B1Hey For The Winner5:35
B2Shoot For The Stars5:59
B3Just Ain't Good Enough6:04
This Is Your Night
1984 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 38:23
A1This Is Your Night4:23
A2L.O.V.E.3:49
A3Drown in My Own Tears4:12
A4A Love to Call Mine3:25
A5Still Called the Blues3:37
B1She's Cheating on Me3:36
B2After Hours Joint4:31
B3Lady, My Whole World Is You3:24
B4Good With My Hips4:16
B5That's America3:10
Wall To Wall
1985 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 36:21
A1Wall To Wall4:07
A2Can I Love You4:10
A3When She Stops Asking4:18
A4Just Because4:14
B1I'm Changing4:08
B2No Refund3:33
B3Nothing As Beautiful As You4:09
B4383-Emergency4:09
B5There's Nothing I Wouldn't Do3:33
Lover Boy
1987 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 40:36
1Don't Make Me Late4:16
2Lover Boy3:57
3Lately4:30
4You Can't Win3:06
5Something Is Going Wrong4:34
6If I Lose Your Love4:10
7Girl of My Dreams3:49
8Nothing Like a Lady4:15
9Happy Time4:05
10Universal Lady3:54
In Control
1988 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 39:22
A1You Knocked My Heart Out of Line4:02
A2It Don't Hurt Me Like It Use To3:36
A3In Control4:15
A4Got to Leave This Woman3:37
A5Let's Get Closer4:07
B1I Found a Love4:39
B2Now That You Cheated4:00
B3Love's Easy to Fall Into4:01
B4Everything's Out in the Open3:54
B5That's the Way It Is3:11
Crazy 'bout You
1989 · studio album
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Tracklist · 9 tracks · 37:52
A1Still Crazy4:34
A2Without You4:05
A3Dance Floor to the Back Door4:20
A4Money's Running Funny6:13
B1For Your Precious Love3:17
B2She's No Lady3:15
B3Airtight Alibi3:44
B4I Was Looking for Somebody4:15
B5Nothing but the Blues4:09
I Know It's Wrong but I Just Can't Do Right
1991 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 44:40
A1Crazy Over You4:56
A2Only My Woman Can4:05
A3I Want You Love4:12
A4Change Your Habits4:50
A5Guilty as Charged4:08
B1I Know It's Wrong but I Just Can't Do Right3:48
B2Are You Lonesome4:53
B3What Kind of Man Do You Want4:50
B4That's Just a Woman's Way4:28
B5Country All the Way4:30
Real Love
1993 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 45:12
A1Back Street Love Afair5:00
A2Too Much Week at the End of My Money4:10
A3Lady in Red4:14
A4Lady Soul4:54
A5Changin' My Life Without Your Love4:14
B1Poor Boy Blue3:47
B2Respect Yourself4:59
B3Real Love4:53
B4Sexy Dancer4:32
B5Huntin' Just Ain't No More Fun4:29
Good Love
1996 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 55:42
1Good Love4:07
2Last Two Dollars5:19
3Sending You a Kiss4:28
4Walk Away4:52
5Too Many Memories6:01
6Ain't That Loving You3:11
7Too Late to Try to do Right5:48
8Whole Lotta Lovin'4:01
9You Got Me in the Mood for Love4:32
10Slide On4:46
11Body Rock3:08
12This Masquerade5:29
Stop Half-Loving These Women
1996 · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 43:02
1I Want to Get Into You5:03
2Never My Love4:01
3Heaven Bless This Home3:57
4Stop Half-Loving These Women3:49
5I Want You Back Again3:33
6Bittersweet Love4:26
7Stormy Weather5:50
8Love Account5:07
9Please Don't Stop the Music3:08
10Sneakin'4:08
Taylored to Please
1998 · studio album
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Tracklist · 13 tracks · 56:21
1Groove Me4:45
2Cheatin on Me4:33
3I'm Not the Man You Need4:20
4Disco Lady, 20004:07
5If You Take Your Love Away4:57
6You Couldn't Break Me5:27
7Kickin' Back, Chillin' Out4:12
8What Goods Is a Man4:56
9Loose Hair in the Bathroom4:27
10Can't Live With You3:38
11You Can't Strike Gold in a Silver Mine3:25
12Throw Your Hands in the Air4:22
13Disco Lady, 2000 (Radio Slam remix)3:12
Gotta Get the Groove Back
1999 · studio album
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Tracklist · 12 tracks · 52:45
1Big Head Hundreds3:42
2I'm From the Old School4:09
3Juke Joint4:08
4One in a Million4:12
5Ease Back Out5:29
6Gotta Get the Groove Back4:50
7Wounded in the Battle of Love4:02
8Too Close for Comfort3:59
9I Love You Lady4:51
10Woman Don't Be Afraid4:40
11Let's Get Back On3:50
12Soul Heaven4:53
Funksoulbrother
2000 · studio album
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Tracklist · 10 tracks · 42:09
1I Want You Back Again3:27
2Never My Love3:58
3Heaven Bless This Home3:51
4Stop Half Loving These Women3:45
5I Wanna Get Into You4:56
6Bittersweet Love4:20
7Stormy5:45
8Love Account5:02
9Please Don't Stop the Music3:02
10Sneakin' Sneakin'4:03
There's No Good In Goodbye
2003 · studio album
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Tracklist · 16 tracks · 1:16:52
1If You're Lookin' For A Fool4:59
2This Is The Night For Makin Up5:02
3Crazy 'bout You Baby4:42
4Take Me To The Mardi Gras4:15
5Too Wise To Be Your Fool4:06
6Baby Sittin'4:49
7You Know It Ain't Right4:20
8I'm In A Midnight Mood4:37
9If You Take Your Love Away4:56
10I Found All These Things5:00
11Please Sign The Dotted Line5:32
12Where Is Your Woman Tonight4:46
13Con Lover5:31
14Is This Love Or Is This Business5:19
15I Reach For You5:03
16The Second Time Around3:55
Cheaper to Keep Her
— · studio album
Search Spotify Search YouTube Music
Tracklist · 10 tracks · 43:23
1Everything’s Out In the Open3:54
2That’s Just a Woman’s Way4:46
3You Knocked My Heart Out of Line4:01
4Money’s Running Funny6:13
5Nothing But the Blues4:09
6She’s Cheating On Me3:36
7Nothing As Beautiful As You4:13
8Cheaper to Keep Her4:22
9No Refund3:36
10Something Is Going Wrong4:33

Single · 15

Single release groups, by first release date
Year	Title	First release
1964	Johnnie Taylor 1964Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 5:27 1Getting Married Soon2:55 2Oh How I Love You2:32	1 January 1964
1970	Steal Away / Friday NightSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 6:20 ASteal Away3:15 BFriday Night3:05	1970
1970	I Am SomebodySearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 5:54 AI Am Somebody (Part I)2:36 BI Am Somebody (Part II)3:18	1970
1971	I Don't Wanna Lose You / Party LifeSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 7:04 AI Don't Wanna Lose You3:55 BParty Life3:09	1971
1971	Hijackin' Love / Love in the Streets (Ain't Good as the Love at Home)Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 5:56 AHijackin' Love2:53 BLove in the Streets (Ain't Good as the Love at Home)3:03	July 1971
1972	Stop Doggin' MeSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 7:56 AStop Doggin' Me3:58 BStop Doggin' Me3:58	1972
1972	Stop Doggin' Me / Stop Teasin' MeSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 8:26 1Stop Doggin' Me3:58 2Stop Teasin' Me4:28	1972
1972	Standing in for Jody / Shackin' UpSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 6:27 AStanding in for Jody3:42 BShackin' Up2:45	1972
1972	Doing My Own ThingSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 6:03 1Doing My Own Thing (Part I)3:30 2Doing My Own Thing (Part II)2:33	1972
1974	I've Been Born Again / At Night Time (My Pillow Tells a Tale on Me)Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 7:02 AI’ve Been Born Again3:18 BAt Night Time (My Pillow Tells a Tale on Me)3:44	1974
1976	Disco LadySearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 7:38 ADisco Lady4:20 BYou're the Best Girl in the World3:18	January 1976
1982	What About My Love / ReaganomicsSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 2 tracks · 11:14 AWhat About My Love5:42 BReaganomics5:32	1982
1997	Slide OnSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 5 tracks · 23:46 1Slide On (radio mix short)3:41 2Slide On (radio mix)5:00 3Slide On (instrumental mix)5:00 4Slide On (Crazy mix)5:21 5Slide On (album cut mix)4:44	1997
2012	Somebody's Getting The LoveSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 1 track · 3:58 1Somebody's Getting The Love3:58	26 June 2012
2024	Steal Away (Remastered 2024)Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 1 track · 3:31 1Steal Away - Remastered 20243:31	22 August 2024

Album · 21

Album release groups, by first release date
Year	Title	Notes	First release
1969	Rare StampsSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 12 tracks · 33:58 A1Who’s Making Love2:47 A2You Can’t Get Away From It2:48 A3Toe Hold3:09 A4Just the One (I’ve Been Looking for)2:40 A5I Ain’t Particular2:46 A6Take Care of Your Homework2:35 B1I’ve Got to Love Somebody’s Baby2:55 B2Little Blue Bird3:11 B3I Had a Dream2:59 B4Outside Love2:15 B5Somebody’s Sleeping in My Bed2:45 B6If I Had to Do It All Over3:08	Compilation	1969
1977	Disco 9000Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 7 tracks · 28:45 A1I Don't Know What I'd Do Without You3:36 A2Toot Your Flute3:06 A3Just a Happy Song4:44 A4God Is Standing By4:27 B1Disco 90004:32 B2I Love You Woman4:58 B3Right Now3:22	Soundtrack	1977
1989	Live In DallasSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 11 tracks · 56:40 1Who's Makin' Love - Live2:35 2Little Bluebird - Live6:56 3It's Stilled Called The Blues - Live3:23 4Just Because - Live4:43 5Wall To Wall - Live3:59 6Medley: Love Bones, Stop Doggin' Me Around, Take Care Of Your Homework, Hello Sundown, Steal Away - Live8:09 7I Don't Want To Lose Your Love - Live1:13 8Jody's Got Your Girl - Live1:32 9It's September - Live5:37 10Stormy Monday Medley - Live8:54 11I'm Changing - Live9:39	Live	1 January 1989
1990	Little BluebirdSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 12 tracks · 45:16 1Little Bluebird3:14 2Toe Hold3:12 3I’ve Got to Love Somebody’s Baby2:58 4Just the One (I’ve Been Looking for)2:42 5Outside Love2:18 6You Can’t Get Away From It2:51 7I Had a Dream3:02 8Somebody’s Sleeping in My Bed2:48 9I Ain’t Particular2:48 10Steal Away (live)7:58 11Stop Dogging Me (live)5:37 12Jody’s Got Your Girl and Gone (live)5:48	Compilation	1990
1991	Chronicle: The 20 Greatest HitsSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 20 tracks · 1:11:16 1Who’s Makin’ Love2:49 2Take Care of Your Homework2:41 3Testify (I Wonna)4:07 4I Could Never Be President2:19 5Love Bones4:09 6Steal Away3:30 7I Am Somebody, Part I3:25 8Jody’s Got Your Girl and Gone3:02 9I Don’t Wanna Lose You4:04 10Hijackin’ Love3:21 11Standing in for Jody4:02 12Doing My Own Thing, Part I3:46 13Stop Doggin’ Me4:16 14I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)5:09 15Cheaper to Keep Her3:31 16We’re Getting Careless With Our Love4:04 17I’ve Been Born Again3:22 18It’s September3:37 19Try Me Tonight3:23 20Just Keep on Lovin’ Me2:39	Compilation	1 July 1991
1992	Raw Blues / Little BluebirdSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 23 tracks · 1:19:29 1Where There’s Smoke There’s Fire3:07 2Hello Sundown2:51 3Pardon Me Lady2:59 4Where Can a Man Go From Here3:18 5That Bone3:00 6That’s Where It’s At3:33 7Part Time Love3:33 8If I Had It to Do All Over3:07 9You’re Good for Me3:35 10You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down2:41 11You Can’t Win With a Losing Hand2:37 12Little Bluebird3:14 13Toe Hold3:12 14I’ve Got to Love Somebody’s Baby2:58 15Just the One (I’ve Been Looking for)2:42 16Outside Love2:17 17You Can’t Get Away From It2:51 18I Had a Dream3:02 19Somebody’s Sleeping in My Bed2:48 20I Ain’t Particular2:48 21Steal Away (live)7:58 22Stop Dogging Me (live)5:37 23Jody’s Got Your Girl and Gone (live)5:41	Compilation	1992
1992	The Best of Johnnie Taylor on Malaco, Vol. 1Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 14 tracks · 59:40 1Still Crazy for You4:33 2Drown in My Own Tears4:14 3I Found a Love4:39 4Everything’s Out in the Open3:54 5Don’t Make Me Late4:16 6Nothing as Beautiful as You4:14 7This Is Your Night4:25 8Cheaper to Keep Her4:21 9Wall to Wall3:59 10Still Called the Blues3:36 11Something Is Going Wrong4:35 12Just Because4:19 13When She Stops Askin’4:22 14Nothing Like a Lady4:13	Compilation	25 May 1992
1994	The Johnnie Taylor Philosophy Continues / One Step BeyondSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 18 tracks · 1:08:47 1Testify (I Wonna)4:07 2Separation Line3:43 3Love Bones4:09 4Love Is a Hurting Thing2:30 5I Had a Fight With Love3:04 6I Could Never Be President2:20 7It’s Amazing2:55 8Who Can I Turn To4:32 9Games People Play4:02 10It’s Your Thing3:33 11Time After Time7:05 12Party Life3:13 13Will You Love Me Forever3:02 14I Am Somebody (Parts 1 and 2)5:50 15I Don’t Wanna Lose You (Parts 1 and 2)5:28 16Don’t Take My Sunshine3:22 17Jody’s Got Your Girl and Gone3:04 18A Fool Like Me2:48	Compilation	28 July 1994
1995	Johnnie Taylor’s Greatest Hits, Volume 1Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 10 tracks · 34:37 1Who's Making Love2:48 2Just Keep On Lovin' Me2:38 3I've Been Born Again3:19 4Stop Doggin' Me (45 version)4:13 5Take Care Of Your Homework2:38 6Testify (I Wonna)4:03 7Try Me Tonight3:21 8Steal Away3:29 9I Believe In You (You Believe In Me)5:07 10Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone3:01	Compilation	1 January 1995
1996	Rated X-traordinaire: The Best of Johnnie TaylorSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 16 tracks · 1:08:13 1Disco Lady4:28 2Somebody's Gettin' It4:02 3You're the Best in the World3:19 4Running Out of Lies4:52 5Your Love Is Rated X4:12 6Stop Giving People Hard Luck Stories3:51 7I'm Just a Shoulder to Cry On4:44 8Love Is Better in the A.M. (Part 1 and 2)5:08 9Disco 90004:32 10Right Now3:21 11Give Me My Baby3:47 12Play Something Pretty4:06 13(Ooh-Wee) She's Killing Me3:48 14Love Account4:54 15Just a Happy Song4:43 16God Is Standing By4:26	Compilation	1996
1998	Disco 9000Search Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 10 tracks · 41:11 1Disco Lady4:27 2I Got This Thing for Your Love4:10 3Play Something Pretty4:05 4Somebody's Gettin' It4:01 5Your Love Is Rated X4:11 6Disco 90004:31 7(Ooh-Wee) She's Killing Me3:47 8Ever Ready4:27 9Keep on Dancing4:14 10You're the Best Girl in the World3:18	Compilation	1998
2000	Lifetime: a retrospective of soul, blues & gospel 1956-1999Search Spotify Search YouTube Music	Compilation	7 November 2000
2001	Live At The Longhorn BallroomSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 10 tracks · 51:13 1Who's Makin' Love (live)2:39 2Little Bluebird (live)8:10 3Still Called The Blues (live)2:46 4Just Because (live)6:18 5Last Two Dollars (live)6:32 6Ain't That Lovin' You (live)4:01 7Sendin' You A Kiss (live)2:57 8Gotta Love Somebody's Baby (live)10:11 9Good Love (live)5:13 10Disco Lady (live)2:26	Live	24 April 2001
2006	Stax Profiles: Johnnie TaylorSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 14 tracks · 53:19 1I Dreamed That Heaven Was Like This2:43 2Out on a Hill (take 1-alternate)2:43 3Rome (Wasn’t Built in a Day)2:37 4Just the One (I’ve Been Looking for)2:43 5Stop Doggin’ Me (live)6:14 6Toe Hold3:11 7I’ve Been Born Again3:22 8Part Time Love3:34 9Who’s Making Love2:48 10I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water2:59 11Time After Time7:04 12I Am Somebody (Parts 1 and 2)5:50 13Jody’s Got Your Girl and Gone3:02 14Disco Lady4:29	Compilation	25 April 2006
2007	The Very Best Of Johnnie TaylorSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 23 tracks · 1:17:01 1I Had A Dream3:06 2I Got To Love Somebody's Baby2:56 3Somebody's Sleeping In My Bed2:49 4Next Time2:35 5I Ain't Particular2:30 6Who's Making Love2:50 7Take Care Of Your Homework2:39 8Testify (I Wonna)4:08 9I Could Never Be President2:19 10Love Bones3:22 11Steal Away3:30 12I Am Somebody - Pt. 23:27 13Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone3:03 14I Don't Wanna Lose You4:00 15Hijackin' Love3:21 16Standing In For Jody3:49 17Doing My Own Thing (Pt. 1)3:46 18Stop Doggin' Me4:08 19I Believe In You (You Believe In Me)4:34 20Cheaper To Keep Her3:29 21We're Getting Careless With Our Love4:01 22I've Been Born Again3:22 23It's September3:17	Compilation	1 January 2007
2007	Live at the Summit ClubSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 10 tracks · 1:04:05 1Introduction0:40 2Take Care of Your Homework4:55 3Little Bluebird7:11 4Steal Away (version 1)6:21 5I Don’t Wanna Lose You6:28 6Who’s Making Love4:56 7Hello Sundown9:35 8Steal Away (version 2)8:20 9Stop Doggin’ Me6:33 10Jody’s Got Your Girl and Gone9:06	Live	20 February 2007
2010	The Best of Johnnie TaylorSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 16 tracks · 1:07:39 1Still Crazy For You4:32 2Drown In My Own Tears4:10 3I Found A Love4:37 4Everything's Out In The Open3:51 5Don't Make Me Late4:16 6Nothing As Beautiful As You4:13 7This Is Your Night4:25 8Cheaper To Keep Her (Live)4:21 9Wall To Wall3:58 10Still Called The Blues3:33 11Something Is Going Wrong4:35 12Just Because4:19 13When She Stops Asking4:23 14Nothing Like A Lady4:14 15Good Love4:05 16Disco Lady 20004:07	Compilation	28 June 2010
2017	Stax ClassicsSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 12 tracks · 40:40 1Who's Making Love2:46 2Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone3:03 3I Believe In You (You Believe In Me)4:34 4Steal Away3:30 5Somebody's Sleeping In My Bed2:48 6Testify (I Wonna)4:08 7Take Care Of Your Homework2:38 8Cheaper To Keep Her3:28 9I Got To Love Somebody's Baby2:53 10We're Getting Careless With Our Love4:03 11Love Bones3:22 12I Am Somebody (Part II)3:27	Compilation	18 May 2017
2022	Ten Songs for YouSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 10 tracks · 32:24 1Who's Making Love2:47 2Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone2:59 3Part Time Love3:51 4Love Bones4:04 5Testify (I Wonna)4:01 6I'm Not the Same Person3:03 7I Got to Love Somebody's Baby2:56 8I'm Trying2:57 9Just the One I've Been Lookin' For2:40 10Ain't That Loving You (For More Reasons That One)3:06	Compilation	4 April 2022
2024	One Step From the BluesSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 12 tracks · 40:07 1Steal Away3:31 2I Had a Dream3:05 3I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water2:58 4Part Time Love3:33 5Cheaper to Keep Her3:27 6Separation Line3:40 7Doing My Own Thing, Pt.13:46 8Somebody's Sleeping in My Bed2:48 9Thats Where It's At3:32 10Stop Doggin' Me4:12 11Save Your Love for Me2:22 12Woman Across the River3:13	Compilation	25 October 2024
—	Super HitsSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 10 tracks · 44:07 1Disco Lady - Single Version4:27 2Somebody's Gettin' It4:01 3Running Out Of Lies4:52 4Your Love Is Rated X4:11 5I'm Just A Shoulder To Cry On4:42 6Play Something Pretty4:04 7Love Is Better In The A.M. (Part 1 & 2)5:07 8Disco 90004:31 9(Ooh-Wee) She's Killing Me3:47 10God Is Standing By4:25	Compilation	—

Other · 1

Other release groups, by first release date
Cover	Year	Title	Notes	First release
	1989	Somebody's Gettin' ItSearch Spotify Search YouTube Music Tracklist · 10 tracks A1Disco Lady A2Somebody's Gettin' It A3Pick Up The Pieces A4Running Out Of Lies A5Did He Make Love To You B1Your Love Is Rated X B2I'm Just A Shoulder To Cry On B3Love Is Better In The A.M. B4Just A Happy Song B5Right Now	Compilation	1989

Stats & PK

Percentile within all 23,672 published artists.Put Johnnie Taylor head-to-head →

Johnnie Taylor metrics with percentile rank among published artists
Metric	Value	Percentile
Wikipedia language versions	17	76.4th
Spotify monthly listeners	—	no data
Release groups in DB	66	96th
Studio albums	29	98.1th
Awards recorded	2	92.6th
Timeline events	32	97.1th
Recording span (years)	36	75.4th
Genres	6	91th

Awards & honours

Awards and honours, by year
Year	Award	Category	Result
2020	Kansas Music Hall of Fame		lifetime
2020	Kansas Music Hall of Fame		lifetime

Line-up

Band line-up and band memberships with dates
Name	From	To	Role
The Highway Q.C.’s(band)	—	present

Where this record comes from

portrait—Wikimedia Commons · Public domain · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Johnnie_Taylor_at_the_1973_PUSH_Black_Expo.gif
aliases/urls—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/4c1c21bc-56d9-4bed-8b58-360b08e76ffa
discography—musicbrainz · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://musicbrainz.org/artist/4c1c21bc-56d9-4bed-8b58-360b08e76ffa
core—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q968938
genre—wikidata · CC0 · retrieved 11 October 2026
https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q968938
seed-list—wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnnie_Taylor
biography—wikipedia-en · CC BY-SA 4.0 · retrieved 10 October 2026
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnnie_Taylor

Why this artist is in the database

List of disco artists
List of soul musicians

Tier rule: genre canon: soul
Image: en:John H. White (photojournalist) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Wikidata: Q968938 · MusicBrainz: 4c1c21bc-56d9-4bed-8b58-360b08e76ffa

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Timeline

1930s

Born 1934-05-05

1960s

Debut release: Johnnie Taylor 1964

Album: Wanted: One Soul Singer

Album: Who's Making Love

Album: The Johnnie Taylor Philosophy Continues

Album: Raw Blues

1970s

Album: One Step Beyond

Album: Taylored in Silk

Album: Super Taylor

Album: Eargasm

Album: Reflections

Album: Rated Extraordinaire

Album: Ever Ready

Album: She's Killing Me

1980s

Album: A New Day

Album: Just Ain't Good Enough

Album: Best Of The Old And The New

Album: This Is Your Night

Album: Wall To Wall

Album: Lover Boy

Album: In Control

Album: Crazy 'bout You

1990s

Album: I Know It's Wrong but I Just Can't Do Right

Album: Real Love

Album: Good Love

Album: Stop Half-Loving These Women

Album: Taylored to Please

Album: Gotta Get the Groove Back

2000s

Died 2000

Album: Funksoulbrother

Album: There's No Good In Goodbye

2020s

Honoured: Kansas Music Hall of Fame

Biography

Biography

Early years

Columbia Records

Malaco Records

Radio

Death

Grammy Awards

Musical influence

Live albums

Discography & profile

Normalised profile

Discography (66 release groups · 29 studio albums)

Albums · 29

Single · 15

Album · 21

Other · 1

Stats & PK

Awards & honours

Line-up

Where this record comes from

Why this artist is in the database

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Carolyn Franklin

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