Koko Taylor (born Cora Ann Walton, September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) was an American singer known for her music styles, which included Chicago blues, electric blues, rhythm and blues, and soul blues. She was often called "The Queen of the Blues" because of her strong and powerful singing voice. During her career, she was nominated for 11 Grammy Awards. She won one in 1985 for Best Traditional Blues Album for her work on the album Blues Explosion.
Life and career
Taylor was born on a farm near Memphis, Tennessee, and was the daughter of a sharecropper. In 1952, she moved to Chicago with her husband, Robert "Pops" Taylor, who worked as a truck driver. In the late 1950s, she began singing in blues clubs in Chicago. In 1962, she was noticed by Willie Dixon, which helped her get more chances to perform and record music. In 1963, she released her first single on USA Records, and in 1964, she recorded a song for a Chicago blues collection on Spivey Records called Chicago Blues. In 1964, Dixon introduced Taylor to Checker Records, a smaller company under Chess Records, where she recorded "Wang Dang Doodle," a song written by Dixon and previously recorded by Howlin' Wolf. The record became popular, reaching number four on the R&B chart and number 58 on the pop chart in 1966, and sold over a million copies. She recorded the song many times, including a live version at the 1967 American Folk Blues Festival with musicians Little Walter and Hound Dog Taylor. Her later recordings, including original songs and covers, did not reach the same level of success on the charts.
Taylor became more well-known after touring in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1975, she signed a recording contract with Alligator Records, and she released nine albums for the label. Eight of these albums were nominated for Grammy awards, and she became one of the most respected female blues singers, winning twenty-nine W. C. Handy/Blues Music Awards.
In 1989, she survived a serious car accident. In the 1990s, she appeared in the films Blues Brothers 2000 and Wild at Heart. In 1994, she opened a blues club on Division Street in Chicago, and the club later moved to Wabash Avenue in Chicago's South Loop in 2000 (the club later closed).
In 2003, she performed as a guest with Taj Mahal on an episode of the television series Arthur. In 2009, she performed with Umphrey's McGee at the band's New Year's Eve concert at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago.
Taylor influenced many musicians, including Bonnie Raitt, Shemekia Copeland, Janis Joplin, Shannon Curfman, and Susan Tedeschi.
In her later years, she performed more than 70 concerts each year and lived in Country Club Hills, Illinois, just south of Chicago.
Her final performance was at the Blues Music Awards on May 7, 2009. She had surgery for gastrointestinal bleeding on May 19 and passed away on June 3, 2009. She was survived by her daughter, two grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.
Legacy
In 2023, Taylor's 1960s performance of "Wang Dang Doodle" was included in the United States National Recording Registry. A long NPR radio story titled "The Sounds Of America: 'Wang Dang Doodle'" featuring singer Bonnie Raitt, actor Dan Aykroyd, and artist Shemekia Copeland was broadcast in May 2023. A Blues Music Award is given in the category called "Koko Taylor Award (Traditional Blues Female)."
Awards
- Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album, 1985
- Howlin' Wolf Award, 1996
- Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1997
- Blues Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, 1999
- NEA National Heritage Fellowship, 2004
- Blues Music Award (formerly the W. C. Handy Award): received 32 nominations and won 29 awards in these categories:
- Entertainer of the Year (1985)
- Female Artist (1981, 1995)
- Song of the Year (2008)
- Traditional Blues Album (2008)
- Traditional Blues Female Artist (1992, 1993, 1999–2005, 2008, 2009)
- Vocalist of the Year (1985)
- 7th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Blues Album, 2008
Discography
- "Love You Like a Woman," November 30, 1968 (Charly Records)
- Koko Taylor, 1969 (MCA / Chess Records)
- Basic Soul, 1972 (Chess)
- South Side Lady, 1973 (Black & Blue Records)
- I Got What It Takes, 1975 (Alligator Records)
- Southside Baby, 1975 (Black & Blue)
- The Earthshaker, 1978 (Alligator)
- From the Heart of a Woman, 1981 (Alligator)
- Queen of the Blues, 1985 (Alligator)
- Live from Chicago: An Audience with the Queen, 1987 (Alligator)
- Jump for Joy, 1990 (Alligator)
- Wang Dang Doodle, 1991 (Huub Records)
- Force of Nature, 1993 (Alligator)
- Royal Blue, 2000 (Alligator)
- Old School, 2007 (Alligator)