Hound Dog Taylor

Hound Dog Taylor

born on 12/4/1915 in Natchez, MS, United States

died on 17/12/1975 in Alsip, IL, United States

Hound Dog Taylor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Hound Dog Taylor

Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor[1] (April 12, 1915 - December 17, 1975)[2] was an American Chicago blues guitarist and singer.[3]

Biography

Taylor was born in Natchez, Mississippi in 1915 (although some sources say 1917). He originally played piano, but began playing guitar when he was 20. He moved to Chicago in 1942.

He became a full-time musician around 1957 but remained unknown outside of the Chicago area where he played small clubs in the black neighborhoods and also at the open-air Maxwell Street Market. He was known for his electrified slide guitar playing roughly styled after that of Elmore James, his cheap Japanese Teisco guitars, and his raucous boogie beats. He was also famed among guitar players for having six fingers on his left hand.[4]

After hearing Taylor with his band, the HouseRockers (Brewer Phillips on second guitar and Ted Harvey on drums) in 1970 at Florence's Lounge on Chicago's South Side, Bruce Iglauer - at the time a shipping clerk for Delmark Records - tried to get him signed by his employer.[1] Having no success getting Delmark to sign Taylor, Iglauer formed a small record label with a $2500 inheritance and recorded Taylor's debut album, Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers, on his fledgling Alligator Records in 1971.[1] It was the first release on Alligator, now a major blues label.[2] It was recorded in a studio in just two nights. Iglauer began managing and booking the band, which toured nationwide and performed with Muddy Waters and Big Mama Thornton. The band became particularly popular in the Boston area, where Taylor inspired a young protégé named George Thorogood. A live album Live At Joe's Place documented a Boston appearance from 1972.

Their second release, Natural Boogie, was recorded in late 1973, and led to greater acclaim and touring. In 1975, Taylor and his band toured Australia and New Zealand with Freddie King and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. His third Alligator album, Beware of the Dog, was recorded live in 1974 but was only released after his death.[2] More posthumous releases occurred as well, including Genuine Houserocking Music and Release the Hound, on the Alligator label as well as some bootleg live recordings.

Taylor died of lung cancer in 1975, and was buried in Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.[5][6]

Taylor was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1984.

George Thorogood dedicated "The Sky Is Crying" (song 9) to "the memory of the late great Hound Dog Taylor" on his Live album (EMI America CDP 7 46329 2).

Discography

  • Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers' (1971)(Alligator Records)
  • Natural Boogie (1974)(Alligator Records)
  • Beware of the Dog! (1976)(Alligator Records)
  • Genuine Houserocking Music (1982)(Alligator Records)
  • Hound Dog Taylor - Deluxe Edition (1999)(Alligator Records)
  • 'Release The Hound (2004)(Alligator Records)

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray, p. 174175, Dubai: Carlton Books Limited.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 [Hound Dog Taylor at All Music Guide Biography by Bill Dahl]. Allmusic.com. Retrieved on September 5, 2011.
  3. Du Noyer, Paul (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music, 1st, Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing.
  4. Hound Dog Taylor Everyone Knows the Hound. The Delta Blues. Retrieved on 2010-12-18.
  5. Hound Dog Taylor. Retrieved on 2006-11-22.
  6. Find-A-Grave biography Findagrave.com

External links

  • Alligator Records biography of Taylor
  • A picture of Hound Dog Taylor's left hand

This page was last modified 28.07.2013 10:39:06

This article uses material from the article Hound Dog Taylor from the free encyclopedia Wikipedia and it is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.