Larry Taylor is a 21st century griot—a man who carries the stories of African America in his bones, in his drums, in his voice. His soulful singing, ferocious rhythm and precision on the bandstand move people mysteriously to rise up and boogie—whether he’s belting out a gutbucket Howlin’ Wolf tune, a Johnnie Taylor (an unrelated Taylor) West Side soul favorite, or one of his own new-old-school tunes. Fellow musicians have been heard to say, “Larry Taylor was here tonight. We played the blues.”
Born in 1955, the oldest in the family of guitarist Eddie Taylor Sr. and singer Vera Taylor, Larry Taylor Hill has survived the tough streets of Chicago’s West Side. He learned the music business from his stepfather Eddie and the drumming trade from Howlin’ Wolf’s drummers who visited their house.
For 30 years, Larry drummed and sang professionally behind blues stars such as Luther Allison, Buddy Guy, Albert Collins, Carey and Lurie Bell, the Holmes Brothers, Otis Clay, Big Walter Horton, John Lee Hooker, Robert Lockwood Jr., Jimmy Rogers, Sunnyland Slim. He has played and sung on several Wolf and Delmark records with other Taylor family members and with his uncles Eddie and Jimmy Burns, with AC Reed and Johnny B Moore. He is featured on Wolf Records, Chicago Best of West and South Side Singers, both Vol. I in 1987 and Vol II in 2005. Larry toured Europe in 1977 with Willie Dixon’s “New Generation of Chicago Blues.” He returned to Europe three decades later, playing the Bleu Note in Dublin, Ireland with Willie Dixon’s son Bobby.
In 2004 Larry Taylor launched a critically acclaimed CD on his own AV label, dedicated to his blues forefathers, called They Were in This House, featuring heavy dudes from the West Side: Willie Davis, Osee Anderson, Mad Hatter, Michael Riley, West Side Wes, and Ronnie G. In the Chicago Blues Festival, he sang in a Taylor family tribute in 2005, and sang with the Harrington brothers in 2007. He has led his band in Chicago’s House of Blues, Buddy Guy’s Legends, Kingston Mines, Bill’s Blues, and in several area park shows. On the road, Larry has appeared in the Charleston WV Blues Brews BBQ 2005, and at the 2006 Wang Dang Doodle Fest in Vicksburg, sponsored by the Mississippi Music Hall of Fame. He made a hit with young fans at the 2007 Master Musicians Fest in Kentucky as he drummed and sang with 92 year old Delta blues guitar man Honeyboy Edwards. For the 2008 Chicago Blues Fest he is assisting festival chair Barry Dolins in presenting a five-hour West Side Revue on Friday afternoon June 6.
Larry Taylor usually fronts a band of drums, bass, guitar, keyboard and/or sax. For shorter shows, he sometimes sings while drumming. Larry occasionally sings and plays in a family act with siblings Eddie Taylor Jr, guitar, Tim Taylor on drums and Demetria Taylor on vocals. Larry is also available to speak about his heritage in educational programs on the role of blues in African-American history and the current state of soul and blues music.
For more information, visit their website: http://www.larrytaylorbluesnsoul.com
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