 |
Koko TaylorAmerican singer, "Queen of the Blues"
Date of Birth: 28.09.1928
Country:  USA |
Biography of Coco Taylor
American singer, the "Queen of Blues"Coco Taylor, an American singer known as the "Queen of Blues" due to her unique voice, was born on September 28, 1928, in a large family on a farm near Memphis, Tennessee. Born Cora Walton, she earned the nickname "Coco" in her early childhood because of her love for chocolate. At the age of eleven, Coco became an orphan and that's when music entered her life. Traveling through Tennessee and Mississippi, Coco developed a passion for the blues without even realizing it. She had the opportunity to attend performances by music giants such as Bessie Smith, Muddy Waters, and Sonny Boy Williamson.
At eighteen, Coco married truck driver Robert "Pops" Taylor and in 1952, they moved from Memphis to Chicago in search of work. During the day, she worked as a janitor in an elite establishment in North Chicago, where mostly white people lived. And in the evenings, she returned to her home in the south side of the city, where she performed in "black" clubs. One day, legendary Willie Dixon noticed her during one of her performances. He was so amazed by Coco's voice that he exclaimed, "God, I've never heard a girl sing the blues like that before." "He came up and asked which record label I worked with," Coco recalled. "And I didn't even know what the word 'label' meant." Dixon invited Taylor to Chess Records studio, where she recorded her first professional song.
Recording her debut album "Love You Like a Woman" in 1968, Coco Taylor performed at the "Apollo" theater in New York and began her tour across the United States. In 1970, she appeared in the movie "The Blues Is Alive and Well in Chicago" and made her first visit to Europe, performing at the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland. In 1969, after the death of the label's founder, Chess Records' fortunes declined. Coco Taylor had to temporarily halt her concert activities. However, she managed to record several albums on smaller labels. Fortune smiled upon Coco again in 1975 when she met producer Bruce Iglauer, who invited her to the "Alligator" label studio. Her very first album released by "Alligator" was nominated for a Grammy. With her band "Blues Machine," Taylor regained her status as a star, with a very busy schedule of performances. The next eight albums released on the "Alligator" label received seven Grammy nominations, but it wasn't until 1984 that she finally won this prestigious award. In addition, she managed to win 24 Blues Music Awards.
In 1988, Coco and her husband were involved in a terrible car accident. Coco miraculously survived, but Robert experienced clinical death and couldn't be saved by doctors. Despite everything, true fame came to Coco Taylor in the early 90s when she released the super-hit "Wang Dang Doodle." It sold over a million copies and earned Coco the title of "Queen of Blues." She instantly became famous. In 1993, the mayor of Chicago declared Taylor the "City Legend of the Year," and the magazine "Chicago Magazine" named her "Chicagoan of the Year." Later, "Rolling Stone" magazine recognized Coco Taylor as the greatest female blues vocalist of her generation. She was also honored to perform during the inauguration of Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush. On June 3, 2009, Coco Taylor passed away in a hospital in Chicago due to complications from surgery.
