Shooby Taylor American jazz performer Date of Birth: 19.09.1929 Country: USA

1. Biography of Scat Singer Shubi Taylor
2. The Human Horn
3. Angel Sound Studios and Online Presence
4. Later Years and Legacy

Biography of Scat Singer Shubi Taylor

Shubi Taylor was an American jazz vocalist who gained fame for his unique scat singing style. Born on September 19, 1929, in Indiana Township, Pennsylvania, Taylor and his family later moved to Harlem, where he spent most of his life. He worked at the New York City Post Office for 21 years before dedicating himself to jazz singing for several decades.

The Human Horn

Although Taylor had a remarkable baritone voice, he became renowned for his scat singing. He developed his own distinct style, different from other artists, and was often referred to as "The Human Horn." Taylor recorded numerous well-known jazz compositions, including songs for vocal jazz groups such as the Ink Spots and Harmonicats, as well as for singer Cristy Lane.

Angel Sound Studios and Online Presence

Taylor's fame was largely due to the 14 tracks he recorded in the early 1980s at Angel Sound Studios in Manhattan, which no longer exists. These recordings initially spread on cassette tapes and were later uploaded to Taylor's official website with the advent of the internet. Recently, a video recording of Taylor's performance at the Apollo Theater has surfaced, marking the only known footage of his live performance. Unfortunately, Taylor was booed off the stage shortly after starting his performance.

Later Years and Legacy

In 1992, Shubi Taylor moved to a nursing home in Newark, New Jersey. Two years later, he suffered a stroke, which prevented him from continuing his music career. Taylor stopped recording and performing altogether. However, in the spring of 2002, his old recordings caught the attention of producer Rick Goetz, and on August 28, 2002, Taylor gave his first and only radio interview on non-commercial station WFMU.

Shubi Taylor passed away on June 4, 2003, at the age of 74. There is a possibility that his recordings will be released on an official CD. His name was mentioned in the song "Walk & Chew Gum" by the band Optiganally Yours, in the scat-style last line of the verse. The Adam and Joe Show, a British television program from the 90s, used the first four seconds of Taylor's rendition of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" as the intro to its main theme.