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Koko Taylor sometimes spelled KoKo Taylor (born Cora Walton, 28 September 1928) is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 blues
Blues

Blues is a music genre based on the use of the blues chord progressions and the blue notes. Though several blues musical form s exist, the 12-bar blues chord progressions are the most frequently encountered....
 musician, popularly known as the "Queen of the Blues." She is known primarily for her rough and powerful vocals
Human voice

The human voice consists of sound Voice production by a human being using the vocal folds for Speech communication, singing, Laughter, crying, screaming, etc....
 and traditional blues stylings.

in Shelby County
Shelby County, Tennessee

Shelby County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The county is the state's largest in terms of both population and geographic area....
, Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
, Taylor left Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County, Tennessee. Memphis rises above the Mississippi River on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff just south of the mouth of the Wolf River ....
 for Chicago, Illinois
Illinois

The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
 in 1954 with her husband, truck driver Robert "Pops" Taylor. In the late 1950s she began singing in Chicago blues
Chicago blues

The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues and adding electric guitar, amplified bass guitar, Drum kit, piano, and sometimes saxophone, and making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier....
 clubs.






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Koko Taylor sometimes spelled KoKo Taylor (born Cora Walton, 28 September 1928) is an American
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 blues
Blues

Blues is a music genre based on the use of the blues chord progressions and the blue notes. Though several blues musical form s exist, the 12-bar blues chord progressions are the most frequently encountered....
 musician, popularly known as the "Queen of the Blues." She is known primarily for her rough and powerful vocals
Human voice

The human voice consists of sound Voice production by a human being using the vocal folds for Speech communication, singing, Laughter, crying, screaming, etc....
 and traditional blues stylings.

Career

Born in Shelby County
Shelby County, Tennessee

Shelby County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee. The county is the state's largest in terms of both population and geographic area....
, Tennessee
Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States United States. In 1796, it became the sixteenth state to join the United States....
, Taylor left Memphis
Memphis, Tennessee

Memphis is a city in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County, Tennessee. Memphis rises above the Mississippi River on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff just south of the mouth of the Wolf River ....
 for Chicago, Illinois
Illinois

The State of Illinois is a U.S. state of the United States, the 21st to be admitted to the United States. Illinois is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern United States state and the fifth most populous state in the nation....
 in 1954 with her husband, truck driver Robert "Pops" Taylor. In the late 1950s she began singing in Chicago blues
Chicago blues

The Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois by taking the basic acoustic guitar and harmonica-based Delta blues and adding electric guitar, amplified bass guitar, Drum kit, piano, and sometimes saxophone, and making the harmonica louder with a microphone and an instrument amplifier....
 clubs. She was spotted by Willie Dixon
Willie Dixon

William James "Willie" Dixon was a well-known United States blues bassist, singing, songwriter, arranger and record producer. His songs, including "Little Red Rooster", "Hoochie Coochie Man", "Evil ", "Spoonful", "Back Door Man", "I Just Want to Make Love to You", "I Ain't Superstitious", "My Babe", "Wang Dang Doodle", and "Bring It on Home"...
 in 1962, and this led to wider performances and her first recording contract
Recording contract

A recording contract is a legal agreement between a record label and a recording artist , where the artist makes a record for the label to sell and promote....
. In 1965, Taylor was signed by Chess Records
Chess Records

Chess Records was an United States record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
, for which her single
Single (music)

In the record industry, a single is a song usually used from a current or upcoming album to promote the album. Singles are distributed through a number of ways; originally, they were packaged as "single" records with one or two other songs and sold before the release of the album....
 "Wang Dang Doodle" (written by Dixon, and a hit for Howlin' Wolf
Howlin' Wolf

Chester Arthur Burnett , better known as Howlin' Wolf, was an influential blues singer, guitarist and harmonica player.With a booming voice and looming physical presence, Burnett is commonly ranked among the leading performers in electric blues; musician and critic Cub Koda declared, "no one could match [Howlin' Wolf] for the singular...
 five years earlier) became a major hit, reaching number four on the R&B charts in 1966, and selling a million copies. Taylor has recorded
Sound recording and reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical or mechanics inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects....
 many versions of this Dixon-penned song over the past few decades and has added more material, both original and covers
Cover version

In popular music, a cover version, or simply cover, is a new rendition of a previously recorded, commercially released song.In its current use, it can sometimes have a pejorative meaning — implying that the original recording should be regarded as the definitive version, usually in the sense of an "authentic" rendition, and all...
, but has never repeated that initial chart
Record chart

Record chart are a method of ranking music according to popularity during a given period of time. Examples of music charts are the Hit parade, Hot 100 or Top 40....
 success.

National touring in the late 1960s and early 1970s improved her fan
Fan (person)

A fan, aficionado, or supporter is someone who has an intense, occasionally overwhelming liking and enthusiasm for a sporting club, person , group of persons, company, product, work of art, idea, or fashion....
 base, and she became accessible to a wider record-buying public when she signed with Alligator Records
Alligator Records

Alligator Records is a Chicago-based independent record label blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971 in music. Iglauer started the label with his own small savings to record and produce his favorite band Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, whom his employer, Bob Koester of Delmark Records, declined to record....
 in 1975. She has since recorded over a dozen album
Album

An album or record album is a collection of related Sound recording and reproduction or music tracks distributed to the public. The most common way is through commercial distribution, although smaller artists will often distribute directly to the public by selling their albums at live concerts or on their websites....
s for that label
Record label

In the music industry, a record label can be a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of recorded sound and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the Record producer, manufacturing, distribution , marketing and promotion, and enforcement of copyright protec...
, many nominated for Grammy Award
Grammy Award

The Grammy Awards ?or Grammys?are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry....
s, and come to dominate the female blues singer ranks, winning twenty five W. C. Handy Awards (more than any other artist). After her recovery from a near-fatal car crash in 1989, the 1990s found Taylor in films such as Blues Brothers 2000
Blues Brothers 2000

Blues Brothers 2000 is a 1998 in film Musical film/comedy film and sequel to the 1980 in film film The Blues Brothers . Directed by John Landis, the film featured Dan Aykroyd and John Goodman, with Cameo appearance by many musicians....
, and she opened a blues club on Division St. in Chicago in 1994, but it closed in 1999.

Taylor has influenced musicians such as Bonnie Raitt
Bonnie Raitt

Bonnie Lynn Raitt is an American blues singer-songwriter who was born in Burbank, Los Angeles County, California, California. Raitt is best known for her songs "Nick of Time ", "Something to Talk About", "Love Sneaking Up on You", and the ballad "I Can't Make You Love Me." Raitt is also an avid political activist and has received nine Gra...
, Shemekia Copeland
Shemekia Copeland

File:ShemekiaCopeland1996.jpgShemekia Copeland Born in Harlem on April 10, 1979, she is the daughter of blues guitarist and singer Johnny Copeland....
, Janis Joplin
Janis Joplin

Janis Lyn Joplin was an United States singer, songwriter, and music arranger, from Port Arthur, Texas. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company, and later as a solo artist....
, Shannon Curfman
Shannon Curfman

Shannon Marie Curfman is an United States blues-rock guitarist and singer. She came to prominence in 1999, at the age of 14, with the release of her first album, Loud Guitars, Big Suspicions, which she recorded a year earlier....
, and Susan Tedeschi
Susan Tedeschi

Susan Tedeschi is an United States blues and soul music artist, who has risen to fame with multiple Grammy Award nominations, her powerful singing voice, fearless stage presence, and her marriage to Derek Trucks of the Allman Brothers Band....
. She currently performs over 70 concerts a year and resides just south of Chicago in Country Club Hills, Illinois
Country Club Hills, Illinois

Country Club Hills is a city in Cook County, Illinois, Illinois, United States. The population was 16,169 at the 2000 census....
.

In 2008, the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service

The Internal Revenue Service is the Federal government of the United States agency that collects taxes and enforces the tax law. It is an agency within the U.S....
 said that Taylor had to pay $400,000 in back taxes, penalties and interest. Her tax problems concerned 1998, 2000 and 2001; for those years combined, her adjusted gross income was $949,000.

Awards

  • Grammy Award
    Grammy Award

    The Grammy Awards ?or Grammys?are presented annually by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States for outstanding achievements in the music industry....
     for Best Traditional Blues Album
    Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album

    The Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album has been awarded since 1983. From 2001 to 2003 the award recipients included the producers and engineers as well as the artists....
     - 1985
  • Howlin' Wolf Award - 1996
  • Blues Hall of Fame - Inducted 1997
  • Blues Foundation
    Blues Foundation

    The Blues Foundation is an United States Not-for-profit corporation headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee, that is affiliated with more than 135 Blues organizations, and with a membership spanning some twenty countries....
     Lifetime Achievement Award - 1999
  • NEA
    National Endowment for the Arts

    The National Endowment for the Arts is a United States federally funded and donation assisted program that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence....
     National Heritage Fellowship - 2004
  • Blues Music Award (formerly the W. C. Handy Award) - 24 times, including the following categories:
    • Contemporary Blues Female Artist
    • Entertainer of the Year
    • Female Artist
    • Traditional Blues Female Artist
    • Vocalist of the Year
  • At age 76 in 2004, she appeared as a special guest with Taj Mahal
    Taj Mahal (musician)

    Henry Saint Clair Fredericks , who goes by the stage name Taj Mahal, is an internationally recognized blues musician who folds various forms of world music into his offerings....
     on an episode of Arthur
    Arthur (TV series)

    Arthur is a long-running American and Canadian edutainment television series for children's programming, that airs on PBS in the United States; T?l?vision de Radio-Canada, Knowledge and TVOKids in Canada; ABC1 in Australia and BBC One/ CBBC in the UK....
    .
  • At age 80 in 2008, she appeared as a special guest with Umphrey's McGee
    Umphrey's McGee

    Umphrey's McGee is an American progressive rock/jam band originally from South Bend, Indiana, now based in Chicago, Illinois whose music is often referred to as "progressive improvisation."...
     at their New Year's Eve performance at the Auditorium Theater in Chicago, IL.


Discography

  • Love You Like a Woman (Charly Records) - November 30, 1968
  • Koko Taylor (MCA
    MCA Records

    MCA Records was an United States-based record label owned by MCA Inc., which later gave way to the larger MCA Music Entertainment Group , of which MCA Records was still part....
    /Chess
    Chess Records

    Chess Records was an United States record label based in Chicago, Illinois. It specialized in blues, R&B, gospel music, early rock and roll, and occasional jazz releases....
    ) - 1969
  • Basic Soul (Chess) - 1972
  • South Side Lady (Evidence Records) - 1973
  • I Got What It Takes (Alligator
    Alligator Records

    Alligator Records is a Chicago-based independent record label blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971 in music. Iglauer started the label with his own small savings to record and produce his favorite band Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers, whom his employer, Bob Koester of Delmark Records, declined to record....
    ) - 1975
  • Southside Baby (Black & Blue) - 1975
  • The Earthshaker
    The Earthshaker

    The Earthshaker is a blues album by Koko Taylor, it was released in 1978 through Alligator Records....
     (Alligator) - 1978
  • From The Heart Of A Woman
    From The Heart Of A Woman

    From the Heart of a Woman is a blues album by Koko Taylor, released in January 1981 by Alligator Records....
     (Alligator) - 1981
  • Queen of the Blues (Alligator) - 1985
  • An Audience with Koko Taylor (Alligator) - 1987
  • Live from Chicago (Alligator) - 1987
  • Love You Like a Woman (Charly Records) - November 30, 1968
  • Wang Dang Doodle
    Wang Dang Doodle

    "Wang Dang Doodle" is a blues song written by Willie Dixon for Howlin' Wolf at Chess Records in Chicago. Willie Dixon says in his autobiography that of all the songs he wrote for Howlin' Wolf, "Wang Dang Doodle" is the one he hated the most....
     (Huub Records) - 1991
  • Jump for Joy (Alligator) - 1992
  • Force of Nature
    Force of Nature (Koko Taylor Album)

    Force of Nature is a blues album by Koko Taylor, it was released in 1993 by Alligator Records....
     (Alligator) - 1993
  • Royal Blue (Alligator) - 2000
  • Deluxe Edition (Alligator) - 2002
  • Old School (Alligator) - 2007


See also

  • Chicago Blues Festival
    Chicago Blues Festival

    The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event that features four days of performances by top-tier blues musicians, both old favorites and the up-and-coming....


External links

  • , FM radio station WGVE 88.7, Gary, Indiana
    Gary, Indiana

    Gary is the largest city in Lake County, Indiana, Indiana, United States. The city is located in the southeastern portion of the Chicago metropolitan area and is approximately 25 miles from downtown Chicago....
  • , interview by James Plath, 1994