KOKO TAYLOR
Famous American blues musician and Grammy Award winner Koko Taylor had died on 3rd June 2009 in her hometown of Chicago. She was in a hospital for several days and had died after complications from surgery. Her last performed on May 7, 2009 in Memphis,Tenn, at the Blues Music Awards. She is popularly known as “Queen of the Blues”. She was the only singer that had nominated seven times for Grammy awards and won in 1984. Now, the world was shocked by hearing her death.
BIOGRAPHY
Koko Taylors was born in 1935, in Memphis, Tennessee and her birth name was Cora Walton, and she earned the nickname ‘Koko’ for her love of chocolate. She was started singing in the choir at the Baptist church. She was married to truck driver Robert “Pops” Taylor and moved with him to Chicago and the couple was settled on the city’s South Side. Her husband “Pops” went to work in a packing company and Koko cleaned houses. In the leisure time, these couples visited the south and west blues clubs, where they met singers like Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Magic Sam, Little Walter, and Junior Wells and soon Koko was in demand as a guest artist. In 1962 Taylor met songwriter and bass player Willie Dixon, and he produced her first single “Honky Tonky,” He produced several singles and two albums for her including her huge hit single ‘Wang Dang Doodle”. Taylor recorded nine albums for Alligator records and released ‘I Got What It Takes’ in 1975, and received her first Grammy nomination. From 1978 and 2007, she was received seven more Grammy nominations and made numerous guest appearances on various albums and tribute recordings. She was also appeared in the films like “Wild At Heart”, “Mercury Rising” and “Blues Brothers 2000″. She was performed on Late Night With David Letterman, Late Night With Conan O’Brien, CBS-TV’s This Morning, National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, CBS-TV’s Early Edition, and numerous regional television programs. In 1994, she was opened a blues club on Division Street in Chicago, but it was closed in 1999. Her other hits albums are ‘Basic Soul’ in 1972, ‘South Side Lady’ in 1973, ‘I Got What It Takes’ and ‘Southside Baby’ in 1975 ,’The Earthshaker’ in 1978 ‘From the Heart of a Woman’ in 1981, ‘Queen of the Blues’ in 1985, ‘Jump for Joy’ in 1989, ‘Love You Like a Woman’ in 1990 ‘Force of Nature’ in 1993, ‘Royal Blue’ in 2000, ‘Deluxe Edition’ in 2002. In 2008, She was nominated the Grammy Award for “Best Traditional Blues Album” for her album, ‘Old School’.
AWARDS AND HONORS
Koko Taylor had received many awards in her career. She had recieved “Grammy nominations” for seven of her last eight Alligator albums, and she won a “Grammy award” in 1984 for the live multi-artist album” Blues Explosion” on Atlantic Records. In 2004, she was presented with the” National Heritage Fellowship Award” from the National Endowment For The Arts. She holds 25 “Blues Music Awards”. In 1993, Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley honored Taylor with a “Legend Of The Year Award”, and declared “Koko Taylor Day” throughout Chicago. In 1997, she was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame. In 1998, Chicago Magazine named her “Chicagoan Of The Year,” and in 1999, Taylor was received the “Blues Foundation’s Lifetime Achievement Award”. In 2009, Taylor performed in Washington, D.C. at The Kennedy Center Honors honoring Morgan Freeman. There is no other artist to replace Kok taylor in the American blues musician.The world is still missing this musical genius.
