Koko Taylor

Home
Account Services
Research Tools
Catalog
Databases
Events
Library Branches
Good Reading
About the Library
Site Index

Koko Taylor, a critically acclaimed American blues singer and song writer also known as “Queen of the Blues,” was born Cora Walton on September 28, 1928, to a sharecropping family in Shelby County, Tennessee. She received the nickname Koko for her love of chocolate.

Growing up, Taylor was inspired by blues music she heard on the Memphis radio station WDIA, especially the artists Muddy Waters and Bessie Smith. In 1951 she and her future husband, Robert “Pops” Taylor, moved to Chicago. Taylor frequented the city’s blues clubs, earning a reputation as a talented guest singer. In 1962, after seeing her perform, arranger and composer Willie Dixon lined up a Chess Records recording contract for her. Taylor recorded two albums with Chess records and a hit single, “Wang Dang Doodle,” written by Willie Dixon (1965).

In 1975, Koko Taylor signed with Alligator Records, releasing the Grammy-nominated I Got What It Takes. Seven of her nine albums with Alligator Records received Grammy nominations. In 1985, she won a Grammy for her appearance on the Atlantic Records album Blues Explosion. Taylor was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1997, and was awarded the Blues Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. On December 6, 2008, Taylor performed at the Kennedy Center Honors.

During her illustrious career, Taylor performed with such music legends as Howlin’ Wolf, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Muddy Waters, Junior Wells, and Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. Ms. Taylor died on June 3, 2009, at the age of 80.

Web Sites

Catalog

Databases