5 Blues Musicians Similar to Koko Taylor
Check out this list of 5 incredible blues musicians who have been influenced by the legendary Koko Taylor. From Muddy Waters to Janis Joplin, these artists have kept the blues alive and well.
Koko Taylor
Born in Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1928, Koko Taylor was a legendary blues singer credited as a pioneer of Chicago blues. She began her career in the early 1950s and recorded her first hit single, “Wang Dang Doodle”, in 1960. Taylor continued to enjoy success throughout her career and was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1983. She died in 2009, but her music continues to influence generations of blues fans. Here are five blues musicians who are similar to Koko Taylor.
Koko Taylor’s early life
Taylor was born Cora Walton on a farm near Memphis, Tennessee. By the age of six, she was singing in church. When she was thirteen, her family moved to Chicago in search of a better life. Taylor began working in clubs on the South Side, where she found herself influenced by Muddy Waters and other blues musicians. She married Robert “Pops” Taylor in 1952 and the couple had two daughters. Koko Taylor continued to perform throughout the 1960s and 1970s, playing at prestigious venues like the Newport Jazz Festival and Carnegie Hall.
Koko Taylor’s musical career
Koko Taylor (born Cora Walton; September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) was an American blues singer. She is commonly known as the “Queen of the Blues”. She began her career in the mid-1950s, singing with groups in and around Chicago. In 1962, she signed with Chess Records and released her debut album, I Got What It Takes. Her recording of “Wang Dang Doodle” helped her gain wider attention. She continued to release successful albums for Chess until the early 1970s.
Taylor’s career was revitalized in the 1980s, when she signed with Alligator Records and released several successful albums. She toured internationally and received several awards throughout her career, including the Grammy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2007.
Taylor was born Cora Walton on September 28, 1928, in Clarksdale, Mississippi. She married Robert “Pops” Taylor in 1948; they had one son together before they divorced in 1953. She moved to Chicago in 1954 and began her musical career that same year.
Muddy Waters
Koko Taylor was an American blues singer who was known for her powerful vocals. She was born Cora Walton in Shelby County, Tennessee, and began her career in the early 1950s. Koko was influenced by many blues greats, but she is often compared to Muddy Waters.
Muddy Waters’ early life
Muddy Waters was born McKinley Morganfield on April 4, 1913, on Stovall Plantation near Clarksdale, Mississippi. He was one of five children born to Ollie Morganfield (a sharecropper and an amateur musician) and Berta Brooks. Waters referred to his mother as “Dirty Rachel.” Raised on the plantation by his maternal grandmother Della Grant, he began playing with other children at Stovall’s Mill Pond. By the age of 17, he was playing regularly with Joe McCoy’s band, the Heisman Shuffle Boogie Boys.
Muddy Waters’ musical career
Muddy Waters was an American blues musician who is often considered the “father of modern Chicago blues”. He popularized the style of music known as Chess Records blues, which was developed by Chess Records in the 1950s. Waters’s style of playing was unique and influential, involving a combination of slide guitar and electric guitar techniques. He is also credited with helping to shape the sound of rock and roll music.
Waters began his musical career in the early 1920s, playing country blues in the Mississippi Delta region. He moved to Chicago in the 1930s, where he began to develop his own style of music. In 1941, he recorded his first single, “Country Blues”, which became a hit. He went on to record several more hits over the next few years, including “I Can’t Be Satisfied” and “Hoochie Coochie Man”.
In 1955, Waters recorded “Mannish Boy”, which became one of his signature songs. This song helped to establish him as a major force in the world of blues music. In the 1960s, Waters continued to produce hits, such as “I’m Your Hoochie Coochie Man” and “Got My Mojo Working”. He also collaborated with other artists, such as The Rolling Stones and The Beatles.
Waters’s career spanned over five decades and he influenced many other musicians. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987 and received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1994. He died in 1983 at the age of 70.
Howlin’ Wolf
Though not as famous as some other Chicago blues musicians, Howlin’ Wolf is considered by many to be one of the best blues singers of all time. His deep, gravelly voice and ability to connect with his audience made him a legend in the blues world.
Howlin’ Wolf’s early life
Howlin’ Wolf was born Chester Arthur Burnett on June 10, 1910, inWhite Station, Mississippi. He was the son of sharecroppers and grew up working on plantations. When he was a teenager, he moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he worked as a musician and a DJ. In the early 1950s, he began recording for Sam Phillips’ Sun Records. His first hit was “Moanin’ at Midnight,” which reached number one on the Billboard R&B chart in 1951.
In 1953, he moved to Chicago and began recording for Chess Records. Some of his most popular songs include “Smokestack Lightning,” “I Ain’t Superstitious,” and “Spoonful.” He continued to record and perform until his death from cancer on January 10, 1976.
Howlin’ Wolf’s musical career
Howlin’ Wolf’s musical career began in the early 1950s when he started performing with the legendary blues musician Willie Johnson. He quickly gained a reputation as a powerful singer and talented guitarist, and soon began recording his own songs. His first album, “Moanin’ at Midnight”, was released in 1956 and featured some of his best-known songs, including “Smokestack Lightning” and “How Many More Years”.
Over the next few years, Howlin’ Wolf released several more albums, including “The Real Folk Blues” (1962) and “Howlin’ Wolf” (1965), which cemented his reputation as one of the greatest blues musicians of all time. He continued to tour and perform until his death in 1976.
Willie Dixon
Willie Dixon was an American blues musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with Chess Records in the 1950s and 1960s. Dixon’s songs have been recorded by a wide variety of artists, including Koko Taylor, Muddy Waters, and Led Zeppelin.
Willie Dixon’s early life
Willie Dixon was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, on July 1, 1915. Dixon’s mother died when he was a small child, and he was raised by his father and stepmother. As a youngster, Dixon became interested in music after hearing records by Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith. He also began playing the piano and singing in gospel groups. In 1931, Dixon moved to Chicago with his father.
Willie Dixon’s musical career
Born and raised in Vicksburg, Mississippi, Willie Dixon was exposed to a variety of music while still a child. He began playing the harmonica at age seven, and went on to learn the piano, guitar, upright bass and trombone. He eventually settled on the bass as his main instrument. In 1936, Dixon moved to Chicago, where he began his musical career playing with blues greats like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf.
Dixon quickly made a name for himself as a gifted songwriter, composer and arranger. He wrote or co-wrote some of the most popular and enduring blues songs of all time, including “Hoochie Coochie Man,” “I Can’t Quit You Baby” and “Little Red Rooster.” He also penned such classics as “Bring It On Home,” “Spoonful” and “Backdoor Man.” In all, Dixon wrote or co-wrote more than 500 songs that have been recorded by over 600 artists.
While best known for his work in the blues genre, Dixon also dabbled in gospel, jazz and pop music. He produced albums for artists as diverse as Otis Redding, Led Zeppelin and the Grateful Dead. His own recordings earned him seven Grammy Award nominations during his lifetime. Dixon was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980. He died in 1992 at the age of 76.
John Lee Hooker
It would be difficult to overestimate the importance of John Lee Hooker in the development of modern blues. The lifelong resident of Detroit was a key link between the post-World War II blues boom and the earlier generation of country bluesmen like Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf.
John Lee Hooker’s early life
John Lee Hooker was born in Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1917. He was the son of a sharecropper and grew up working on plantations in the Mississippi Delta. In his teens, he moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he worked as a janitor and sang in the streets for money. He later moved to Detroit, Michigan, where he worked on an assembly line at an automobile factory. In the early 1940s, he began playing guitar and singing in local clubs. He developed his own style of music, which blended elements of blues, boogie-woogie, and rhythm and blues. His first hit record, “Boogie Chillen,” was released in 1948.
John Lee Hooker’s musical career
John Lee Hooker (August 22, 1917 – June 21, 2001) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Hooker’s distinctive guitar style featured his use of open tunings and a deep, trance-like groove that often incorporated elements of Chicago blues and the Mississippi Delta. He developed his own driving-rhythm boogie style, common to many of his recordings. Though similar to the early work of Muddy Waters, Hooker was unique in his incorporation of East Coast blues. He played with relaxed intensity that made his instrument sing.
Hooker’s recordings were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000 and Rolling Stone ranked him number 35 among “the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” in 2003. John Lee Hooker was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1981, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1991, and the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2017.
