Joanne Taylor

Background

Taylor grew up in Wednesbury in the Black Country, England, and was inspired in her early teens to play the blues after hearing Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert Collins and Jimi Hendrix.

Career

The British music publication, Blues Matters!, called Taylor "the new face of the blues". Dave Stewart heard Taylor play, and in 2002 invited her to join his supergroup, Doctorate.U.P., on tour in Europe. In May 2009, Taylor released her debut album, White Sugar, on Ruf Records.

Taylor"s second release was 2010"s Diamonds in the Dirt, also on Ruf Records.

Both her albums peaked at number eight in the United States Billboard Top Blues Albums chart. On 4 June 2012, Taylor played lead guitar in Annie Lennox"s band at the Diamond Jubilee Concert in London.

Taylor played an extended solo during the performance in front of Buckingham Palace, attended by approximately 12,000 people (not counting the many thousands lining The Mall). Just before her solo spot, Taylor"s fuzz phase pedal malfunctioned, leaving a much cleaner guitar sound than usual.

This apparent misfortune was ameliorated, however, when she was informed that Stevie Wonder had loved her "clean, bluesy, understated tone".

Taylor"s fourth studio album, The Dirty Truth, was recorded in Memphis, Tennessee with producer Jim Gaines, and was released on 22 September 2014. Taylor resides between Detroit, Michigan and Birmingham, England.

Achievements

• In 2010, she won Best Female Vocalist at the British Blues Awards. She won the same award at the 2011 British Blues Awards, plus the Songwriter of the Year award for "Same As lieutenant Never Was" from Diamonds in the Dirt.