Background
Taylor was born in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1915. He was the son of Robert Taylor and Della Herron. Little is known of his early years. Accounts taken from interviews indicate that his family was extremely poor.
Taylor was born in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1915. He was the son of Robert Taylor and Della Herron. Little is known of his early years. Accounts taken from interviews indicate that his family was extremely poor.
His family could offer little support for his education and music training.
Many of Taylor's early songs document and solidify his feelings about living in the Mississippi Delta.
In 1942, Taylor moved to Chicago, where he performed in nightclubs as a blues guitarist and singer. His unique style of playing at times has been compared with that of urban bluesmen Elmore Jones and Robert Johnson. Many of his early tunes (ca. 1936) were performed in both standard and open tunings. His vocal style was attributed to his liking of the performance styles of the blues performers Blind Lemon, Alonzo ("Lonnie") Johnson, "Lightnin' " Hopkins, and Sonny Boy Williamson (Alex Miller).
Taylor's performance style was very popular. During his stay in Chicago, he performed in almost every club on the South Side. He also made regular appearances in the Maxwell Street district, which at the time had a large Jewish population that supported the performing arts. It was while he was in Chicago that he was given his nickname, reportedly because of his ongoing relationships with women.
From 1951 until his death, Taylor performed throughout the United States at colleges and universities, major clubs, recognized concert facilities such as the Academy of Music (1973) and Avery Fisher Hall (1973 - 1974), and at the Willie Dixon American Folk Blues Festival (1967), and the Ann Arbor Blues Festival (1970). Between 1957 and 1971, Taylor made several 45-rpm recordings for small, Chicago-based labels. The smallness of the companies and poor distribution brought him very little income. In 1971, Taylor recorded on the Alligator label. His first effort, Beware of the Dog, which sold fifteen thousand copies, included such popular tunes as "Give Me Back My Wig, " "Let's Get Funky, " "Dust My Brown, " "Comin' Around the Mountain, " and "Freddie's Blues. " He also broadcast live on WOPA radio for the "Big Bill Hill Show. "
Taylor died in Chicago.