Larry Taylor Blues and Soul Band
WHO LARRY IS: Larry Taylor is a 21st century griot—a blues band leader who carries the stories of African America in his bones, in his drums, in his voice. His soulful singing, ferocious rhythm and precision on the bandstand move people mysteriously to rise up and boogie—whether he’s belting out a gutbucket Howlin’ Wolf tune, James Brown funk, or one of his own blues songs. Fellow musicians say, “Larry Taylor was here tonight. We played the blues.”
WHERE HE’S FROM: Born in 1955, the oldest in the family of guitarist Eddie Taylor Sr. and singer Vera Taylor, Larry Taylor Hill has survived the tough streets of Chicago’s West Side. He learned the music business from his stepfather Eddie and the drumming trade from Howlin’ Wolf’s drummers who visited their house.
LEARNING FROM THE BEST: For 30 years, Larry drummed and sang professionally behind blues and soul stars such as Luther Allison, Albert Collins, Carey and Lurie Bell, the Holmes Brothers, Otis Clay, Big Walter Horton, John Lee Hooker, Robert Lockwood Jr., Jimmy Rogers, Sunnyland Slim. He has played and sung on several Wolf and Delmark records with other Taylor family members and with his uncles Eddie and Jimmy Burns, with AC Reed and Johnny B Moore. He is featured on Wolf Records, Chicago Best of West and South Side Singers, both Vol. I in 1987 and Vol II in 2005. Larry toured Europe in 1977 with Willie Dixon’s “New Generation of Chicago Blues.” He returned to Europe three decades later, playing the Bleu Note in Dublin, Ireland with Willie Dixon’s son Bobby.
SOUL AND BLUES MASTER: In 2004 Larry Taylor launched a critically acclaimed CD on his own AV label, dedicated to his blues forefathers, called They Were in This House, featuring heavy dudes from the West Side: Willie Davis, Osee Anderson, Mad Hatter, Michael Riley, West Side Wes, and Ronnie G. In the Chicago Blues Festival, he sang in a Taylor family tribute in 2005, and sang with the Harrington brothers in 2007. He has led his band in Chicago’s House of Blues, Buddy Guy’s Legends, Kingston Mines, Bill’s Blues, and in several area park shows. On the road, Larry has appeared in the Charleston WV Blues Brews BBQ 2005, and at the 2006 Wang Dang Doodle Fest in Vicksburg, sponsored by the Mississippi Music Hall of Fame. He made
a hit with young fans at the 2007 Master Musicians Fest in Kentucky as he drummed and sang with 92 year old Delta blues guitar man Honeyboy Edwards. For the 2008 Chicago Blues Fest he is assisted festival chair Barry Dolins in presenting a three act West Side Revue at the Crossroads Stage.
ABOUT LARRY's SHOW: Larry Taylor usually fronts a band of drums, bass, guitar, keyboard and/or sax. For shorter shows, he sometimes sings while drumming. Larry occasionally sings and plays in a family act with siblings Eddie Taylor Jr, guitar, Tim Taylor on drums and Demetria Taylor on vocals. Larry is also available to speak about his heritage 
in educational programs on the role of blues in African-American history and the current state of soul and blues music.
DISCOGRAPHY: Larry Taylor: They Were in This House, 2004, AV Records (all vocals; drums) Delmark: 50 Years of Jazz and Blues, Delmark Records, 2003 Chicago Best of West and South Side Singers Vol. 2, Wolf Records 2004, 3 vocals; Singers Vol. 1, Wolf Records LP 1987, vocals Eddie Taylor Jr. Wolf Records albums Worried About My Baby, 2003, 1 vocal and drums; Lookin’ for Trouble, 2001, drums and 1 vocal; Mind Games, 2006, drums. Vera Taylor, You Better Be Careful, Wolf Records 2000, drums Eddie Burns, Snake Eyes, Delmark Records 2002, drums Jimmy Burns, Back to the Delta, Delmark Records 2003, drums Johnny B. Moore, Born in Clarksdale Mississippi, Wolf Records 2002, drums Eddie Taylor Sr and Vera Taylor, I Found Out, Wolf Records LP 1983, drums A.C. Reed, Ice Cube Records, President Plays the Saxophone, drums.
LARRY HAS PLAYED WITH: Killer Ray Allison Osee Anderson Atomic Soul Blues Band (Vernon & Joe Harrington) Billy Boy Arnold Joe B. Carey Bell Lurrie Bell Billy Branch John Brim Mel Brown Nora Jean Wallace Bruso “Jewtown Eddie” Burks Eddie Burns Jimmy Burns Willie Burns Katharine Carroll Johnny Christian James Cotton Lester “Mad Dog” Davenport “Maxwell St. Jimmy” Davis Katherine Davis Willie Davis Jimmy Dawkins Detroit Junior Freddie Dixon Willie Dixon Lefty Dizz Johnny Dollar Little Arthur Duncan Dietra Farr Sammy Fender Steve Freund Ashward Gates Harmonica Hinds Big Walter Horton Willie James Shirley Johnson Syl Johnson Floyd Jones Vance Kelly Willie Kent Mary Lane Sammy Lawhorn Johnny Laws Bonnie Lee Lovie Lee Hip Linkchain David Lindsey Johnny Littlejohn Abb Locke Grana Louise Little Howlin Wolf Pierre Lacocque & Misssippi Heat Robert Junior Lockwood Lucky Lopez Charlie Love Willie James Lyons Cash McCall Johnny B. Moore Ben Murphy JoJo Murray Pinetop Perkins John Primer John “Yank” Rachell Piano C. Red A.C. Reed & Sparkplugs Jimmie Lee Robinson Chick Rogers Jimmy Rogers Pat Rushing Big Time Sarah Scotty and the Oasis Patricia Scott Walter Scott Son Seals Eddie Shaw Mack Simmons Sunnyland Slim Byther Smith Big Smokey Smothers Little Smokey Smothers Nolan Strutt Hubert Sumlin Super Chikan Tail Dragger Eddie Taylor Sr. Eddie Taylor Jr. Vera Taylor Maurice John Vaughn Jimmy Walker Joe Louis Walker Robert Bilbo Walker Carl Weathersby Junior Wells Mike Wheeler Artie “Blues Boy” White Lavelle White J.W. Williams & Chi Town Hustlers Zora Young
