Soul singer Johnnie Taylor died late Wednesday in Dallas of a massive heart attack; he was sixty-two. Taylor was rushed to Charlton Methodist Hospital, after being stricken with chest pains at his home. He was pronounced dead in the Hospital's ER at 11 p.m.

Born in Crawfordsville, Ark., Johnnie Harrison Taylor's career spanned decades. After doing duty in the Five Echoes, a doo-wop ensemble, in the mid-Fifties, he joined the Soul Stirrers in the latter part of the decade after Sam Cooke vacated the group. In 1961 Cooke had signed Taylor to his SAR label and six years later, after Cooke's death, he was in the fold at the legendary Stax Records. At Stax, Taylor was dubbed the "Philosopher of Soul." His classic scolding of cheating lovers, "Who's Making Love," broke Taylor out with his first No. 1 single, selling two million copies.

As internal strife sent Stax spiraling towards bankruptcy, Taylor jumped ship and headed to Columbia. There he continued to be successful, though fans of his edgy soul were instead offered up a smoother style more informed by ballads. In 1975 he ran up the charts again with "Disco Lady," another platinum single. Tired of being pigeon-holed as a disco artist, Taylor left Columbia in the early Eighties hoping to return to the classic sound he defined at Stax.

Taylor continued to record through the Eighties and Nineties, signing with Malaco in 1984. Taylor recorded with Malaco until the time of his death. His most recent recording was Gotta Get the Groove Back, released last year.

"I really regret that we've lost Johnnie in body," says Deanie Parker, a Stax vet who is currently working on the Stax Museum of American Soul Music project. "But, we'll never lose him in spirit. Johnny was very unique. I don't think he emulated anybody to be what he became. He had a special mellow kind of voice. He was certainly a very soulful performer."

Parker also described Taylor's one-of-a-kind personal style. "In a very cool way he would walk into the Stax studio, most often wearing his hat, which he seldom pulled off. And usually he would have his quart of Stag beer in a brown paper bag beer and he would say, 'What's happening, Pete?' That was his favorite line. That's what he called people with whom he had some sort of relationship. He was indeed a cool dude."

Johnnie Taylor is survived by his wife and four children.

ANDREW DANSBY
(June 3, 2000)