On May 5th, 1934, Memphis Soul/R&B pioneer, gospel innovator, songwriter, producer, doo wop vocalist, disco hit maker, bluesman, DJ, and former pimp/player-Johnnie Taylor (Johnnie Harrison Taylor) aka 'The Philosopher Of Soul'' was born in Crawfordsville, Arkansas. Taylor is most known for hit songs like Who’s Making Love, Jody’s Got Your Girl and Gone, Cheaper To Keep Her, I Believe In You (You Believe In Me), and Disco Lady. He's collaborated with Booker T. & The M.G.s, The Staple Singers, Isaac Hayes/David Porter, Sam Cooke, Carson Whitsett, Don Davis, The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, and Bernard Jenkins. He grew up in West Memphis, AR, the neighboring city of Memphis just across The Mississippi River.
Johnnie sang in several choirs and gospel groups during his childhood. He relocated to Chicago, in his late teens, and joined the famous gospel group The Highway QCs. Sam Cooke and Lou Rawls were both members of the group. Sam left to start SAR Records, while Taylor recorded a few sides with The QCs on Chance Records (late 1950's). Cooke signed Taylor to his label in 1961, and he released his first single Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day (1962). The label folded after Cooke was murdered in 1964, and Johnnie returned to Memphis & signed with Stax Records in 1966. The majority of his hits came while he was on Stax (1968-1974). In 1975 he signed to Columbia Records, and released Disco Lady. In the 80's, he moved to Dallas and was a DJ dubbed 'The Wailer Johnnie Taylor' on KKDA. Johnnie Taylor was 66 years old when he passed away.
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On May 5th, 1942, seminal country musician, Nashville sound superstar, high school basketball phenom, guitarist, singer, songwriter, Grand Ole Opry staple performer, former hairdresser, and spouse to the equally famous George Jones-Tammy Wynette (Virginia Wynette Pugh) aka 'The First Lady Of Country' was born in Tremont, Mississippi. Most people know her for her hit Stand By Your Man (1968), which is one of the most recorded songs in country music. Her lyrics spoke the realities of life as a woman in America (romance, failed relationships, children, employment, and other common social situations). This made her music more universal, which is why so many people who wouldn’t be considered country fans (per say), enjoyed-and even own some of her music.
Tammy's father was a musician that died while she was a baby. Her grandparents raised her, and she played with the instruments her father had left behind. She was a self-taught musician, learning banjo and guitar as a child. She was also very good at basketball. She got married her senior year, studied cosmetology at a beauty college in Tupelo, MS; and eventually became a hairdresser.
Interesting Fact: Her first husband didn’t support her ambitions of becoming a country music star. He told her "dream on baby." Years later she ran into him at an autograph signing, and signed "Dream on baby" on his. Tammy started singing in bars, to provide extra money for her sick child’s medical bills, and performed on TV with Porter Wagoner in 1966. Her popularity soared once she released Stand By Your Man in 1968. She would eventually marry George Jones; and the duo would go on to make many more hits-even after divorcing. Tammy Wynette was 55 when she passed.
Interesting Fact: Her first husband didn’t support her ambitions of becoming a country music star. He told her "dream on baby." Years later she ran into him at an autograph signing, and signed "Dream on baby" on his. Tammy started singing in bars, to provide extra money for her sick child’s medical bills, and performed on TV with Porter Wagoner in 1966. Her popularity soared once she released Stand By Your Man in 1968. She would eventually marry George Jones; and the duo would go on to make many more hits-even after divorcing. Tammy Wynette was 55 when she passed.
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On May 5th, 1972, we lost a seminal bluesman, guitar fingerpicking style innovator, educator, harmonica player, songwriter, gospel vocalist, reverend, banjo player, folk singer, and Piedmont Blues pioneer-Reverend Gary Davis (Gary D. Davis) aka Blind Gary Davis. He’s probably most known for the musicians he taught, and influenced including: Bob Dylan, Steve Katz, Larry Campbell, The Lovin’ Spoonful, The Grateful Dead, Stefan Grossman, Woody Mann, and Wizz Jones. He also released several LPs, starting in the mid 1950's, up to his death in 1972. Davis was the only one of his mother's eight children that lived to his adult years. He lost his vision as an infant, and was raised by his grandmother.
Davis started singing, and playing guitar, when he was 10 years old. He had a peculiar style however. Instead of strumming, he played with only his thumb and index finger-which was the first semblance of fingerpicking. He would sing & play gospel, ragtime, blues, and jazz this way. He moved to Durham, North Carolina in the mid 1920's, and started playing with Bull City Red while mentoring Blind Boy Fuller. They all recorded on ARC (American Record Company) in the mid 1930's, via J.B. Long’s referral. Davis recorded and performed in the Durham area throughout the 30's and 40's, before moving to New York City in the early 1950's. The majority of his recorded work comes from this era. Blind Gary Davis lived on to the age of 76.
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HONORABLE MENTION: On May 5th, 1898, bluesman, singer, guitarist, preacher, violinist, kazoo player, accompanist, songwriter, accordion player, songster (late 19th century term for Black traveling musician)-and pioneer of Country, Ragtime, Delta & Piedmont Blues-Blind Willie McTell (William Samuel Mc Tier) was born in Thomson, GA. The multi-label, multi-instrumentalist recorded under several aliases, including: Blind Sammie, Hot Shot Willie, Blind Willie, Barrellhouse Sammie, and Eddie McTier. Blind Willie recorded and performed from the late 1920's thru the late 1940's, and influenced many 1960's rock and folk musicians. Willie McTell was 61 when he passed.
On May 5th, 1905, the influential and pioneering Black newspaper, that accurately told the story of racism and terrorism Blacks faced in America-and the newspaper known as The World’s Greatest Weekly-The Chicago Defender first appeared on newsstands. The Defender was the creation of Robert S. Abbott, and became a daily newspaper in 1956 (issued daily until 2003). The Defender is largely associated with 'The Great Migration' of Blacks moving from The Jim Crow South, to metropolitan areas of the north. The paper encouraged Black people to tell the truth about their experiences, and relayed information that was important to The Black Community that wasn’t covered by other periodicals.
On May 5th, 1911, we lost seminal recording artist, songwriter, theater performer, musician, and the man dubbed as The World’s Greatest Minstrel Man-James Alan Bland. Bland started playing banjo when he was very young, and by the time he reached 14, he was traveling and performing as a professional musician. Bland penned over 700 songs, and was a member of the original Black Diamonds (a minstrel troupe out of Boston, MA, that toured Europe for 20 years, and published over 50 songs starting in 1875). He did not perform in blackface while in Europe, and was the first major Black composer and recording artist of popular music. He was 55 when he died.
On May 5th, 1937, electronic music pioneer, composer, arranger, and producer of library music (music licensed for use on TV, radio, or similar mediums), and BBC Radiophonic Workshop host-Delia (Anne) Derbyshire was born in Coventry, England, UK. She’s the woman responsible for composing the theme song for the TV show Doctor Who, the only show (at the time) to exclusively use electronic instruments for its theme. Delia was an astute pianist, that had several recording industry doors closed to her due to her gender. She worked for The BBC in the early 1960's, and started experimenting with electronic music devices. She was 64 when she passed away.
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