Johnnie Taylor: Live at the Summit Club

[John L]

Holy shit! How could this one have remained in the vaults at Fantasy all of these years? This is the best present that Concord has given us to date. JT live in 1972. I used to love hearing JT in concert, but I never had the opportunity to hear ANYTHING like this. I haven't seen the credits yet, but the band kicks some serious ass, and JT is...words fail me.

Put this one immediately in the all-time classics pile. This is JT's answer to JB's Live at the Apollo and Sam's Live at the Harlem Club.

Edited March 16, 2007 by John L

[Jim Alfredson]

I love me some Johnnie Taylor. Thanks for the heads-up, I'll be picking this one up for sure!

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Wow! Cheap too. Went straight to CDU and ordered it.

Thanks!

MG

[John L]

You guys won't be sorry.

[zen archer]

just picked this up and WOW, can't believe this went unreleased all these years !

[king ubu]

Is this pianist Johnny "Manhattan" Taylor? I have him on that fantastic 1980 LP by ZA saxophonist Joe Malinga... never met his name elsewhere before...

[kh1958]

Is this pianist Johnny "Manhattan" Taylor? I have him on that fantastic 1980 LP by ZA saxophonist Joe Malinga... never met his name elsewhere before...

Johnny Taylor is a rhythm and blues vocalist.

[Bluesman]

Is this pianist Johnny "Manhattan" Taylor? I have him on that fantastic 1980 LP by ZA saxophonist Joe Malinga... never met his name elsewhere before...

This is Johnnie Taylor the soul singer.

[Bluesman]

I think this was recorded as part of Wattstax, and some of it appears in the film.

[king ubu]

Thanks for clarifying - new name to me, will take a mental note and check it out if I have a chance!

[danasgoodstuff]

Not to be confused with Little Johnny taylor...which, of course, they often are.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Not to be confused with Little Johnny taylor...which, of course, they often are.

Indeed - Johnnie Taylor is really very, very good (but I haven't received this album yet). Little Johnny Taylor is incredible.

MG

[JSngry]

For quite a while, Johnnie Taylor actually included Little Johnnie Taylor songs in his live show and presented them as his own. His logic was reportedly, "If the motherfucker's gonna use my name, I'm gonna use his songs".

I know quite a few guys who did road work with JT (got called for the gig myself, but it was a week after our first child was born, and the logistics - especially the money vs. time ratio - just did not work out), and to call him a "colorful character" would be putting it mildly.

Quite mildly...

[DukeCity]

On my "save for later" list on emusic!

[zen archer]

Yesterday i also saw The Queen Alone by Carla Thomas , remastered with bonus cut's.

Looks like Concord are doing some much needed reissuing of the STAX catalog.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Maybe they'll find an unissued Mar-Keys album!

MG

[John L]

For quite a while, Johnnie Taylor actually included Little Johnnie Taylor songs in his live show and presented them as his own. His logic was reportedly, "If the motherfucker's gonna use my name, I'm gonna use his songs".

I know quite a few guys who did road work with JT (got called for the gig myself, but it was a week after our first child was born, and the logistics - especially the money vs. time ratio - just did not work out), and to call him a "colorful character" would be putting it mildly.

Quite mildly...

Yea, I've heard some stories myself.

One of the reasons that I never got to experience a live show like the one recorded here (other than the exceptional band) is that Johnnie Taylor in the 1980s often used to get seriously loaded before shows. At one show I attended, he could barely stand up. It took a lot of nerve too, as he was leading a soul revue that included Tyrone Davis, Clarence Carter, Latimore, and Denise LaSalle. A lot of people just walked out on JT.

But that voice...

With Little Johnny Taylor, it was really an issue of only one song, but a really big song. Little Johnny Taylor had a #1 smash with Part Time Love in the early 60s at a time when JT had yet to really dent the charts. When JT went on tour, people would get mixed up and call out "Part Time Love." Very smartly, JT decided to join 'em rather than fight 'em. He began featuring Part Time Love in his shows, and even on the posters for the shows. JT's version of Part Time Love is on his "Raw Blues" Stax LP.

Ironically, JT went on to incredible success on the R&B charts for a whole decade, while Little Johnny Taylor drfited into obscurity (although he struck one more time with "Everybody Knows About My Good Thing."). I heard little Johnny Taylor in an almost empty Oakland club in the mid-1990s, and the pipes were all still there. It was riviting, a little like hearing Little Willie John back from the dead singing the down home blues.

Edited March 25, 2007 by John L

[JSngry]

For quite a while, Johnnie Taylor actually included Little Johnnie Taylor songs in his live show and presented them as his own. His logic was reportedly, "If the motherfucker's gonna use my name, I'm gonna use his songs".

I know quite a few guys who did road work with JT (got called for the gig myself, but it was a week after our first child was born, and the logistics - especially the money vs. time ratio - just did not work out), and to call him a "colorful character" would be putting it mildly.

Quite mildly...

Yea, I've heard some stories myself.

One of the reasons that I never got to experience a live show like the one recorded here (other than the exceptional band) is that Johnnie Taylor in the 1980s often used to get seriously loaded before shows. At one show I attended, he could barely stand up. It took a lot of nerve too, as he was leading a soul revue that included Tyrone Davis, Clarence Carter, Latimore, and Denise LaSalle. A lot of people just walked out on JT.

But that voice...

Yeah, JT really fell in love with the pipe, up until he died. He proclaimed his "salvation" towards the end, but...

The gig when I was offered it was mostly weekend hit-and-runs. You got paid $125 cash for each show, and you paid all expenses, including hotel & food. No per diem, not even a token. Cats would do a St. Louis/Chicago/Memphis hit & sleep on the bus and bring canned goods from home just to come home with something.

And that bus...hardly a trip went by that it didn't break down, somtimes minor, sometimes major. It was not uncommon to be scheduled to return home on Sunday night & not get home until Tuesday morning. And while you were stranded, you were all the way on your own for room & food. JT actually bragged that he'd rather pay the IRS than give the money to his band.

I actually accepted the gig when first called. Hell, I knew it was brutal, but it was JOHNNIE TAYLOR. But then LTB reminded me of the horror stories we'd both heard and asked me what we were going to do with our son when the bus broke down & I didn't get home on time, and reality struck. I called the road manager back and explained that I had spoken prematurely, that the offer was enticing, that JT was a great artist and that I'd love to make the gig, but that this was just not a good time. He kinda sniffed and said, "Oh, I see...you're a FAMILY MAN...cool, I can respect that..." CLICK.

JT's gig was notorious, and not all Blues/R&B gigs at that level of exploitation. BB King's band actually has health insurance & a 401K plan in place. But the music is "rough" like it is for a good reason. For the most part, these men and women were/are tough people who came up tough, and their business is quite, shall we say, "old school". Nothing but love for all of the music and most of the people, but "fans" should know that as "glamorous" as it all seems, the reality is usually anything but.

Still, there are true princes, true heroes. I worked locally/regionally with Little Joe Blue for a year or so, and let me tell you - that man is a hero of mine even to this day. Not a whole lot of money to be had, but there was dignity for everybody out the ass, and more than a few nights where I'd leave the bandstand with goosebumps.

And a surething of a ride home.

[John L]

Thanks for those recollections, Jim.

I had heard some previous stories of how Johnnie Taylor could abuse his musicians. Sometimes, his touring bands in the 80s and 90s looked and sounded as demoralized as they must have felt.

That is interesting about Little Joe Blue. I didn't realize that he was such a good guy in that respect. He had a lot of talent. I almost think that he might have been better off never having heard BB King. The influence on his sound became too dominating (IMO).

Edited March 26, 2007 by John L

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

JT's gig was notorious, and not all Blues/R&B gigs at that level of exploitation. BB King's band actually has health insurance & a 401K plan in place. But the music is "rough" like it is for a good reason. For the most part, these men and women were/are tough people who came up tough, and their business is quite, shall we say, "old school". Nothing but love for all of the music and most of the people, but "fans" should know that as "glamorous" as it all seems, the reality is usually anything but.

That made me think of a photo I've seen somewhere of Ron Levy, with the B B King band - not an action photo, a posed photo where they're all standing in a group. And there's this young, long-haired, middle class white guy in the centre like a pimple. And he made it for 10 years - gotta RESPECT that.

MG

[paul secor]

For quite a while, Johnnie Taylor actually included Little Johnnie Taylor songs in his live show and presented them as his own. His logic was reportedly, "If the motherfucker's gonna use my name, I'm gonna use his songs".

I know quite a few guys who did road work with JT (got called for the gig myself, but it was a week after our first child was born, and the logistics - especially the money vs. time ratio - just did not work out), and to call him a "colorful character" would be putting it mildly.

Quite mildly...

Yea, I've heard some stories myself.

One of the reasons that I never got to experience a live show like the one recorded here (other than the exceptional band) is that Johnnie Taylor in the 1980s often used to get seriously loaded before shows. At one show I attended, he could barely stand up. It took a lot of nerve too, as he was leading a soul revue that included Tyrone Davis, Clarence Carter, Latimore, and Denise LaSalle. A lot of people just walked out on JT.

But that voice...

Yeah, JT really fell in love with the pipe, up until he died. He proclaimed his "salvation" towards the end, but...

The gig when I was offered it was mostly weekend hit-and-runs. You got paid $125 cash for each show, and you paid all expenses, including hotel & food. No per diem, not even a token. Cats would do a St. Louis/Chicago/Memphis hit & sleep on the bus and bring canned goods from home just to come home with something.

And that bus...hardly a trip went by that it didn't break down, somtimes minor, sometimes major. It was not uncommon to be scheduled to return home on Sunday night & not get home until Tuesday morning. And while you were stranded, you were all the way on your own for room & food. JT actually bragged that he'd rather pay the IRS than give the money to his band.

I actually accepted the gig when first called. Hell, I knew it was brutal, but it was JOHNNIE TAYLOR. But then LTB reminded me of the horror stories we'd both heard and asked me what we were going to do with our son when the bus broke down & I didn't get home on time, and reality struck. I called the road manager back and explained that I had spoken prematurely, that the offer was enticing, that JT was a great artist and that I'd love to make the gig, but that this was just not a good time. He kinda sniffed and said, "Oh, I see...you're a FAMILY MAN...cool, I can respect that..." CLICK.

JT's gig was notorious, and not all Blues/R&B gigs at that level of exploitation. BB King's band actually has health insurance & a 401K plan in place. But the music is "rough" like it is for a good reason. For the most part, these men and women were/are tough people who came up tough, and their business is quite, shall we say, "old school". Nothing but love for all of the music and most of the people, but "fans" should know that as "glamorous" as it all seems, the reality is usually anything but.

Still, there are true princes, true heroes. I worked locally/regionally with Little Joe Blue for a year or so, and let me tell you - that man is a hero of mine even to this day. Not a whole lot of money to be had, but there was dignity for everybody out the ass, and more than a few nights where I'd leave the bandstand with goosebumps.

And a surething of a ride home.

Thanks for posting your experiences, Jim - a bit of an education for many of us, I'm sure.

I'd wondered why you quoted Little Joe Blue at the bottom of your posts a while back. Now I understand.

[JSngry]

Little Joe Blue was a prince of a man. A BB clone he might well have been, but I think it was less a matter of intentional "copying" than it was just finding that King's style worked really well for him, so he went with it. It worked.

But yeah, the cat never had really high $ gigs locally (he'd get out of town festival gigs as a single, which I certainly didn't begrudge him), but he was always more than fair, and respectful of his musicians in a way that was not always common on the "chitlin' circuit". The money was always right (and prompt), conditions were always the best that any venue could offer, and the guy was genuinely friendly. I remember one night, he schooled me on how to tell if the house had had a good night. Watch the bartenders, he said, watch what they pour and who it goes to, and how often. Then he gave me an exact breakdown on wholesale prices of liquor, profit per bottle, how to tell when a customer was getting comped on drinks, just on and on. This cat had it down to a science.

Then there was the time he paid me to do transcriptions of the horn charts off of his Dirty Work Going On album for us to use on his local shows (I guess the originals stayed w/the record company). I quoted him a price in line with the circuit, and he immediately said, "Charge me what you would charge if you weren't in my band. You're in this business for the same reason I am - to make money for your family. So don't ever sell your work cheaper than you can get for it." So I quoted him the price, and he didn't hesitate. Paid on time, and in cash, no receipt requested.

Contrast that to all the cats who would want the same thing done as "a favor", or give you the line about how they were "just a poor brother trying to get ahead" (true enough often enough, but what goes up your nose, could go towards some charts, dig?) or who would hire a horn section, not have any charts, and then wait it out, knowing full well that somebody at some point was going to have enough and put something down, just because. Don't dare ask them for anything, because, of course, they didn't ask you to do it, and hey, people gonna come out to hear them, not your horn parts, so let's keep it real, hey...

Yeah, Little Joe Blue was a helluva man. Much love here. May he rest in peace.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Never heard Little Joe Blue. That makes me really want to. Thanks Jim.

MG

[Tom Storer]

On my "save for later" list on emusic!

I got my emusic copy and am listening to it now. Beautiful!

[Soulstation1]

ok....

i've dl'd from emusic .......

the clips sounds really good