While a member of the group, he became an ordained minister and preached his first sermon at Fellowship Baptist Church in Chicago.Īfter a wreck in which he ran over a little girl in 1960, Taylor was booted from the Soul Stirrers and went to Los Angeles, California, intending to preach full time. When Cooke left the Soul Stirrers, Taylor was chosen to be his replacement in 1957.
The QCs made their recording debut in 1955 with Taylor singing lead on “Somewhere to Lay My Head,” which made the group a nationwide gospel attraction. Shortly afterward, he also began singing with the Highway QCs, a long-running, popular gospel quartet in which Cooke and Lou Rawls had previously been members. They occasionally opened for the famous, highly influential gospel group, the Soul Stirrers, whose young lead singer, Sam Cooke, befriended Taylor.īy 1953, Taylor had moved to Chicago, Illinois, and was singing with the doo-wop group the Five Echoes, with whom he made his first recordings on the VeeJay label. Taylor moved to Kansas City, Missouri, at age ten with his grandmother, and during his teen years, sang with a gospel quartet, the Melody Kings. He made his church singing debut at age six, and inspired by both gospel and the blues, he decided at a young age that he wanted to make a living by singing. She was religious and made sure he attended church regularly. The youngest of three siblings, he was raised by his grandmother in West Memphis (Crittenden County). The official date of his birth was not revealed until after his death he had long claimed to be four years younger. Johnnie Taylor was born in Crawfordsville (Crittenden County) on May 5, 1934. He was added to the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame in 1999. His single, “Disco Lady,” was the first single ever to be certified platinum. Johnnie Harrison Taylor was a popular gospel and rhythm and blues singer, known as the “Philosopher of Soul,” whose recording career spanned forty-six years.
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