By Tonya Whitaker
NDG Staff Writer
The late Johnnie Taylor left behind some memorable hits, such as Who’s Making Love, Cheaper to Keep Her, and Disco Lady.
Now, Johnnie’s influence has passed down to a new generation, as his youngest daughter, Tasha Taylor, is an accomplished singer and actress. The Dallas native recently dropped TaylorMade, a CD that is hugely influenced by some other same genres that made her dad’s music a favorite – blues, gospel and rhythm and blues.
The artist said she didn’t think about the significance of her dad until age 11.
“I said to myself, ‘What is the big deal?’” she joked. “It has always been music for me, maybe for a week in third grade I wanted to be a lawyer.”
The 13-track CD was released June 14, and it has already developed a following.
The first track on TaylorMade is one of her dad’s signature songs, Who’s Making Love. Interestingly, although the 1968 Stax Records release was geared toward males, the tune is equally relevant to women. No single lyric was made in Tasha Taylor’s version.
“The cover of Who’s Making Love is an interesting juxtaposition when a woman sings it. The song worked as it was. It was an empowering thing. It is not sexist, it was interest to bring to something to an old-school song that is relevant from generation to generation.”
Queen is receiving a lot of airplay in the southern market, Tasha Taylor said. In addition, the track is on the rotation on BB King’s Bluesville on Sirius Satellite Radio and Stevie Wonder’s KJLH 102.3 FM, an urban contemporary station in Los Angeles.
The track is throwback to pure love songs. Best Friend allows lovers to appreciate the smaller moments in a relationship. Wonder Woman has a heavy base backdrop and a message of female empowerment. And, what is a CD without a few jams about love gone wrong, such as Bad Man and Refund.
“The CD is soul music that leans toward blues. It is a tribute to my family. I worked on it for three years. I worked hard to incorporate everything into it, metaphors of relationships in my family. What comes from the Taylor family is what I sing about on TaylorMade.”
She ends the CD with a tribute to her father, Daddy’s Girl.
“I was very close to my father. My father was a true musician. He taught me a lot about the business. Traveling with Johnnie on tour stops was nothing out of the ordinary for our family, she reminisced.
“I was fortunate to have him while he was still around. I learned from my dad that you have to sing from a place of truth.”
The entire CD was written and arranged by Tasha Taylor and produced by Noisy Neighbors’ Rob Arbittier and Gary Adante, and Stuart Benjamin. Adante worked on Wonder’s 1976 masterpiece Songs in the Key of Life.
“It was refreshing to have real musicians to work with,” she said.
Tasha Taylor, who plays the keys and guitar, said her intent for the album is to bridge the generations and rejuvenate people’s love for old-school music. Also, she said artists such as Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and her father used music to overcome the social ills of their day.
“So many younger people learn about the classics through sampling. It is important for this generation to know where that sample came from. Soul music is a part of our history. The more we know about it is so important because of all the technology, but I think sometime the soul of the music is taken out of it. Technology is a blessing and a curse.”
Tasha Taylor said originality is the key to success in the music business.
“You cannot copy it when it is art. Being organic is important. Hopefully people will come to my music and others because it is quality.”
To learn more about Tasha Taylor, visit www.tashataylor.com.
