 |
Alvin Taylor | |
|---|---|
 Taylor in a hair salon, 1974 | |
| Background information | |
| Genres | Rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Instrument(s) | Drums |
| Years active | 1970s - present |
| Labels | Capitol Records |
Alvin Taylor (born March 26, 1953) is an American drummer, producer and musical director, who is best known for his work with Elton John, Eric Burdon, George Harrison, Billy Preston, and Bob Welch.
Alvin Taylor started playing drums at the age of 5. He played in various local bands and began his professional career at the age of 14, when he started touring with Little Richard. [1] As part of Little Richard's band, Taylor played with Jimi Hendrix, Billy Preston and opened a show for Elvis Presley. Later he played with PG&E on their number one record, Are You Ready. He turned down Jerry Goldstein's offer to play in the famous funk band War, but joined Eric Burdon's band after Burdon left War. [1]
The Eric Burdon Band released a hard rock-packed album, Sun Secrets ; [1] Taylor is shown on the cover. Taylor was also featured on their unreleased album Mirage (released in 2008), Don Kirshner's Rock Concert (on February 9, 1974), and is mentioned in Burdon's 2001 book Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood.
Taylor performed at the first ever airing of Saturday Night Live on October 11, 1975. [1] In 1976 he played on George Harrison's album Thirty Three & 1/3 , recorded at the former Beatle's Friar Park estate in England. [1] Citing the album sessions, Taylor later called Harrison "the very best and my most favorite person" of all the artists with which he had worked. [2] He played on two albums by Billy Preston, Billy Preston (1976) and A Whole New Thing (1977). He then joined Bob Welch's band and recorded the album French Kiss (1977), which featured the hit single "Ebony Eyes". [3]
During subsequent years he appeared on albums by artists including Elton John, Aalon, Jesse Colin Young, Les McCann, Lauren Wood, Gil-Scott Heron, The Originals, Syreeta, The Mighty Clouds of Joy, Keni Burke, Stargard, Sammy Hagar, Billy Thorpe, America, Cher, Natalie Cole, Sly & the Family Stone, Bill Withers, and Three Hearts by Bob Welch. On Danny O'Keefe's record American Roulette (1977) he appeared alongside Reggie McBride, Mike Melvoin, and David Lindley.
In 1979, he appeared on Sammy Hagar's single (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay which features Leland Sklar, Barry Goudreau and Steve Cropper, who originally played on the Otis Redding version. Later in the same year he appeared on Cher's album Prisoner with Toto members Steve Lukather, Jeff Porcaro, David Hungate, David Paich, and others.
In 1980 he appeared again with Lukather and Paich on Elton John's album 21 at 33 . Other notable musicians include Bill Champlin, Chuck Findley, and Lenny Castro. Taylor then appeared on Bob Welch's albums Man Overboard (1980) and Bob Welch (1981). In 1981, he also appeared on the album 1234 by The Rolling Stones member Ron Wood. [4]
Since 2011 he has been working with Ukulele Ray and regularly plays at the NAMM Show. Beginning in 2013 he tours with "The Gypsy Experience" as well as former Earth, Wind & Fire member, David Lautrec and his group Desert Redux.
William Everett Preston was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, backing Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles, the Everly Brothers, Reverend James Cleveland, the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. He gained attention as a solo artist with hit singles "That's the Way God Planned It", the Grammy-winning "Outa-Space", "Will It Go Round in Circles", "Space Race", "Nothing from Nothing", and "With You I'm Born Again". Additionally, Preston co-wrote "You Are So Beautiful", which became a #5 hit for Joe Cocker.
David Frank Paich is an American keyboardist, singer, and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist, and secondary vocalist of the rock band Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrote much of Toto's original material, including the band's three most popular songs: "Hold the Line", "Rosanna", and "Africa". With Toto, Paich has contributed to 17 albums and sold over 40 million records. He and guitarist and singer Steve Lukather are the only members to appear on every studio album.
Toto is an American pop rock band formed in 1977 in Los Angeles, California. Toto combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, hard rock, R&B, blues, and jazz. Having released 14 studio albums and sold over 40 million records worldwide, the group has received several Grammy Awards and was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2009.
Kingdom of Desire is the eighth studio album by Toto, released in 1992. It is the first album on which guitarist Steve Lukather assumed sole lead vocal duties and the final album to feature drummer Jeff Porcaro, who died during rehearsals for the tour promoting this album. The album was mixed by Bob Clearmountain and dedicated to Jeff in his memory.
Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for being the co-founder and drummer of the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on hundreds of albums and thousands of sessions. While already an established studio player in the 1970s, he came to prominence in the United States as the drummer on the Steely Dan album Katy Lied.
Raymond Cooper is an English musician who has worked as a session and road-tour percussionist. During his career, Cooper has worked and toured with numerous musically diverse bands and artists including Elton John, Harry Nilsson, Billy Joel, George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Mark Knopfler, David Gilmour, Roger Waters and Art Garfunkel. Cooper absorbed the influence of rock drummers from the 1960s and 1970s such as Ginger Baker, Carmine Appice and John Bonham.
Neil Stubenhaus is an American bass guitarist.
Jesse Edwin Davis III was an American guitarist. He was well regarded as a session artist and solo performer, was a member of Taj Mahal's backing band and played with musicians such as Eric Clapton, John Lennon, and George Harrison. In 2018, he was posthumously inducted into the Native American Music Hall of Fame at the 18th Annual Native American Music Awards. Davis was an enrolled citizen of the Kiowa Indian Tribe of Oklahoma with Comanche, Muscogee, and Seminole ancestry.
Robert Troy Kimball is an American singer and songwriter best known as the original and longtime frontman of the rock band Toto from 1977 to 1984 and again from 1998 to 2008. Kimball has also performed as a solo artist and session singer.
Prisoner is the sixteenth studio album by American singer-actress Cher, released on October 22, 1979, by Casablanca Records. The album was a commercial failure and failed to chart. "Hell on Wheels" was released as the lead single and had a moderate success, peaking at number fifty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Way I Am is the fourteenth studio album by Billy Preston, released in 1981. The album was arranged by Bob Esty, David Blumberg, Arthur G. Wright, Marty Paich, Gene Page and Billy Preston.
Toto XX: 1977–1997 is a compilation album by Toto to celebrate their 20th anniversary. The album features rare original demos, outtakes, previously unreleased recordings and live tracks from the band's 20-year career. Despite its being labeled as a compilation album, Steve Lukather in 2014 defined the album as the tenth studio album overall.
"Dear God" is a song by English musician Elton John with lyrics by Gary Osborne. It's the sixth track on his 1980 album, 21 at 33. It is the shortest track on the album, and when released as a single, it failed to break any major charts. It did, however, reach No. 82 on the Australian singles chart.
This article lists the complete discography of Steve Lukather.
Syreeta is the fourth solo album by Motown recording artist and American singer-songwriter Syreeta Wright, released by the Tamla label on April 26, 1980. It's also the second album to be titled Syreeta after her 1972 debut album.
Sun Secrets is an album by the Eric Burdon Band recorded in 1973 and released in December 1974.
Stop is a hard rock / R&B album by the first incarnation of the Eric Burdon Band, whose line-up consisted of Burdon, John Sterling, Kim Kesterson and Terry Ryan.
Ollie E. Brown is an American drummer, percussionist, record producer, and high-school basketball coach. A prolific session musician, Brown has performed on over a hundred albums in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Brown was also half of the American dance-pop duo Ollie & Jerry, which had a Top 10 hit with "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us" in 1984.
Reggie McBride is an American bass player.