Koko Taylor, the Queen of the Blues, dead at 80
06-03-09 | 09:25 PM
#1
Thread Starter
DVD Talk Hero
Koko Taylor, the Queen of the Blues, dead at 80
http://blogs.usatoday.com/ondeadline...ies-at-80.html
RIP. She will be missed.
Chicago blues legend Koko Taylor dies at 80
Chicago blues legend Koko Taylor died this afternoon while recovering from surgery to repair gastrointestinal bleeding. She was 80.
“She was recovering slowly but surely, and then she had a real bad night,” a spokesman for Taylor’s longtime Chicago-based label, Alligator Records, told the Chicago Tribune.
She was born Cora Walton in 1928 in Memphis, orphaned by age 11, and worked in the cotton fields to support herself. She and her future husband, Robert “Pops” Taylor, came to Chicago in 1952, and her big voice soon began filling South Side clubs.
Her final performance was May 7 in Memphis at the Blues Music Awards. After being honored as Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year she sang “Wang Dang Doodle,” her signature song.
Chicago blues legend Koko Taylor died this afternoon while recovering from surgery to repair gastrointestinal bleeding. She was 80.
“She was recovering slowly but surely, and then she had a real bad night,” a spokesman for Taylor’s longtime Chicago-based label, Alligator Records, told the Chicago Tribune.
She was born Cora Walton in 1928 in Memphis, orphaned by age 11, and worked in the cotton fields to support herself. She and her future husband, Robert “Pops” Taylor, came to Chicago in 1952, and her big voice soon began filling South Side clubs.
Her final performance was May 7 in Memphis at the Blues Music Awards. After being honored as Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year she sang “Wang Dang Doodle,” her signature song.
06-04-09 | 11:31 AM
#4
Re: Koko Taylor, the Queen of the Blues, dead at 80
On the news they said she worked with Robert Plant and Jimmy Page. What record is that? "Wang Dang Doodle" is a great song. Never heard of her before this happened but have listened to the Savoy Brown version my whole life.
06-04-09 | 10:32 PM
#5
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Koko Taylor, the Queen of the Blues, dead at 80
She played a couple of times at my college's Alice in Wonderland party. From what I can remember, she was excellent, which is why we had her back the second year. RIP.
