Koko Taylor

In the tradition of Blues legends Bessie Smith, Big Mama Thorton, and Memphis Minnie, Koko Taylor's voice has kept the magic of the strong female Blues shouter alive. She has ruled the roost of Chicago female artists for decades and has set the modern standard for gut-wrenching, Blues-beltin', party-down, real urban Blues.

Born Cora Walton in Memphis, Koko Taylor grew up on a sharecropper farm and sang at the local Baptist church. She married in 1953 and moved to Chicago where she would thrive in the urban Blues scene of the 1950's and 60's. Discovered by Blues genius Willie Dixon, she eventually signed with legendary Chess records and released her first record in 1964.

It was during this time that Willie Dixon wrote Wang Dang Doodle, it went on to become Koko's biggest hit. This "world's best party song" reached the R&B charts and sold over a million copies.

Koko got her nickname for her love of chocolate.

With her arrival to national prominence, Taylor's timing was perfect to cross-over to white audiences, just when the black audiences were leaving the Blues. Her formidable performances endeared her to new white music fans who had just discovered Chicago's urban Blues through artists like Muddy Waters and Howlin' Wolf.

In 1975 Taylor started a legendary relationship with Alligator Records. The label was dedicated to Chicago Blues and Taylor quickly became their most successful artist. She became an international Blues festival favorite and brought her urban shouting style to parties around the world.

Koko won a Grammy in 1984 and has won more W.C. Handy Awards that any other female Blues artist.

An accident in 1988, and the subsequent death of her husband, took her from the scene for a couple years, but she returned and has been able to keep her special Blues alive. Koko still makes appearances at festivals around the world, but more often than not she is playing in the mid-west region of the United states. She has earned the title Queen of the Blues.