Koko Taylor
Koko Taylor ( born Cora Walton; * September 28, 1928 in Memphis, Tennessee, † June 3, 2009 in Chicago, Illinois) was an American blues singer.
Born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, Koko Taylor moved in 1954 with her husband, truck driver Robert Taylor Pops, to Chicago. She began to sing in the Chicago blues clubs, where they Willie Dixon discovered in 1962. In 1965 they had a record contract with Chess Records. Wang Dang Doodle Their single, written by Dixon, was a hit.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Taylor appeared all over the United States. In 1975, she signed a contract with Alligator Records, under which she published a considerable number of albums. In 1980 she received the WC Handy Award for best female artist Blue, the award she received in the following year in the same division. In 1985, she won a Grammy for best album of traditional blues.
In the 1990s, Koko Taylor had appearances in several films, such as Blues Brothers 2000. It opened in 1994 a blues club in Chicago, but in 1999 the castle again. She died due to complications after surgery.
Koko Taylor influenced many blues musicians, including Bonnie Raitt, Shemekia Copeland, Janis Joplin, Shannon Curfman, and Susan Tedeschi.