Tucson, Arizona's former blues guitarist and singer-songwriter, Sam Taylor, passed away on Monday, January 5, 2009 at the age of 74, in his Islandia, New York home.
Among the performers he's played with are Otis Redding, Sam and Dave, T-Bone Walker, Solomon Burke, Little Johnny Taylor and Big Joe Turner, who called him the Crown Prince of the Blues.
Taylor had spent a decade in Tucson, AZ. and was a staple on the local music scene. He left Tucson in 1996 to live with his family in New York.
Sam Taylor, who always wore his signature sailors cap, was a frequent performer at the Chicago Club, Dirbags West, Hec 'n Winks, and Jaimes on Fourth Avenue.
Bobby Taylor, Sam's son, died Monday, July 21, 1997 after a heart attack. Bobby, 39, was the leader of The Real Deal, a popular blues band.
Sam Taylor was inducted into the Arizona Blue Hall of Fame in 1997. He received the Long Island Music Hall of Fame recognition in 2006.
The Sam Taylor's House of Swing was a showcase for Sam Taylor, his band's talent and guest appearances. It's brief incarnation was at the Santa Rita Ballroom in Downtown Tucson in December 1994.
The club, sponsored by local music magazine Roadhouse and Chuck Gross' Thrillville, featured artists like Frankie Lee, King Ernest and the Wild Knights, and the Blue Monks. Local musicians Heather Hardy, Ed Delucia, Mike Nordberg and Paul Elia joined Sam on stage.
Photo: Sam Taylor. Photo by Thomas J. Pennington © 1989 for Entertainment Magazine.
Tucson blues legend, Sam Taylor dies at 74
