THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
979) Johnnie Taylor — “Time After Time”
Stax’s “Philosopher of Soul” (see #191, 390) gives us a “mesmerizing and very unorthodox spin on the Hollywood classic and Sinatra hit ‘Time After Time’”(Soulmakossa, https://www.funkmysoul.gr/albums-no-review/johnnie-taylor-1970-one-step-beyond/), “an amazing reading of the jazz standard”. (Cook, https://www.allmusic.com/album/one-step-beyond-mw0000185795)
Of the song and Taylor’s hit-filled album One Step Beyond, Soulmakossa tells us that:
‘One Step Beyond’ was cut during an era of transition: music was now regularly recorded in Muscle Shoals as well as in the tried an true Stax studios; ‘outside’ record man Don Davis, hailing from Detroit, was increasingly assigned producing and arranging duties, causing for a rapid deterioration within the once happy Stax Family, with Stax alumnus Booker T. Jones even leaving the label (and the city) in anger. One could assume that these were not ideal settings for recording an album. Nonetheless, ‘One Step Beyond‘ may well be Taylor’s greatest, most coherent waxing. Don Davis was at the helm again, and while the grit and rawness of Southern Soul never dissapeared, the erstwhile guitarist did add a right amount of ‘sweetening’ to procedures, cooking up a trio of stellar, solid albums for Taylor between 1970 and 1974. . . . Johnnie’s in a sweet, pleading bag on the first couple of verses [of “Time After Time”] while a warm, wah-wah guitar strokes gently behind him. Hints of flute, flourishing strings, a delicate but rock steady beat and call-and-response vocalizing with the back up singers provide a magical soundscape for J.T. to testify over. Then, all of a sudden, the mood changes. Roger Hawkins kicks in a fatback rhythm while Eddie Hinton blasts out a sizzling guitar solo. Taylor reappears when the song slides back into that beautiful subdued groove.
https://www.funkmysoul.gr/albums-no-review/johnnie-taylor-1970-one-step-beyond/
Stephen Cook adds:
One Step Beyond qualifies as one of the singer’s best LPs. Captured in his Southern soul prime, Taylor lets loose on fine mix of gospel-inspired ballads . . . countrified mid-tempo burners . . . and breezy stings-and-horns soul . . . . And, yes, there are such unforgettable hits . . . .
https://www.allmusic.com/album/one-step-beyond-mw0000185795
Ian McCann notes that Taylor’s “kind of philosophy was strictly down-home, barroom, over the back fence, and sometimes downright no good.” (https://www.udiscovermusic.com/stories/johnnie-taylor-whos-making-love/) Well, this down-home guy has received a well-deserved honor — he was one of the Blues Foundation’s 2022 Blues Hall of Fame inductees. As his Hall of Fame essay by Jim O’Neal says:
While he once sounded much like Sam Cooke, Taylor developed a more identifiable style incorporating gospel-influenced blues, soul, and funk during his tenure with Stax from 1966 to 1974. The company touted his 1968 hit “Who’s Makin’ Love” as “the fastest-selling single in the history of Stax Records,” and Taylor kicked his touring activity into high gear displaying a mix of polish and grit while continuing to hit the charts with his Stax recordings.
https://blues.org/awards/
Steve Huey fleshes out Taylor’s story:
Nicknamed the “Philosopher of Soul” during his Stax days, that version of Taylor is best remembered for his 1968 R&B chart-topping smash “Who’s Making Love,” but far and away his biggest success was 1976’s across-the-board number one “Disco Lady,” the first single ever certified platinum . . . . When the national hits dried up, Taylor wound up as one of the most prolific artists on the Malaco label, a refuge for many Southern soul and blues veterans whose styles had fallen out of mainstream favor by the ’80s. . . . He began singing in church as a young child and [then] performed with a gospel group called the Melody Kings. . . . [when he] befriended Soul Stirrers frontman Sam Cooke. . . . In 1957, Taylor would replace Cooke in the . . . Soul Stirrers after Cooke departed for a career in secular music. After four years . . . Taylor . . . followed . . . becoming the first artist to sign with Cooke’s label, Sar, in 1961. . . . Cooke was murdered in late 1964, and his labels folded . . . . Taylor . . . signed with the enormously popular Stax label in 1965 . . . . [He] scored a few minor R&B hits . . . . [then hit] big in late 1968 with the gritty, funky “Who’s Making Love,” his first number one R&B hit, which also made the pop Top Five. Taylor was able to land some decent-sized follow-up hits in the years to come, among them “Take Care of Your Homework,” “Jody’s Got Your Girl and Gone,” “Steal Away,” and “I Am Somebody.” By the early ’70s, Taylor’s bread and butter had become smooth, elegant crooning . . . . When Stax went bankrupt in 1975, Taylor moved over to CBS/Columbia. . . . [His] first single, “Disco Lady,” was an instant smash, capturing the spirit of the era and selling over two million copies.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/johnnie-taylor-mn0000198162/biography
Here is Sinatra:
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