Rick Taylor

Artist Information

Biography

"If I had fingers like Rick Taylor I'd cut my eyes off!"

Stanley "Buckwheat Zydeco" Dural Jr.
August 21, 2010
London, ON
**************

"One of the first guitar soloists I tried to copy was Rick Taylor. His playing on the Willie P. Bennett album "Hobos Taunt" was and is an inspiration to me. And he still plays great - with the extra years of experience and gravitas only making him better. And that's just the playing part...He's still writing and performing like a demon too!"

Colin Linden,
October 1st, 2009
Nashville Tennessee
************************
"I've been listening to and have been inspired by Rick for the last 30 years...
He is a legend to us and pleasure to be hearing again in recent years...."

Tom Wislon - Blackie and the Rodeo Kings/ Lee Harvie Osmond
February 8th, 2010
**********************

Biography

Rick Taylor made his first major appearance as a singer, songwriter and guitarist at the famed Mariposa Folk Festival in 1971 and went on to become a regular at many Canadian festivals and clubs. Blues, jazz, country, rock, roots, world, and contemporary music all influenced Rick's early years on the club and festival circuits and he established himself firmly in the 1970’s southern Ontario roots music scene.

As a singer-songwriter and guitarist, Rick has been featured on CBC television and radio programs Touch The Earth with host Sylvia Tyson, The Entertainers with host Bill Garrett , Peter Gzowski's 90 Minutes Live, City TV's Music City and Intimate Evenings with Songwriters on Rogers Cable TV. Other highlights of Rick's career include opening act for Bruce Cockburn and appearing in New York City as a multi-instrumentalist in Leonard Cohen's musical production The Sisters of Mercy, as well as lead guitarist in the Vancouver production of Hank Williams, The Show He Never Gave.

Rick's dynamism on guitar has led to session and sideman work with Willie P. Bennett (guitarist on “Hobos Taunt” album), Stan Rogers, Doug MacArthur, and a highly acclaimed tour with Colleen Peterson, which culminated in a nine evening engagement as opening act for Gordon Lightfoot at Massey Hall in Toronto. He also fronted his own band The Torpedoes with legendary brother Steve Taylor on drums in Southern Ontario, as well as the Rick Taylor Band which featured some of the finest blues and jazz musicians in Vancouver, and a 3 year run with Vancouver’s HARD 8; a roots-acoustic trio featuring guitar virtuoso Paul Pigat and harmonica legend Monty.

Rick Taylor is well know for his high energy live performances, rich, expressive baritone voice, and quirky and novel song writing styles such as his cult classics "Black Leather Diaper" and "Drunkards Lullaby" as well as his delicately, haunting, well crafted ballads and unforgettable "guitarnastics". Rick's early chart hit classics "Letters From Jane" and "Soldier in the Rain", released internationally in 1989 on Volunteer Records, remained in "gold rotation" on many radio stations around the world.

Rick’s 2005 international CD release entitled Clown River contains 13 original solo guitar compositions. It is a beautifully woven instrumental story where Rick has reached deeply into his influences of the great finger style guitar traditions.

Clown River caught the attention of Borealis Records and Rick was invited to be a featured artist on their guitar compilation CD - Six Strings North of the Border Volume 3, released internationally in Feb. 2006 and now available as a 3 CD boxed set. This compilation includes many of Canada’s finger style guitar greats such as Bruce Cockburn, Colin Linden, Amos Garrett, Stephen Fearing, Don Ross, Kevin Breit, Harry Manx and more.

After living 23 years in Vancouver where Rick performed, recorded and produced, he relocated back to his home province of Ontario in 2007 and released his long awaited and critically acclaimed CD “The Wonky Years” in 2008. This raucous 10 song collection was recorded over a 10 year period with his band and runs the range of blues, roots rock, bluegrass, rockabilly, country swing and folk - displaying the immense breadth of Rick’s song writing, guitar playing, vocal abilities and styles.

February 2010 sees Rick Taylor returning to his blues roots with his definitive CD release of “Lucky Room”. This solo collection of 11 songs covers the road from Mississippi to Chicago, paying homage to the blues masters from the late 1920’s to the early 1950’s that have helped shape Rick’s music over a 40 plus year career. This critically acclaimed work has garnered heavy rotation achieving radio chart hit status - reaching #3 on Roots Music Report charts - Canada and #10 on the U.S.A. Roots Music Report - Blues charts.

Instrumentation

Bucky Berger - Drums
Terry Wilkins - Electric and acoustic bass
Ed Roth - organ, Accordion

Discography

1989: Letters From Jane/Soldier in the Rain - international single release on Volunteer Records

1991: She Used to Love Me Too/Bless These Chains
international single release on Volunteer Records

2005: Clown River - finger style acoustic guitar instrumentals international CD release on Volunteer Records

2006: Six Strings North of The Border Vol. 3 - featured artist on a CD compilation of Canadian finger style guitarists released internationally on Borealis Records

2008: The Wonky Years - CD featuring a rootsy, eclectic mixture of quirky, original songs ranging from rock to bluegrass. Recorded between 1993 and 2008 by The Rick Taylor Band in Vancouver. Internationally released by Volunteer Records

2010 "Lucky Room" Rick pays homage to some of the blues masters that have influenced him in this 12 song collection, performing on the National Tricone and and Kay Thin Twin guitars

Links

• Facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter

Audio

• I See My Baby - "Lucky Room"
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• Rattlesnake - "Lucky Room"
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• By Myself - "Lucky Room"
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• Drop Down Mama - "Lucky Room"
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• Baby Please Don't Go - "Lucky Room"
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• Six Cold Feet of Ground - "Lucky Room"
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• You Got No Business - "The Wonky Years"
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• I Feel For You - "The Wonky Years"
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• You're Not The Only One - "The Wonky Years"
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• Black Leather Diaper - "The Wonky Years"
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• Monday Morning Blues - "Lucky Room"
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• Murmur Low - "Lucky Room"
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• You Can't Live Long - "Lucky Room"
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• Tough Times - "Lucky Room"
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• Blind Fiddler - "Lucky Room"
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• Smokey Mountain Devil - "Clown River"
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• On Spanish Banks - "Clown River"
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Video

I See My Baby - Live @ Michael Pickett's - 2009 Concert for Peace

Smokey Mountain Devil - (live studio version)

Photo Gallery

Press

• ..."performing like a demon!" [+ Show ]
  

  "One of the first guitar soloists I tried to copy was Rick Taylor. His playing on the Willie P. Benn..."One of the first guitar soloists I tried to copy was Rick Taylor. His playing on the Willie P. Bennett album "Hobos Taunt" was and is an inspiration to me. And he still plays great - with the extra years of experience and gravitas only making him better. And that's just the playing part...He's still writing and singing and performing like a demon too!"
  
  Colin Linden
  Nashville U.S.A.
  October 1st, 2009
  http://www.colinlinden.com

• "He is a legend..." [+ Show ]
  

  ""I've been listening to and have been inspired by Rick for the last 30 years... He is a legend to ...""I've been listening to and have been inspired by Rick for the last 30 years...
  He is a legend to us and pleasure to be hearing again in recent years...."
  
  Tom Wislon - Blackie and the Rodeo Kings/ Lee Harvie Osmond
  
  Feb. 8th, 2010
  

• "my highest rating, 5 Stars*****" [+ Show ]
  

  http://www.bluesundergroundnetwork.com/Rick_Taylor_CD.html Lovers of the good old Style of Bl...http://www.bluesundergroundnetwork.com/Rick_Taylor_CD.html
  
  
  Lovers of the good old Style of Blues are in for a treat with the release of Rick Taylor's newest album, "Lucky Room".
  
  On the heals of his critically acclaimed 2008 release, "The Wonky Years", Rick Taylor doesn't miss a beat as he presents to us his homage to the great Blues from the 20's and 50's.
  
  Having spent over 40 years honing his craft, every bit of Rick Taylor's experience shines through on "Lucky Room".
  
  Considered to be one of the finest acoustic blues artists going, with a set of vocals chords that would be the envy of any Blues Artists, young or old, Rick Taylor has no problem taking us back and accurately giving us the feel that we are sitting on a back porch, stomping our feet as he offers us the blues the way it was always meant to be, lean and clean.
  
  "Lucky Room" consists of 11 Tracks, and covers some pretty amazing ground featuring the music of Big Bill Broonzy, Leroy Carr, Arthur Spires, Elmore James, John Brimm, Eric Anderson, Mississippi John Hurt, Jimmy Rodgers, Floyd Jones, Sleepy John Estes, and Joe Williams.
  
  "Lucky Room" was a complete and utter treat to listen to, as I really respect an artists who can more than do justice with interpreting the old blues.
  
  I give this CD, my highest rating, Five***** Excellent CD... Thoroughly enjoyed it... Highly Recommended...
  
  "Lucky Room" is a must have CD for any lover of Acoustic Blues...
  
  Review by John Vermilyea (Blues Underground Network)

• "a CD by which you can hardly sit still" [+ Show ]
  

  Rootsville Magazine http://www.rootsvill.be CD Review: Rick Taylor - The Wonky Years by Fr...Rootsville Magazine
  
  http://www.rootsvill.be
  
  CD Review: Rick Taylor - The Wonky Years
  
  by
  François Braeken
  
  
  On his "Curriculum Vitae" we read, singer-songwriter, guitar player, but this finger picking Rick Taylor is so much more. After listening to his newest album "The Wonky Years" I can't name one festival in which he could NOT stand on "The Bill". Blues, folk, country swing, bluegrass, roots, you name it he plays it. Enormous variety is what Rick delivers with "The Wonky Years" and a CD by which you can hardly sit still. This album took at least 15 years with arranging and getting together dating from 1993 - 2008 and so you can take this as the "Best Of" because 8 of these 10 songs are from the hands of Rick himself. Of those who Rick Taylor does not ring a bell right away, you can compare him best with Van Morrison in his better years.
  
  On this album are 10 numbers and combining them on this CD for sure we have to do a "Wave" to Katharine McEwen who made Rick see that this was a MUST to let loose on us. Katharine also serves as back up vocals on the album. If this is a flower reading about Rick's Wonky Years, we can only hope that more of these years will follow because you never get tired of listening to this. Soulful and with a warm voice he brings "I Feel For You", a swinging soul blues number including the addictive saxophone of Daniel Mile Kane and with Katharine on the back ground ...super. Then going over to Chicago blues with the exceptional sounding "You Got No Business"...infectious.
  
  Country swing blues, Rick brings to us with "Industrial Virgin Blues" and with finger picking "You're Not The Only One" we are with number 4 of the rhythms, to a style with which Rick proves that he can nearly do anything and also that could be used as a film track for happy-go-lucky bear Baloo if ever there is a re-make of Jungle Book.
  
  It gets a bit more serious with the beautiful " Walkin' in the Rain" with which you the the feeling of melancholy, yes as saxophone lover, Daniel you feel the grooves. A number that Rick composed together with countryman Chris Whitely, who is in the jazz and blues world in Canada and outside is considered a certitude. As a complete bluegrass picker, Rick brings "Ray's Pool Hall", bluegrass in seventh gear, followed by "Black Leather Diaper" with Rick on lapsteel. Country swing is also his thing and with " I Didn't and I Don't" here he brings music for eighteen wheelers and Rubber Ducky we have a convoy...and waiting for the next Wonky Years
  
  
  

• "great stuff..." [+ Show ]
  

  "Great stuff...great lyrics, strong vocal delivery, great instrumentation...a "winner"...we are ex..."Great stuff...great lyrics, strong vocal delivery, great
  instrumentation...a "winner"...we are expecting great things from Rick
  Taylor in the future."

• "Smashing!"
  

  "Smashing... it's perfect...great beat...very pleasant voice. "Jane" is a "good story song."

• "What can I say?" [+ Show ]
  

  "What can I say? Top class singer, song , production...wish this kind of music filled my mail box e..."What can I say? Top class singer, song , production...wish this kind of
  music filled my mail box every day..."

• "...another classy single..." [+ Show ]
  

  "Rick Taylor will be following his recent chart hit "Letters From Jane" with "She Used to Love Me T..."Rick Taylor will be following his recent chart hit "Letters From Jane"
  with "She Used to Love Me Too", another classy single for the VOLUNTEER RECORDS artist."

• "...already accomplished..." [+ Show ]
  

  "Rick's debut single "Letters From Jane" was a great start for an already accomplished singer/songw..."Rick's debut single "Letters From Jane" was a great start for an already
  accomplished singer/songwriter...Rick's second single "She Used To Love Me
  Too" b/w "Bless These Chains" should establish him as a familiar voice on
  Canadian Country radio"...
  

• "Great tune...Letters from Jane"
  

  "Great tune"... have played as a "HIT" and is now going into "GOLD" rotation"...

Setlist

Currently performing a wide variety of delta blues, roots music and original compositions from Rick's 3 CD releases.

Basic Requirements

Calendar