Debbie Taylor (born 23 June 1947) is a highly acclaimed but relatively obscure soul singer who released nine singles and an album during an eight-year period from 1967 to 1975, during the ‘golden days’ of soul music. Three of her 45s reached the R&B charts but, despite her obvious talent, she failed to make a significant impact in commercial terms and her name was soon forgotten by most.
After her mother signed a contract with Decca allowing her
to record as Debbie Taylor, she began recording at the Royal Studio owned by
Willie Mitchell in Memphis, Tennessee. Her first session in 1968 produced the
tracks “I Get the Blues" and "The Last Laugh Is on The Blues” (Decca
32090), followed by "Check Yourself" / "Wait Until I'm Gone"
(Decca 32259). Written by Isaac Hayes and David Porter, who produced an
unreleased version of the song by Ruby Johnson, Taylor's version of "Check
Yourself" reached #37 on the R&B chart in 1968. The song, "a
haunting blues-flavoured ballad", featured an "emotive performance"
by Taylor.
In March 1969 she started recording for the New York based GWP label started by Gerard Purcell, which ran its affairs from 150 East 52nd Street. Her first record, "Never Gonna Let Him Know" (GWP 501), launched the label and reached #18 on the national R&B chart and #86 on the pop chart. However, later releases on GWP were less commercially successful.
In 1972, she left the GWP label. Purcell teamed her with Terry Phillips and Boo Frazier at Perception Records, and they recorded her first album, Comin’ Down On You, produced by David Jordan, arranged by Patrick Adams, and issued by the Today label. Jordan also produced sessions with her backed by MFSB in Philadelphia, which included the single "I Have Learned To Do Without You", co-written by Jordan with J. J. Barnes and Don Davis, which was issued by Polydor Records in late 1973. However, commercial success still eluded her.
In 1975 she recorded "I Don’t Wanna Leave You" with Jordan in New York, with a full band and orchestra featuring Earl Van Dyke on keyboards. The recording was leased to Arista Records, and the single rose to #32 on the R&B chart and #100 on the pop chart at the end of 1975. The single was also released in the UK and Europe but in an inferior edited version. In later years, the song and its B-side, "Just Don't Pay", both written by Jordan, became popular on the Northern Soul scene in the UK. However, the relative failure of her career in the US, and her unwillingness to sign an exclusive deal with Arista, led Taylor to retire from the music business for several years.
After a short-lived marriage in the 1970s she was known privately as Maydie Miles. In the early 1980s she relocated to Stamford, Connecticut, where she joined a band called NiteSprite, a versatile, professional outfit that played clubs, weddings, and high profile corporate events. She worked as their lead vocalist for the next fifteen years. Her NiteSprite connections also got her into the jingles business, and she sang on quite a few, becoming the commercial voice for clients that included Diet Dr. Pepper, Ford, J.C. Penny, Johnson & Johnson, and The National Nurses' Association.
She moved to nearby Norwalk in 2003, where she was the
featured vocalist on several dance tracks issued by K4B Records between 1994
and 1998. As Maydie Myles, she also performed with her band in local clubs, and
recorded radio sessions, advertisements and jingles. At that time, it was not
known publicly that she had previously recorded as Debbie Taylor; the
whereabouts of Debbie Taylor were unknown.
In early 2011, Maydie Myles self-released a jazz CD, The Ones I Love, and revealed her earlier career as Debbie Taylor. This resulted in substantial new interest in her career, and a remixed version of "Just Don't Pay" was issued in the UK in late 2011. In November 2013, she performed a sell-out one-off show in the UK.
As of 2016 Maydie was still performing at Jazz festivals and local venues. (Edited from Wikipedia & The Hour.com)
6 comments:
For “Debbie Taylor – I get The Blues – Discography 1967 – 1975” go here:
https://www.upload.ee/files/13258600/Debbie_Taylor_-_67-75.rar.html
01. Debbie Taylor - 1967 - The Last Laugh Is On The Blues (Decca 32090)
02. Debbie Taylor - 1967 - I Get The Blues (Decca 32090)
03. Debbie Taylor - 1968 - Check Yourself (Decca 32259)
04. Debbie Taylor - 1968 - Wait Until I'm Gone (Decca 32259)
05. Debbie Taylor - 1969 - Never Gonna Let Him Know (GWP 501)
06. Debbie Taylor - 1969 - Let's Prove Them Wrong (GWP 501)
07. Debbie Taylor - 1969 - How Long Can This Last (GWP 510)
08. Debbie Taylor - 1969 - Don't Let It End (GWP 510)
09. Debbie Taylor - 1969 - Momma, Look Sharp [w The Hesitations] (GWP
10. Debbie Taylor - 1969 - All That I Have [w The Hesitations] (GWP Un
11. Debbie Taylor - 1970 - Don't Nobody Mess With My Baby (Grapevine 2
12. Debbie Taylor - 1970 - Stop (Grapevine 202)
13. Debbie Taylor - 1972 - No If's And's Or But's (Today TLP-1007)
14. Debbie Taylor - 1972 - (I Just Can't Believe I'm) Touching You (To
15. Debbie Taylor - 1972 - Too Sad To Tell (Today TLP-1007)
16. Debbie Taylor - 1972 - Second To None (Today TLP-1007)
17. Debbie Taylor - 1972 - Romance Without Finance (Today TLP-1007)
18. Debbie Taylor - 1972 - Leaving Him Tomorrow (Today TLP-1007)
19. Debbie Taylor - 1972 - No Deposit, No Return (Today TLP-1007)
20. Debbie Taylor - 1972 - Eye Doctor (Today TLP-1007)
21. Debbie Taylor - 1972 - Jeremiah (Today TLP-1007)
22. Debbie Taylor - 1973 - I Have Learned To Do Without You (Polydor P
23. Debbie Taylor - 1973 - Cheaper In The Long Run (Polydor PD14219)
24. Debbie Taylor - 1975 - I Don't Wanna Leave You (Arista 0144)
25. Debbie Taylor - 1975 - Just Don't Pay (Arista 0144)
I Get The Blues collects the complete Debbie Taylor recordings from 1967 to 1975. A short but sweet discography; 4 sides on Decca, 6 sides on GWP, the additional LP sides and one-off 45s with Grapevine, Polydor and Arista.
A very big thank you goes to Groovy Gumbo who compiled this album and tagged the mp3’s.
very nice....thanks BB
Thank You Sirs !
Hi!
Thanx for this one. A "new" artist = "new" hears here.
Cheers!
Ciao! For now.
rntcj
Had a quick listen, this is sooooo good, what a shame she wasn't bigger and made more albums - thanks for the chance to hear more than I know :)
Many thanks
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