Probably one of the most under-appreciated recording artists of all time, Johnnie Taylor was a hybrid artist who incorporated everything from Gospel, pop, blues, doo-wopp, Memphis soul and disco, into his music.

Johnnie Harrison Taylor was born in Crawfordsville, Arkansas in 1934. Always interested in music, he started in the music biz with the early ‘50s doo-wopp group Five Echoes. Sounding similar to vocalist Sam Cooke, he replaced Cooke in the Soul Stirrers in 1957. Taylor stayed with the Gospel group for four years before he changed pathways toward a more secular soul career. He signed to Cooke's label Sar in '61.

When Cooke was murdered, Taylor was left without a record label. Returning to Memphis, Taylor signed with the popular R&B label Stax in '65 and had a few R&B hit singles, including "Next Time" and "Somebody's Sleeping in my Bed." In 1968 his first single to reach the number one spot was "Who's Making Love." For the next seven years, Taylor's name was a permanent feature on the bestseller list, with millions of records sold. Though he received a lot less press in comparison to other Stax Records artists, like Otis Redding, Booker T & The M.G's and Issac Hayes, Taylor remained Stax's bestselling artist.

When Stax folded, Taylor moved to Columbia records and saw the mega-hit "Disco Lady." Columbia made the mistake of focusing Taylor on solely disco work, and he left the label. He continued to move around several different record labels over the next few years and saw more hit singles along the way. He joined Malaco Records in 1984 and saw his best sold album of his career, This is your Night. He died of a heart attack in 2000 and is buried in Kansas City, Missouri.