Johnnie Taylor (May 5, 1934 – May 31, 2000) – I Am Somebody (1970)
This powerful anthem was produced by Don Davis, written by Arthur Snyder, and featured the Swampers, all four co-founders of Muscle Shoals Sound Studios.
Johnnie Taylor was a talented singer who got his start performing gospel in the 1950s and became an R&B star in the 60s and 70s. Known as The Philosopher of Soul, he helped disco go mainstream with his massive hit “Disco Lady.”
Born and raised in Arkansas, from a young age Taylor sang in gospel groups. He joined the Chicago quartet The Highway Q.C.'s in 1953, replacing Lou Rawls. He then replaced Sam Cooke in another gospel quartet, the Soul Stirrers, after Cooke left in 1957 to pursue a solo career. He was one of the first artists Cooke signed to his independent SAR Records label in 1962, but Taylor’s early singles were not successful.
Following Cooke’s murder in 1964, Taylor began recording for Stax Records in 1966. Over the next decade he became one of the label’s biggest stars, with a dozen singles that went Top-10 R&B. He topped the R&B charts three times, starting with “Who’s Making Love” (1968) which was a #5 crossover hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and went gold.
In September, 1970, Taylor released the powerful self-determination anthem “I Am Somebody” as a single, with Parts 1 and 2 on each side. It was produced by Don Davis and written by Arthur Snyder, a songwriter who worked closely with Davis.
“I Am Somebody” featured Rudy Robinson on keyboards, Eddie Hinton on guitar, and horns by The Memphis Horns. Its players also included the Swampers (Barry Beckett on keyboards, Roger Hawkins on drums, bassist David Hood, and guitarist Jimmy Johnson), the four co-founders of Muscle Shoals Sound Studios.
The track went to #4 R&B and cracked the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 at #39. It was included on Taylor’s One Step Beyond LP released the following year in 1971.
Taylor's iconic “Disco Lady” was the first ever platinum-selling single, and spent four weeks at #1 on the charts in early 1976. Following its success, Taylor released three albums in 1977 including the soundtrack to one of the few disco Blaxploitation flicks, Disco 9000 aka Fass Black, directed by D'Urville Martin. It was promoted in TV spots as “Hollywood’s first fantastic disco movie!”
He composed the soundtrack and also appeared in the film in a small role showing him in the recording studio. The super smooth disco title track featured horns by the Muscle Shoals Horns and Don Davis assisting with the mix.
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