Myra Taylor (singer)
Myra Taylor | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Birth name | Myra Jardine Render |
Born | Bonner Springs, Kansas, U.S. | February 24, 1917
Died | December 9, 2011 Kansas City, Missouri, U.S. | (aged 94)
Genres | Vocal jazz |
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Years active | 1940–2011 |
Myra Taylor (February 24, 1917 – December 9, 2011) was an American jazz singer and songwriter. She began performing as a teenager and continued into her nineties.
Biography
Early life
Myra Jardine Render, and eventually attracted attention singing.
Acting career
Taylor appeared as the character Pearl in three episodes of the US television program The Jeffersons - The Arrival (Part 1) and The Arrival (Part 2)[5] in 1980 and Men of the Cloth in 1982
She was the lead in the 1979 women's professional basketball comedy Scoring, as well as supporting roles in Suspect, Crossing Delancey, Lasse Hallström's Once Around, and Ron Howard's The Paper.
Music career
In the 1930s, she toured the Midwest with Clarence Love's band. She moved to Chicago in 1937 and worked with
Taylor and Leonard parted company, and she join
Frustrated at the American music business, she spent most of the 1950s in
In 2000, she recorded My Night to Dream for Analogue Production Originals records and released it on the very inauspicious date of
Taylor continued singing, performing with the group Wild Women of Kansas City[12] but the only recording with the group was at the Pilgrim Chapel on September 26, 2010.[13] A CD is available from the venue, featuring tracks including Sentimental Journey, What a Wonderful World, and Minnie the Moocher.
She celebrated her 94th birthday with a concert at Knuckleheads Saloon with Samantha Fish and Mike Zito.[14]
Taylor's final performance was July 24, 2011 with the Wild Women of Kansas City at Jardine's nightclub in Kansas City.[6] Her health declined in the last half of 2011 following a fall and she was no longer able to live at her own home.[15] She spent the final three months of her life at Kansas City's Swope Ridge Geriatric Center.[6]
Death
She died December 9, 2011, at the Swope Ridge Geriatric Center in Kansas City, Missouri, aged 94.[6]
Discography
Albums
- Kansas City Jump: Swingin Small Combos (Blue Moon Imports, 2007)
- My Night to Dream (Analogue Production Originals, 2001)
Singles
- Move Out/Quit Barking In My Rhubarb (Mercury)
- Clinging Vine/It's a Sin to Tell a Lie (Mercury)
- I'm in My Sins This Morning/Booted (Mercury)
Compilations
- Thorens 125th Anniversary LP – Spider and the Fly (2008)[16]
- Radio Radio: Theme Time Radio Hour Volume Two- Still Blue Water (2009)[17]
References
- ISBN 978-0313344237.
- ^ "Historic 18th and Vine District". Archived from the original on 2011-06-20. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
- ISBN 978-0-19-530712-2.
- ^ a b c "Now in her 90s, Kansas City jazz singer Myra Taylor has had a life of ups and downs in the music industry". Archived from the original on 2013-02-01. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
- ^ "The Arrival parts 1 and 2". The Jeffersons. TVGuide.com. Retrieved 18 April 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Finn, Timothy (December 9, 2011). "Kansas City jazz icon Myra Taylor dies". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
- ^ "Record Reviews". Billboard. January 11, 1947. Retrieved 3 January 2012.
- ^ "Advance Information". Billboard. January 25, 1947. p. 28. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
- ISBN 978-0-7385-3448-0.
- ^ "Wild Women of Kansas City booked at Corbin Theatre". Liberty Tribune. April 13, 2011. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
- ^ "My Night to Dream". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
- ^ "The Wild Women of Kansas City booking information". Archived from the original on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
- ^ Mermis, Elke. "Wild Women of Kansas City". The Pitch. Retrieved December 19, 2011.
- ^ "KC's oldest and youngest women musicians jam out at Knuckleheads tonight". Archived from the original on 2011-07-15. Retrieved 2011-02-24.
- ^ Osterheldt, Jeneé (November 13, 2011). "The twilight of Myra Taylor". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
- ^ "Various – Thorens 125th Anniversary LP". Discogs.com. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ^ "Bob Dylan / Various – Radio Radio: Theme Time Radio Hour Volume Tw". Discogs.org. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
External links
- Myra Taylor with Jimmy Keith's Orchestra - Take It Easy, Greasy on YouTube
- Myra Taylor at AllMusic
- Myra Taylor at IMDb
- WDAF news report on Taylor's death on YouTube