 Koko Taylor — Chicago’s — and the world’s — undisputed Queen of the Blues, says “Blues is my life.” “It’s a true feeling that comes from the heart, not something that just comes out of my mouth. Blues is what I love, and blues is what I always do.” Indeed, on her first album in seven years, the aptly titled Royal Blue (AL 4873), Grammy Award-winner Koko Taylor once again shows the world what she does so well. From foot-stomping barnburners to powerful slow blues, Koko proves in an instant that her blues are joyous and life affirming. “My blues isn’t designed for people to look down, but for people to get up and dance,” says Koko. People Magazine described Koko’s blues as “foot-stomping music that’s rough, raw and wonderfully upbeat.”
Criss Johnson, Koko Taylor, and Alligator president Bruce Iglauer produced Royal Blue. Recorded in Chicago, the 12 songs (including four Koko originals) range from the rocking blues advice of Save Your Breath to the humorous warning in Don’t Let Me Catch You (With Your Drawers Down) to the final bit of wisdom in Keep Your Mouth Shut And Your Eyes Wide Open. In between, guest B.B. King joins Koko on Blues Hotel, guitarist Kenny Wayne Shepherd helps Koko reinvent Melissa Etheridge’s Bring Me Some Water, pianist Johnnie Johnson adds his magic to Ray Charles’ But On The Other Hand, and Keb’ Mo’ and Koko stroll together through the warm and tender The Man Next Door. Royal Blue is Koko Taylor at her very best. “I put my heart and soul into everything that I do,” says Taylor. “I worked long and hard on Royal Blue, and I want my fans to enjoy it as much as I do.”
Over the course of her almost 40-year career, Koko Taylor has received just about every award the blues world has to offer and then some. She has won 19 W.C. Handy Awards (more than any other female blues artist). She’s received Grammy nominations for six of her last seven Alligator albums, and won a Grammy in 1984. A major feather in her cap came on March 3, 1993, when Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley honored Taylor with a “Legend Of The Year” Award, and declared “Koko Taylor Day” throughout Chicago. In 1998, Chicago Magazine named her “Chicagoan Of The Year,” and in 1999, Taylor was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Blues Hall Of Fame. Rolling Stone called her “the great female blues singer of her generation.”
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