Mick Taylor

Michael (Mick) Kevin Taylor (born 17 January, 1948 in Welwyn Garden City, England) is best known as the former lead guitarist for The Rolling Stones.

Solo career

After Taylor had left the Stones, he was asked by Jack Bruce to form a new "supergroup" together with Carla Bley. For various reasons (mostly conflicting egos), they only did a very short tour of Europe (including a performance at the Dutch Pinkpop Festival) and the group disbanded before any studio material was recorded. (In 2004, a live recording of a Manchester gig was finally released on CD.) After 1976, Taylor would become a sort of recluse. Aside from some session work for John Phillips and some very scarce session work in 1978, nothing was heard from him until he finally released his self-titled debut in 1979, four years after he had left the Stones. It was considered a great album in every sense, but it couldn't have been released at a worse time. The trend of the day was punk and new wave, while Taylor's album was jazz- and Latin-flavoured blues. It was commercially disappointing, and Taylor's grand ambition of being a successful solo artist faded. During the '70s and '80s, like too many people closely associated with the Stones, he suffered debilitating addictions. John Phillips relates in his autobiography that when he approached Taylor to play on the soundtrack of a David Bowie film, Taylor and his wife Rose were reclusive addicts. Nevertheless, Taylor played on Phillips' second solo recording, Pay, Pack & Follow, with Richards and Jagger.

Related Topics:
Jack Bruce - Carla Bley - Pinkpop Festival - John Phillips - David Bowie

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Perhaps Taylor's second-greatest recorded work came in 1983 with Bob Dylan. Infidels is layered with Taylor's virtuoso performance, which contributes to making the record Dylan's greatest of the 1980s. Taylor lived in New York throughout the decade, which turned out to be a dark period. Highly addicted to cocaine, heroin and alcohol, he even ended up selling all his guitars to sustain his addiction. At the end of the '80s and early '90s, Taylor managed to find his way back by doing session work and small-scale live appearences. He never seemed to feel comfortable in his role as a former Rolling Stone until he released a new record in the year 2000, the CD "A Stone's Throw". Touring small clubs and theatres (impossible for the Stones) has connected Taylor with an appreciative audience and lasting fanbase.

Related Topics:
1983 - Bob Dylan - Infidels - 1980s - 2000

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