Hound Dog Taylor and the House Rockers
In certain hands the blues can become not an excuse to wallow in misery, but an invitation to escape from it.
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Contrary to whatever stereotypes have been created to cover the contemporary bluesman, there is a side to the blues that has absolutely nothing to do with whiskey-fed misery, financial hard times or woman troubles. In certain hands the blues can become not an excuse to wallow in misery, but an invitation to escape from it: a rocking, driving celebration designed to exorcise whatever foul spirits are at work. When you’re talking about those kind of blues, you’re talking about Hound Dog Taylor and the House Rockers.
Hound Dog was born some 27 years ago in Natchez, Mississippi, as Theodore Roosevelt Taylor. Raised in the heart of the Delta country, a large chunk of his education was given over to the blues; his specialty fast became slide guitar. His mastery of that time-honored technique is evidenced in the testimonial of Buddy Guy (no slouch, either, When it comes to guitar playing): “Hound Dog Taylor is the last of the real good slide guitar players.”
From the moment he hit Chicago, it seems, a following sprang up that rivaled that of any of the “names.” It was not at all surprising, for the band’s philosophy seems to be that you have to. put out energy if you expect to see it returned. The House Rockers are a band that treasures good times above all else, and will go to all lengths to get them rolling. The stories of how Hound Dog played for twelve straight hours at Mr. Kelley’s — dropping sidemen like flies — are justifiably famous.
While he’s yet to become a familiar item on the mass index, his presence has not gone unfelt. His “Taylor’s Boogie” was borrowed by Freddie King and transformed into “Hideaway,” an R&B monster of 1961. Other musicians cop freely from his style, and any blues afficionado within 50 miles of Chicago will rattle off volumes about the man at the mention of his name. It may be a monumental understatement to say that his following is the most loyal of any Windy City bluesman.
He didn’t release his first album until last year, but the wait was more than worth it. He’s gigging extensively these days, taking his good times to college campuses and concert halls all over the land. One lookat Hound Dog Taylor and the House Rockers, I think, is all it’s going to take to initiate you into his ever-expanding legion of admirers.
