Hound Dog Taylor

b. 12 April 1917, Natchez, Mississippi, USA, d. 17 December 1975, Chicago, Illinois, USA. Taylor had an early apprenticeship playing guitar around Mississippi with musicians such as Elmore James and John Lee ‘Sonny Boy’ Williamson. In 1942, he moved to Chicago, where he worked the clubs, as well as the market on Maxwell Street. Two singles from the early '60s underlined the raw vitality of his music, especially the high-energy Five Take Five. Later in that decade, he won a new following among young blues enthusiasts and toured in Europe as well as throughout north America. In 1971, he made his first album for Alligator Records and this and further recordings on that label established a reputation for intense bottleneck guitar blues and rocking R&B. Sadly, he did not live long enough to exploit his burgeoning reputation.