Plans for 2009 Wing Dang Doodle festival announced Jul 30, 2009
The Chamber took the name from a Blues song, Wang Dang Doodle, written by Willie Dixon and sung by Koko Taylor. The Wang was changed to Wing to showcase the prominence of the local poultry industry. (Forest Scott County Times, MS)
'Crows' one of festival's best headliners ever Jul 5, 2009
Offering tributes to Koko Taylor (a Park favorite and queen of the blues), her father, Johnny Clyde Copeland, and Michael Jackson, Copeland showed how summer festivals can offer something for everyone. She had several sassy songs ("I Am a Wild Woman and You are a Lucky, Lucky Man" among them), some recent recordings and some gospel offerings. (Sioux City Journal)
Shemekia Copeland: Next great lady of blues Jul 3, 2009
"What's Copeland have to say about this?"In my heart there is only one 'Queen of the Blues' and she is a good friend of mine, Koko Taylor ... "With such respect for Taylor, it's no surprise the news of the death hit Copeland, also a Chicago blues vocalist who had considered Taylor a primary influence, hard."The blues world just lost a true legend in the passing of Koko Taylor," Copeland said in a statement released to the Blues City Journal this week. "She paved the way for all female blues... (Sioux City Journal)
Florida's Best Bars Jul 2, 2009
Blues greats like John Lee Hooker, Koko Taylor and Buddy Guy have played the upstairs hall. Concert posters, most signed, line the clapboard walls downstairs. (Fox News)
Celebrity deaths: a three-part tragedy? Jul 2, 2009
Then we could put McMahon and Carradine together with, say, Koko Taylor, the blues musician, who died June 3. Another three. (Boston Globe)
Music Scene: Shemekia Copeland's music conveys humility, tenacity Jun 27, 2009
The previous week her mother had undergone triple bypass cardiac surgery, another relative was seriously ill, and Koko Taylor, the "Queen of the Blues," died at age 80 after complications from a mid-May surgery. Copeland had become very close to Taylor, especially after moving from her native New York City to Chicago a couple years ago. (Belmont Citizen Herald, MA)
Bands bring talent during Cambridge's annual festival Jun 17, 2009
The band has released more than 20 albums and has opened shows for B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Koko Taylor and Robert Cray among others. Lead singer Bob Dorr has received much recognition for his musical talents. (Mid Iowa Enterprise, IA)
Blues great Koko Taylor gets musical sendoff Jun 16, 2009
Rev. Jesse Jackson stands at the podium before the start of memorial services for Koko Taylor in Chicago, Thursday, June, 11. Hundreds came for the visitation and funeral Koko Taylor, Queen of the Blues, who died June 3 at the age of 80 ... CHICAGO - Hundreds of mourners turned out Thursday at a music-filled wake and memorial service for Chicago blues icon Koko Taylor, whose regal bearing and powerful voice earned her the nickname Queen of the Blues. (MSNBC -- Music)
Koko Taylor was always a beacon of strength Jun 6, 2009
ROBYN BECK/AFP/GETTY IMAGES/file 2008Koko Taylor (pictured at the 2008 Grammys) brought a fighting spirit to the blues ... Koko Taylor knew how to make an indelible first impression ... "Koko Taylor" (1969) Her Chess Records debut introduced a howling new voice in Chicago's blues scene, a gale force who obviously admired previous greats Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey. (Boston Globe)
A wang dang doodle on a Friday night Jun 6, 2009
In the week in which we lost the great, the truly one and only, Koko Taylor, there is only one possible choice for our Friday evenin travelin music ... More Koko Taylor with an assist from Willie Dixon. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Opinion)
Review: Title only clever part of `Ruins' Jun 4, 2009
CHICAGO - Record label: Grammy-winning blues singer Koko Taylor dies in Chicago at age 80. MOVIE NEWS. (Hanford Sentinal, CA)
Koko Taylor, at 80; her gritty, raw, and powerful voice helped define the blues Jun 4, 2009
Koko Taylor took her brand of the Chicago blues across the world in thousands of concerts ... CHICAGO - Koko Taylor, a sharecropper's daughter whose regal bearing and powerful voice earned her the sobriquet "Queen of the Blues," died yesterday after complications from surgery ... Setting up house on the South Side, Koko Taylor found work as a cleaning woman for a wealthy family. (Boston Globe)
Blues singer Koko Taylor, 80 Jun 4, 2009
CHICAGO - Blues icon Koko Taylor died Wednesday afternoon at age 80, after surgery May 19 to correct gastrointestinal bleeding. "She was recovering slowly but surely, and then she had a real bad night," said Marc Lipkin, a spokesman for Taylor's longtime Chicago-based label, Alligator Records. (Athens Banner-Herald)
Obituaries in the news Jun 4, 2009
CHICAGO (AP) - Koko Taylor, a sharecropper's daughter whose regal bearing and powerful voice earned her the sobriquet "Queen of the Blues," died Wednesday. She was 80. (Anchorage Daily News)
Blues queen Koko Taylor dies Jun 4, 2009
CHICAGO Koko Taylor, a sharecropper's daughter whose regal bearing and powerful voice earned her the sobriquet "Queen of the Blues," has died after complications from surgery ... "You can't ask a woman who sings blues right now who influenced them and not say, 'Koko Taylor.' If she didn't pave the way for us we couldn't do this.". (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
State cuts back sharply on free plaza concerts May 22, 2009
In past summers the At the Plaza series has showcased musical acts as varied as the Indigo Girls, Pat Benatar, the Charlie Daniels Band, Koko Taylor and Fountains of Wayne. The plaza's skating rink was closed this past winter, also for budgetary reasons. (Albany Times Union)
Eden Brent earns 2 May 9, 2009
Traditional Blues Female Artist of the Year: Koko Taylor. Reader Comments. (Greenville Delta Democrat Times, MS)
Jett, Banner at Jackson's Jubilee!JAM May 7, 2009
Joan Jett lackhearts, Jackson rapper David Banner, blues diva Koko Taylor and Dicky Betts Southern are among the entertainers lined up for Jubilee. JAM 2009. (The Clarion-Ledger)
Plano: Concerts in the Park season kick-off Apr 3, 2009
Her repertoire ranges from Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday to Koko Taylor and B.B. King. Jessica Munn is a local girl who, like Stevie Ray Vaughn, started a musical career at a young age. (McKinney Courier-Gazette, TX)
Unlikely legendSelf-trained Koko Taylor brings back blues to Waterloo Mar 27, 2009
Self-trained Koko Taylor brings back blues to Waterloo By MARY STEGMEIR, Courier Staff Writer WATERLOO --- In the 1930s and '40s it wasn't unusual for youngsters to test their boundaries behind the family barn, meeting to tell dirty jokes or sneak a bit of moonshine. But a young Koko Taylor sought out the shade behind her Memphis home for an entirely different reason. (Waterloo Courier, IO)
