Welcome to my Music Diary – today for the 17th January!
Happy birthday to Mr. Michael Kevin „Mick“ Taylor, who was born on the 17th January 1949 in Welwyn Garden City (later raised in Hatfield, Hertfordshire – UK). Mick became very famous as the second guitarist for The Rolling Stones from 1969 until 1974. During this time the legendary milestons „Let It Bleed“ (1969), „Sticky Fingers“ (1971) and „Exile on Main St.“ (1972) were released.
Mick Taylor started playing guitar at the age of nine and as a teenager he formed various bands – one of these groups was called The Juniors and the Strangers. With this formation he had a television appearance and also a single was released. After the break-up, The Gods were founded, which featured also Ken Hensley (later memeber of Uriah Heep) and the Glascock brothers Brian (drums) and John (bass – he later joined Jethro Tull). In 1966 this very young and encouraging band did the support for the supergroup Cream at the Starlite Ballroom in Wembley. In May 1967 Mick Taylor left the band and joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, replacing guitarist Peter Green, who was going to found Fleetwood Mac.
One year later, when The Rolling Stones fired Brian Jones in June 1969, John Mayall recommended Taylor to frontman Mick Jagger. During the rehearsing sessions, Keith Richards was very impressed and Taylor became a new member of the Stones. On the 5th July 1969, at the legendary free concert in Hyde Park (London), Mick Taylor had his onstage debut – just three days after Brian Jones had died.
Mick Taylor recorded – beside the mentioned master pieces – also the other two Rolling Stones studio albums „Goats Head Soup“ (1973) and „It’s Only Rock ’n Roll“ (1974). And his outstanding playing is also featured on the live LP „Get Yer Ya-Yas Out!“ (1970).
In December 1974, Mick Taylor announced his leaving. One month before, Taylor told Nick Kent from the „NME“ magazine about the upcoming LP „It’s only Rock’n’Roll“, that he had also co-written the tracks „Till the Next Goodbye“ and „Time Waits for No One„, but there were no songwriting credits for Taylor on the sleeve noted:
„I was a bit peeved about not getting credit for a couple of songs, but that wasn’t the whole reason [I left the band]. I guess I just felt like I had enough. I decided to leave and start a group with Jack Bruce. I never really felt, and I don’t know why, but I never felt I was gonna stay with the Stones forever, even right from the beginning“, Taylor in an inteview with Gary James. Before that, there were also some discussions about song credits: „We used to fight and argue all the time. And one of the things I got angry about was that Mick had promised to give me some credit for some of the songs – and he didn’t. I believed I’d contributed enough. Let’s put it this way – without my contribution those songs would not have existed. There’s not many but enough, things like „Sway“ and „Moonlight Mile“ on Sticky Fingers and a couple of others.“ (from an interview with „Mojo“ magazine in 1997).
After he quit the Stones, Mick Taylor started his solo career and in 1979 his self titled debut was released. He also worked with other musicians and bands like Jack Bruce, Bob Dylan, Mike Oldifield, Little Feat, Grateful Dead or Eric Clapton.
Taylor also performed and recorded again with Keith Richards on his solo album „Talk is Cheap“ (1988) and The Rolling Stones. In 2013, during the „50 & Counting“ North American tour of the Stones, Mick Taylor joined the band every single night for a couple of songs.
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