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Eric Taylor | |
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 Taylor performing in Wexford, Ireland bySean Rowe | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1949-09-25)September 25, 1949 |
| Died | March 9, 2020(2020-03-09) (aged 70) Austin, Texas, U.S. |
| Genres | Americana folk blues |
| Occupation(s) | Musician songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals guitar |
| Labels | Blue Ruby Records Eminent Records E1 Music Watermelon |
| Website | Bluerubymusic.com |
Eric Taylor (September 25, 1949 – March 9, 2020)[1] was an American singer-songwriter from Texas, known for his storytelling style, combining spoken words with anecdotal songs to create a theater-style performance. In addition to Taylor's nine solo releases, his songs have been recorded byNanci Griffith,Lyle Lovett, Peter Cooper, and others.[2]
Taylor was born inAtlanta,Georgia. He began playing guitar as a child and performed in a racially-integratedsoul music band in high school. He briefly attendedGeorgetown University before dropping out and moving to Houston to pursue a career in music.[3]
Taylor toured extensively in the United States and Europe, playing notable venues such asClub Passim,The Bottom Line,Caffe Lena,Bluebird Café, Red Clay Theatre, Bridger Folk,The Ark, CSPS,The Freight and Salvage,Paradiso (Amsterdam), Theatre Kikker (Utrecht), Berlin Guitars (Berlin), The Real Music Club (Belfast), DC Music Club (Dublin), Hotel du Nord (Paris) and The Bein Inn (Perth). Festival appearances includeKerrville Folk Festival,Newport Folk Festival, Glasgow Americana Festival (Scotland),Woody Guthrie Folk Festival, 1st Americana Fest (Austria), Take Root Festival (The Netherlands), and Roots of Heaven Festival (The Netherlands). He taught at theKerrville Song School, and conducted songwriting workshops throughout the United States and in Europe. Taylor was married to singer-songwriterNanci Griffith from 1976 to 1982.[4]
In 2009, Lovett releasedNatural Forces, his second album of covered songs, and again included a Taylor song. This time it was "Whooping Crane," from Taylor's 1995 self-titled album.[5] Lovett's 2012Release Me album, also has one of Taylor's songs "Understand You."
Taylor's last release wasStudio 10 in 2013, recorded at the Red Shack Studio in Houston and features nine original songs and a cover of Tim Grimm's "Cover These Bones."[6] In 2016, Taylor was nominated for anEmmy Award for Musical Composition for songs he wrote for the Storyworks television documentary,Road Kid to Writer: The Tracks of Jim Tully.
Taylor died on March 9, 2020, at the age of 70 from liver disease.[3][7]
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