Singer-songwriter born to a musical family in New Haven, Connecticut. Her family eventually moved to Monroe, Ohio, and by the age of seventeen she was studying opera on a scholarship from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music.
After her professor died, she decided to focus on jazz, and began playing the club circuit and found herself in demand for studio work. Perhaps you remember her voice on commercials for “Fly The Friendly Skies Of United”, “Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo” and “Wouldn’t You Really Rather Have A Buick?” If you are a Miami Dolphins fan, you may have heard her sing the national anthem once or twice.
These early successes springboarded her to a recording contract with Good Sounds. The title track from her debut album, Dancin’ In My Feet, peaked at #4 on the Billboard disco chart. Disco was reaching its peak in 1978, however, and she re-dedicated herself to jazz, putting together the Laura Taylor Trio, and moving to the Big Apple in the process. Soon they were playing venues such as the Carnegie Recital Hall, the Plaza Hotel’s Oak Room, the St. Regis Hotel, and a six-year gig at the Waldorf Astoria. It wasn’t long after that Las Vegas would seek the talents of Ms. Taylor. After acting as the warm-up act for Don Rickles, she was asked to re-locate to Las Vegas and play the Desert Inn’s Starlight Theater.
In 1997, almost twenty years after her first album, Laura finally released her follow-up, Mountain Greenery, a collection of jazz standards, with some original material by Taylor herself. This was followed by Songs of the Season, with guitarist Joe Lano, and Cry Me A River, a Julie London tribute album. Her most recent release was 2006’s My Funny Valentine… Memories of Chet Baker.
Diana Ross recordings
Think I’m In Love (Laura Taylor)
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