Biography
A San Francisco nightclub first brought attention to one of the Northwest's most promising acts. Tommy Chong and Bobby Taylor assembled Four N*ggers & a Ch*nk by drawing members from Little Daddy & the Bachelors, a unit that had itself evolved from the Shades, the Calgary/Edmonton-based ensemble. Little Daddy & the Bachelors cut several 45s, among them the Vancouver, British Columbia recording "Too Much Monkey Business."
The group's provocative name quickly alienated the audience Little Daddy & the Bachelors had already cultivated. Although Bobby Taylor's membership in the Bachelors lineup—Tommy Milton, Donald Mallory, Chong, and Wes Henderson—remains uncertain, he did join the same musicians once they began rotating names built around the identical motif, including Four Coloured Fellas and a Chinese Lad and Four N's and a C, before finally adopting the permanent handle Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers. In addition to Chong and Taylor, the original Vancouvers featured Wes Henderson on guitar, Robbie King on keyboards, Ted Lewis on drums, and Eddie Patterson on bass.
They restored their following through energetic, guitar-driven renditions of Motown material. For roughly a year Jimi Hendrix performed with the band, chiefly at Seattle's Black and Tan Club and prior to his tenure with the Isley Brothers, until he was dismissed for extended, overpowering solos. Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard caught the group during a set at Chong and Taylor's after-hours club, the Elegant Parlor in Vancouver; Berry Gordy was alerted and signed the ensemble to the rapidly rising label. The decision later proved disastrous, yet without it the musicians might never have escaped regional obscurity.
Taylor arrived at Motown in 1967 already an experienced performer, having been born February 18, 1934, which made him thirty-three at the time of the contract. Raised in a Washington, D.C., public housing project, he had harmonized doo-wop on street corners with neighborhood friends, occasionally accompanied by a tall, slender youth named Marvin Gaye. Taylor's father was a full-blooded Native American, while his grandfather, who led his own vocal group, was Puerto Rican. The Taylor household served as a gathering point for local musicians and a temporary lodging for visiting artists.
Taylor and his companions journeyed to Brooklyn's Fort Green Projects to sing doo-wop alongside future members of Little Anthony & the Imperials and Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, though no breakthrough occurred until he headed west and linked up with Chong.
Motown succeeded in placing Bobby & the Vancouvers before a national audience, yet internal friction persisted. The group endured the same dismissive treatment the Isley Brothers had faced, regarded as outsiders and outsiders; Taylor later recalled that "90 percent of the artists" ignored them. Compounding the slight, Johnny Bristol took an immediate dislike to Tommy Chong, who was married, had a child, and remained an unapologetic marijuana enthusiast. Taylor departed sometime after the release of the debut album, which included the hit "Does Your Mama Know About Me" (number 29, 1968) along with the quieter follow-ups "Malinda" and "I Am Your Man." The remaining Vancouvers were relegated to supporting blue-eyed soul singer Chris Clark on live dates. As a Canadian, Chong required green cards for himself and the bassist; he was dismissed by Clark (acting on Bristol's instructions) after leaving mid-performance to attend a green-card appointment.
Taylor is credited with discovering the Jackson 5 after they shared a ten-day bill with him at Chicago's Regal Theater. He escorted them to Detroit, housed them in his apartment, and prepared them for a Motown audition. At the time he resided in a predominantly white building; once management noticed the young Black children playing in the hallways, Taylor and the Jacksons were evicted.
Motown issued his solo album Taylor Made Soul on the Gordy imprint; despite its quality the record attracted little notice. Several tracks, however—"I've Been Blessed," "Don't Be Afraid," "Out in the Country," and "Eleanor Rigby"—were widely admired. A second album was reportedly completed yet never released.
The Jackson 5 passed their audition decisively, and Taylor found himself commuting to Los Angeles to oversee their sessions. Most of his productions with the group, apart from a few cuts that surfaced on their first album, remained unreleased for years. He recorded primarily vintage soul numbers with the brothers to showcase their vocal abilities, but Berry Gordy insisted on a contemporary crossover sound and therefore assembled the Corporation with Deke Richards, Fonce Mizelle, Freddie Perren, Taylor, and himself. Taylor contributed to the first three Jackson 5 hits without receiving credit. He was gone by 1970; many observers described him as difficult to work with. The Jackson 5 episode triggered IRS difficulties, prompting Taylor to sue Motown for unpaid royalties. Although he prevailed in court, payment was never received.
Chong later teamed with Cheech Marin to form the comedy and acting duo renowned for celebrating cannabis use. The remaining Vancouvers continued playing in bands while holding day jobs. After leaving Motown, Taylor recorded for Epic, Playboy, and Philadelphia International Records (the last project unreleased); none matched the commercial impact of his earlier Motown work.
He battled throat cancer and eventually moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he lived with his mother for several years before returning to the West Coast and settling in the San Jose, California area. He participated in Ian Levine's extensive Motorcity project of nearly nine hundred tracks, delivering one of the producer's strongest efforts, the ballad "Cloudy Day." Taylor assembled Bobby Taylor & the New Vancouvers and performed occasional shows around San Jose. He later relocated to Hong Kong, establishing a production company and continuing to perform until his death there in July 2017.
Little Daddy & the Bachelors recordings that highlight Tommy Chong's rock guitar work appear on Northwest Killers, Vol. 2: Shout (1964-1965), which contains "Come on Home," and on Real Gone Aragon, Vol. 1, which features "Junior's Jerk" and "Too Much Monkey Business." The track "Valley of Tears" has been anthologized on other collections.
The group's provocative name quickly alienated the audience Little Daddy & the Bachelors had already cultivated. Although Bobby Taylor's membership in the Bachelors lineup—Tommy Milton, Donald Mallory, Chong, and Wes Henderson—remains uncertain, he did join the same musicians once they began rotating names built around the identical motif, including Four Coloured Fellas and a Chinese Lad and Four N's and a C, before finally adopting the permanent handle Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers. In addition to Chong and Taylor, the original Vancouvers featured Wes Henderson on guitar, Robbie King on keyboards, Ted Lewis on drums, and Eddie Patterson on bass.
They restored their following through energetic, guitar-driven renditions of Motown material. For roughly a year Jimi Hendrix performed with the band, chiefly at Seattle's Black and Tan Club and prior to his tenure with the Isley Brothers, until he was dismissed for extended, overpowering solos. Mary Wilson and Florence Ballard caught the group during a set at Chong and Taylor's after-hours club, the Elegant Parlor in Vancouver; Berry Gordy was alerted and signed the ensemble to the rapidly rising label. The decision later proved disastrous, yet without it the musicians might never have escaped regional obscurity.
Taylor arrived at Motown in 1967 already an experienced performer, having been born February 18, 1934, which made him thirty-three at the time of the contract. Raised in a Washington, D.C., public housing project, he had harmonized doo-wop on street corners with neighborhood friends, occasionally accompanied by a tall, slender youth named Marvin Gaye. Taylor's father was a full-blooded Native American, while his grandfather, who led his own vocal group, was Puerto Rican. The Taylor household served as a gathering point for local musicians and a temporary lodging for visiting artists.
Taylor and his companions journeyed to Brooklyn's Fort Green Projects to sing doo-wop alongside future members of Little Anthony & the Imperials and Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, though no breakthrough occurred until he headed west and linked up with Chong.
Motown succeeded in placing Bobby & the Vancouvers before a national audience, yet internal friction persisted. The group endured the same dismissive treatment the Isley Brothers had faced, regarded as outsiders and outsiders; Taylor later recalled that "90 percent of the artists" ignored them. Compounding the slight, Johnny Bristol took an immediate dislike to Tommy Chong, who was married, had a child, and remained an unapologetic marijuana enthusiast. Taylor departed sometime after the release of the debut album, which included the hit "Does Your Mama Know About Me" (number 29, 1968) along with the quieter follow-ups "Malinda" and "I Am Your Man." The remaining Vancouvers were relegated to supporting blue-eyed soul singer Chris Clark on live dates. As a Canadian, Chong required green cards for himself and the bassist; he was dismissed by Clark (acting on Bristol's instructions) after leaving mid-performance to attend a green-card appointment.
Taylor is credited with discovering the Jackson 5 after they shared a ten-day bill with him at Chicago's Regal Theater. He escorted them to Detroit, housed them in his apartment, and prepared them for a Motown audition. At the time he resided in a predominantly white building; once management noticed the young Black children playing in the hallways, Taylor and the Jacksons were evicted.
Motown issued his solo album Taylor Made Soul on the Gordy imprint; despite its quality the record attracted little notice. Several tracks, however—"I've Been Blessed," "Don't Be Afraid," "Out in the Country," and "Eleanor Rigby"—were widely admired. A second album was reportedly completed yet never released.
The Jackson 5 passed their audition decisively, and Taylor found himself commuting to Los Angeles to oversee their sessions. Most of his productions with the group, apart from a few cuts that surfaced on their first album, remained unreleased for years. He recorded primarily vintage soul numbers with the brothers to showcase their vocal abilities, but Berry Gordy insisted on a contemporary crossover sound and therefore assembled the Corporation with Deke Richards, Fonce Mizelle, Freddie Perren, Taylor, and himself. Taylor contributed to the first three Jackson 5 hits without receiving credit. He was gone by 1970; many observers described him as difficult to work with. The Jackson 5 episode triggered IRS difficulties, prompting Taylor to sue Motown for unpaid royalties. Although he prevailed in court, payment was never received.
Chong later teamed with Cheech Marin to form the comedy and acting duo renowned for celebrating cannabis use. The remaining Vancouvers continued playing in bands while holding day jobs. After leaving Motown, Taylor recorded for Epic, Playboy, and Philadelphia International Records (the last project unreleased); none matched the commercial impact of his earlier Motown work.
He battled throat cancer and eventually moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he lived with his mother for several years before returning to the West Coast and settling in the San Jose, California area. He participated in Ian Levine's extensive Motorcity project of nearly nine hundred tracks, delivering one of the producer's strongest efforts, the ballad "Cloudy Day." Taylor assembled Bobby Taylor & the New Vancouvers and performed occasional shows around San Jose. He later relocated to Hong Kong, establishing a production company and continuing to perform until his death there in July 2017.
Little Daddy & the Bachelors recordings that highlight Tommy Chong's rock guitar work appear on Northwest Killers, Vol. 2: Shout (1964-1965), which contains "Come on Home," and on Real Gone Aragon, Vol. 1, which features "Junior's Jerk" and "Too Much Monkey Business." The track "Valley of Tears" has been anthologized on other collections.
Albums
Kanawha Tradition: From the Country
2017
Supreme Soul: Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers
2012
Bobby Taylor Plays "Ragged Shirt" and Other Favorite Fiddle Tunes From West Virginia
2009
Route 66 Revisited
2008
Clouds Without Rain
2005
Sexy Lady
2005
Ohh Baby Baby
2004
Together
2003
Taylor Made Soul
1969
Bobby Taylor & The Vancouvers
1968