Biography
Gloria Ann Taylor, who also issued material under the name Gloria Taylor, never attained the recognition her abilities as an R&B vocalist warranted. Long after she stepped away from professional performing, however, she emerged as a revered figure among enthusiasts of obscure soul and disco recordings. Listeners around the world embraced her work through both legitimate and unauthorized editions, while original pressings of certain 45s commanded prices reaching $1,000 at auction.
Taylor entered the world in West Virginia in 1945. When she turned two, her family relocated to Toledo, Ohio. During childhood she received a diagnosis of rheumatic fever. Physicians informed her mother that the girl was unlikely to survive beyond age ten, prompting the devout parent to escort her regularly to religious services. Observing her mother perform with the choir ignited Taylor’s passion for music. Defying expectations, she reached adulthood and, having honed her voice in church, sought paid opportunities once her mother’s sudden passing left Gloria and her nine siblings to support themselves.
She began singing at Toledo’s Green Light nightclub. There she encountered Walter Whisenhunt, a promoter, producer, and songwriter who had collaborated closely with artists such as James Brown. Impressed by her voice, he became both her manager and her husband. Under his production, Taylor recorded her first single in 1968, “Born a Woman” backed with “Do Your Duty.” Greater traction arrived with the follow-up, “You Got to Pay the Price.” Initially issued on the couple’s own Glo-Wiz imprint, the track was licensed to Silver Fox Records for wider release and earned a Grammy nomination.
Subsequent singles appeared on major imprints including Mercury and Polydor as well as the couple’s Whizenglo label. In 1973, “Deep Inside You” backed with “World That’s Not Real,” released on their Selector Sound label, attracted national attention when Columbia Records picked it up for reissue and extended a contract offer. Whisenhunt soon grew impatient with Columbia’s release schedule; to Taylor’s disappointment, he terminated the arrangement, returning the couple to independent distribution through Selector Sound.
Although disco and R&B audiences admired the Selector Sound recordings for Taylor’s commanding vocals and Whisenhunt’s expansive arrangements, the lack of major-label support doomed them commercially. By the close of the 1970s, Taylor had ended her relationship with Whisenhunt and withdrawn from professional performance, appearing only sporadically in church settings. British compilations later reissued her Silver Fox and Mercury sides, while original Selector Sound pressings fetched high sums; one copy of “Love Is a Hurting Thing” sold for $1,000 online. Upon learning that European bootleggers were circulating her Selector Sound masters, Taylor engaged counsel, regained ownership, and partnered with Luv N’ Haight Records—an imprint of Ubiquity Records—to authorize new editions. The anthology Love Is a Hurtin’ Thing appeared in November 2015. Taylor passed away in December 2017 at the age of 73.
Taylor entered the world in West Virginia in 1945. When she turned two, her family relocated to Toledo, Ohio. During childhood she received a diagnosis of rheumatic fever. Physicians informed her mother that the girl was unlikely to survive beyond age ten, prompting the devout parent to escort her regularly to religious services. Observing her mother perform with the choir ignited Taylor’s passion for music. Defying expectations, she reached adulthood and, having honed her voice in church, sought paid opportunities once her mother’s sudden passing left Gloria and her nine siblings to support themselves.
She began singing at Toledo’s Green Light nightclub. There she encountered Walter Whisenhunt, a promoter, producer, and songwriter who had collaborated closely with artists such as James Brown. Impressed by her voice, he became both her manager and her husband. Under his production, Taylor recorded her first single in 1968, “Born a Woman” backed with “Do Your Duty.” Greater traction arrived with the follow-up, “You Got to Pay the Price.” Initially issued on the couple’s own Glo-Wiz imprint, the track was licensed to Silver Fox Records for wider release and earned a Grammy nomination.
Subsequent singles appeared on major imprints including Mercury and Polydor as well as the couple’s Whizenglo label. In 1973, “Deep Inside You” backed with “World That’s Not Real,” released on their Selector Sound label, attracted national attention when Columbia Records picked it up for reissue and extended a contract offer. Whisenhunt soon grew impatient with Columbia’s release schedule; to Taylor’s disappointment, he terminated the arrangement, returning the couple to independent distribution through Selector Sound.
Although disco and R&B audiences admired the Selector Sound recordings for Taylor’s commanding vocals and Whisenhunt’s expansive arrangements, the lack of major-label support doomed them commercially. By the close of the 1970s, Taylor had ended her relationship with Whisenhunt and withdrawn from professional performance, appearing only sporadically in church settings. British compilations later reissued her Silver Fox and Mercury sides, while original Selector Sound pressings fetched high sums; one copy of “Love Is a Hurting Thing” sold for $1,000 online. Upon learning that European bootleggers were circulating her Selector Sound masters, Taylor engaged counsel, regained ownership, and partnered with Luv N’ Haight Records—an imprint of Ubiquity Records—to authorize new editions. The anthology Love Is a Hurtin’ Thing appeared in November 2015. Taylor passed away in December 2017 at the age of 73.
Albums
