Biography
R. Dean Taylor, a singer, songwriter, and producer, occupied a modest yet significant place in Motown’s legacy even though recognition largely eluded him. After first establishing his credentials as a hitmaking staff songwriter, he scored his own breakthrough in 1970 when “Indiana Wants Me” climbed into the Top Five and stood as one of the label’s earliest major crossover successes by a white artist. Additional singles and albums appeared, among them the 1975 release LA Sunset, and he consistently found stronger audiences in the U.K. than at home during the decade that followed.
Born Richard Dean Taylor in Toronto in 1939, he began performing at age twelve in local country showcases before turning toward rock & roll. In 1960 he joined the Toronto-based Audiomaster label and cut his rockabilly single “At the High School Dance,” which received CBC exposure and a brief tour of the northeastern United States. He moved to New York City in 1962, recording “I’ll Remember” and the novelty number “We Fell in Love as We Tangoed” for Amy/Mala, yet neither single attracted attention. A contact in Detroit urged him the next year to audition for Berry Gordy’s rising Motown Records.
Although not the label’s first white artist, Taylor became one of its most effective. Working alongside Eddie Holland of the Holland-Dozier-Holland team, he quickly became an integral part of the songwriting and production process, co-authoring the Supremes’ number-one pop hit “Love Child,” the Temptations’ “All I Need,” and the Four Tops’ “I’ll Turn to Stone.” In 1965 he issued his own Motown debut, the protest track “Let’s Go Somewhere,” which went unnoticed. The follow-up, “There’s a Ghost in My House,” met the same fate commercially but later emerged as a cherished favorite on Britain’s Northern soul circuit. With 1967’s “Gotta See Jane” he reached the U.K. Top 20, though Motown’s domestic promotion favored its established acts and the single made little impact in the States.
After shifting to Rare Earth, the Motown subsidiary created for its expanding roster of white artists, Taylor finally achieved commercial success with the 1970 single “Indiana Wants Me.” Strong local support in Detroit and across the river in Windsor, Ontario, prompted wider marketing, and the record rose to a Billboard Top Five peak. The album I Think, Therefore I Am followed soon after, yet later singles such as 1971’s “Candy Apple Red” and 1972’s “Taos, New Mexico” failed to maintain momentum. When Rare Earth closed in 1976, Taylor’s tenure with Motown ended. He started his own imprint, Jane Records, in 1973 to release his material and a handful of sides by Lucky Mud Band and Paul Sabu. A 1981 comeback single, “Let’s Talk It Over,” went nowhere, after which he stepped away from performing for more than a decade before reappearing in the late ’90s as a featured performer at overseas Northern soul events. R. Dean Taylor died on January 7, 2022, at the age of 82.
Born Richard Dean Taylor in Toronto in 1939, he began performing at age twelve in local country showcases before turning toward rock & roll. In 1960 he joined the Toronto-based Audiomaster label and cut his rockabilly single “At the High School Dance,” which received CBC exposure and a brief tour of the northeastern United States. He moved to New York City in 1962, recording “I’ll Remember” and the novelty number “We Fell in Love as We Tangoed” for Amy/Mala, yet neither single attracted attention. A contact in Detroit urged him the next year to audition for Berry Gordy’s rising Motown Records.
Although not the label’s first white artist, Taylor became one of its most effective. Working alongside Eddie Holland of the Holland-Dozier-Holland team, he quickly became an integral part of the songwriting and production process, co-authoring the Supremes’ number-one pop hit “Love Child,” the Temptations’ “All I Need,” and the Four Tops’ “I’ll Turn to Stone.” In 1965 he issued his own Motown debut, the protest track “Let’s Go Somewhere,” which went unnoticed. The follow-up, “There’s a Ghost in My House,” met the same fate commercially but later emerged as a cherished favorite on Britain’s Northern soul circuit. With 1967’s “Gotta See Jane” he reached the U.K. Top 20, though Motown’s domestic promotion favored its established acts and the single made little impact in the States.
After shifting to Rare Earth, the Motown subsidiary created for its expanding roster of white artists, Taylor finally achieved commercial success with the 1970 single “Indiana Wants Me.” Strong local support in Detroit and across the river in Windsor, Ontario, prompted wider marketing, and the record rose to a Billboard Top Five peak. The album I Think, Therefore I Am followed soon after, yet later singles such as 1971’s “Candy Apple Red” and 1972’s “Taos, New Mexico” failed to maintain momentum. When Rare Earth closed in 1976, Taylor’s tenure with Motown ended. He started his own imprint, Jane Records, in 1973 to release his material and a handful of sides by Lucky Mud Band and Paul Sabu. A 1981 comeback single, “Let’s Talk It Over,” went nowhere, after which he stepped away from performing for more than a decade before reappearing in the late ’90s as a featured performer at overseas Northern soul events. R. Dean Taylor died on January 7, 2022, at the age of 82.
Albums
