STAX RECORDS AND CRAFT RECORDINGS ANNOUNCE NEW

JOHNNIE TAYLOR COLLECTION

ONE STEP FROM THE BLUES

 

Due out October 25th on LP, CD, and digital formats,

the collection features 12 heart-breaking songs of passion and betrayal

 

Pre-order album and stream new remaster for “Steal Away” today

Click here to visit online media kit

Click here to pre-order

Los Angeles, CA (August 22, 2024) – Stax Records and Craft Recordings announce Johnnie Taylor, One Step From the Blues, a new collection featuring a dozen heart-breaking songs of passion and betrayal from the gospel-soul-R&B singer. Available for pre-order today and arriving October 25^th on LP, CD, and digital formats, the album includes selections from “the soul philosopher’s” prolific Stax Records period, such as the woozy, souled-up “Steal Away,” the cheeky, beat commentary “Cheaper to Keep Her,” the sweeping ballad “Stop Doggin’ Me,” and the Isaac Hayes/David Porter-penned hit “I Had a Dream.” In addition to the standard black vinyl release, fans can order a limited-edition Blue vinyl pressing exclusively at Barnes & Noble. Pre-save the digital album and listen to the all-new remaster for “Steal Away” today.

One Step From the Blues captures the bluesier side of Taylor’s output, for which he would go on to be nominated for a trio of GRAMMY®­s, receive a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation, and get inducted into both the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame and the Blues Hall of Fame. He is revered to this day as an icon for his groundbreaking work at Stax Records, which dubbed him The Philosopher of Soul. “When he stepped up to the microphone, he gave it his all,” Texas Monthly once marveled, “and at his best, there was no one better.”

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Taylor honed his craft in West Memphis, Arkansas, where he grew up crooning in gospel groups. He ultimately joined the Soul Stirrers in 1957, in which he replaced Sam Cooke who left for a solo career. Cooke would sign Taylor to his label, SAR, four years later. After Cooke’s devastating death, Taylor signed to Stax Records, where his secular career would truly take off. The lovesick lament “I Had a Dream” in 1966 was his debut single there, from first album Wanted: One Soul Singer. The song transcends. Memphis’s own Robert Gordon wrote for Vinyl, Me Please, “Deep with the intensity of gutbucket blues, but also elegant: The backing is spare and precise, a black velvet cloth that shows off his bejeweled voice.”

The singer would kick off what can best be described as his golden era. He was also Stax’s saving grace, with the label losing Otis Redding — their marquee act at the time — in a 1967 plane crash. That torch would pass to Taylor who went on to shepherd several hits for the label, among them his funky-brassy breakthrough single in 1968, “Who’s Making Love” and later, the from-the-gut soul of “Steal Away” (1970), the smooth seduction of “Stop Doggin’ Me” (1972), and the clever pitter-pattering “Cheaper to Keep Her,” a 1973 single penned by Mack Rice — the genius behind the Staples Sisters’ “Respect Yourself.”

One year after Stax closed in 1975, Taylor would go on to score another major hit on his album Eargasm with the soul-funked “Disco Lady,” which in addition to hitting No.1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, also became the first single ever to be certified platinum by the RIAA. He’d continue releasing music through 1999, when he dropped his last single, the prescient “Soul Heaven.” The song imagined an all-star concert in the afterlife featuring legendary talent of yore, name-checking everyone from Dizzy Gillespie to Biggie Smalls. Soon after, Taylor passed away at age 66 after suffering a heart attack.

Click here to pre-save/pre-order Johnnie Taylor’s One Step From the Blues.

 

 

Tracklists:

LP

 

Side A:

1. Steal Away
2. I Had a Dream
3. I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water
4. Part Time Love
5. Cheaper to Keep Her
6. Separation Line

Side B:

1. Doing My Own Thing, Pt. 1
2. Somebody’s Sleeping in My Bed
3. That’s Where It’s At
4. Stop Doggin’ Me
5. Save Your Love for Me
6. Woman Across the River

 

 

CD/Digital

1. Steal Away
2. I Had a Dream
3. I’d Rather Drink Muddy Water
4. Part Time Love
5. Cheaper to Keep Her
6. Separation Line
7. Doing My Own Thing, Pt. 1
8. Somebody’s Sleeping in My Bed
9. That’s Where It’s At
10. Stop Doggin’ Me
11. Save Your Love for Me
12. Woman Across the River

About Stax Records:

Stax Records, now owned by Concord, was founded by Jim Stewart in 1957 in Memphis, Tennessee. It rose from a small, family-operated company to become one of the most influential record labels in the world, helping create “The Memphis Sound” and launching the careers of icons such as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & The M.G.’s the Staple Singers, Sam & Dave, Rufus and Carla Thomas, The Bar-Kays, and dozens of other artists who helped change popular culture forever. In all, Stax placed 167 hit songs in the Top 100 in Pop and 243 hits in the Top 100 in R&B. For more info visit, staxrecords.com and follow on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.

About Craft Recordings:

Craft Recordings is home to one of the largest and most essential collections of master recordings and compositions in the world. Its storied repertoire includes landmark releases from icons such as Joan Baez, John Coltrane, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Celia Cruz, Miles Davis, Isaac Hayes, John Lee Hooker, Little Richard, R.E.M., Joan Sebastian, and Traveling Wilburys. Plus, the catalog recordings of celebrated contemporary acts including A Day to Remember, Evanescence, Alison Krauss, Nine Inch Nails, Taking Back Sunday, and Violent Femmes, to name just a few. Renowned imprints with catalogs issued under the Craft banner include Fania, Fantasy, Fearless, HITCO, Musart, Nitro, Panart, Prestige, Riverside, Rounder, Specialty, Stax, Vanguard, Varèse Sarabande, Vee-Jay and Victory, among many others. Craft creates thoughtfully curated packages, with a meticulous devotion to quality and a commitment to preservation— ensuring that these recordings endure for new generations to discover. Craft is also home to the Billie Holiday and Tammy Wynette estates which preserve and protect their respective names, likeness, and music through day-to-day legacy management of these cultural trailblazers.

Craft Recordings is the catalog label team for Concord. For more information, visit CraftRecordings.com and follow us on Facebook,  X, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

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