Funky Blue Soul

"My music is a journey that is always moving forward; who knows what the next CD will bring!"
~Taylor Hicks~

As Taylor Hicks spent the majority of 2007 on tour, here in the States and then in Asia, we've had a great deal of time to speculate what musical road his next CD would travel.

Here's a look back at what Taylor had to say about Modern Whomp and his self-titled 2006 'Taylor Hicks' CD!

Taylor described his Modern Whomp music as ...
"soulful, earthy, organic, kind of hip".

'Taylor Hicks' available @ Amazon



"You want to take your music and evolve it.
I haven't had the money or the time to expand on my musical thoughts in the past .. I definitely wanted to "produce" this album, I've always wanted to expand on everything, the vocals, the arrangements the depth of the whole song – watch them evolve.

This music is a journey that is always moving forward; who knows what the next CD will bring but I definitely needed and wanted this one to be 'produced'.

Still, while the idea of going forward and evolving is great, I'll always be able to get back to my roots if I want to.
Right now though, I really wanted to give this type of sound a shot.
It's all part of my entire expanding vision; it's where I'm at right now.

My thing, the thing I'm good at, is the live performance.
I'm still in the learning process of being a recording artist – it's a big curve, a big ride.
I can always strip the sound back if I want to but I wanted to add those layers this time and see where it goes."

I hope that you have been enjoying Taylor's funky "Heaven Knows" and "The Maze" playing in my audio player, now I'd like to share my latest video creation with you!

Funky Blue Soul is an apt description for my animated cartoon!
Rufus Thomas ~ "Funky Chicken"



Rufus Thomas, was one of the most beloved figures in the history of Blues and the renowned ambassador of Memphis music itself.



A truly unique personality, who called himself "The World's Oldest Teenager," Thomas' career spanned more than 70 years.

From the 1940s onward, he personified Memphis music; as a recording artist, he wasn't a major innovator, but he could always be depended upon for some good, silly, and/or outrageous fun with his soul dance tunes.



He was one of the few soul stars to reach his commercial and artistic peak in middle age, and was a crucial mentor to many important Memphis blues and soul musicians.

He recorded music as early as 1941, but really made his mark on the Memphis music scene as a deejay on WDIA, one of the few black-owned stations of the era.



He also ran talent shows on Memphis' famous Beale Street that helped showcase the emerging skills of such influential figures as B.B. King, Bobby "Blue" Bland, Junior Parker, Ike Turner, and Roscoe Gordon.

Thomas hit his commercial peak in the early '70s, when "Do the Funky Chicken," "(Do The) Push and Pull," and "The Breakdown" all made the R&B Top Five.
As the song titles themselves make clear, funk was now driving his sound rather than blues or soul.



Thomas drew upon his vaudeville background to put them over on-stage with fancy footwork that displayed remarkable agility for a man well into his 50s.

In 2001, Rufus Thomas was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.
Later that year, on December 15, he died at St. Francis hospital in Memphis, Tennessee from heart failure.



I hope you've enjoyed today's musical journey, and my new video, and that you'll sit a spell and tell me what you thought :-)

Today's cup

To laugh often and love much;
To win the respect of intellingent persons and the affection of children;
To earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends;
To appreciate beauty;
To find the best in others;
To give of one's self;
To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition;
To have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation;
To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - this is to have succeeded.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson~