Montana Taylor

Montana Taylor (born Arthur Taylor, 1903, Butte, Montana, USA; died: c.1958 in Cleveland, Ohio) was an American boogie-woogie and piano blues pianist, best known for his recordings in the 1940s, and regarded as the leading exponent of the "barrelhouse" style of playing.
Taylor was born in Butte, Montana, where his father owned a club. The family moved to Chicago and then, around 1910, to Indianapolis, where Taylor learned piano. Later he moved to Cleveland, Ohio. By 1929 he was back in Chicago, where he recorded a few tracks for Vocalion Records, including "Indiana Avenue Stomp" and "Detroit Rocks".
He then disappeared from the public record for some years, during which he may have given up playing piano. However, in 1946 he was rediscovered by jazz fan Rudi Blesh, and was recorded both solo and as the accompanist to Bertha "Chippie" Hill. The later recordings proved he had lost none of his instrumental abilities, and had developed as a singer. Taylor's final recordings were from a 1946 radio broadcast and after that he was reported working as a chauffeur.
== Links To Peel ==
Montana Taylor was one of the artists played on John Peel's radio debut on the Kat's Karavan show in 1961. Peel continued to play his music throughout the 80s and 90s.
== Shows Played ==
;1960s
*Kat's Karavan (1961): Detroit Rocks
;1980s
*17 October 1984: Detroit Rock (LP – The Boogie Woogie Masters) Affinity
*01 February 1988: Detroit Rocks (v/a LP - The Boogie Woogie Masters) Affinity
;1990s
*19 February 1993: Indiana Avenue Stomp (v/a album Barrelhouse Blues 1927-1936) Yazoo 1028
*08 March 1993 (BFBS): Indiana Avenue Stomp (Unknown) Unknown
*22 June 1996: Detroit Rocks (CD – Strut That Thing) Indigo
*29 June 1996 (BFBS): Detroit Rocks (Compilation CD-The Essential Recordings Of Piano Blues And Boogie) Indigo
== External Links ==
* Wikipedia
* Discogs
Category:Artists