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Michael Kevin Taylor (born 17 January 1949) is an English guitarist, best known as a former member of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers (1967–1969) and the Rolling Stones (1969–1974). As a member of the Stones, he appeared on Let It Bleed (1969), Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! (1970), Sticky Fingers (1971), Exile on Main St. (1972), Goats Head Soup (1973), It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974), and Tattoo You (1981).
Since leaving the Rolling Stones in December 1974, Taylor has worked with numerous other artists and released several solo albums. From November 2012 onwards, he participated in the Stones' 50th-Anniversary shows in London and Newark, and in the band's 50 & Counting tour, which included North America, Glastonbury Festival and Hyde Park in 2013.
Taylor was ranked 37th in Rolling Stone magazine's 2011 list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash states that Taylor has had the biggest influence on him.
On 18 April 1966, at age 17, Taylor went to see a John Mayall's Bluesbreakers performance at The Hop, Woodhall Community Centre, Welwyn Garden City, and since Eric Clapton was absent, Taylor got to play in his stead.Marc Roberty, "Eric Clapton, Day By Day, The Early Years, 1963-1982" p.41 After playing the second set, and garnering Mayall's respect, Taylor left the stage, joined his friends and exited the venue before Mayall could speak with him. Still, this encounter proved pivotal in Taylor's career, when Mayall needed someone to fill Peter Green's vacancy the following year when Green quit to form Fleetwood Mac. Mayall placed a 'Guitarist Wanted' advert in the weekly Melody Maker music paper, and got a response from Taylor, whom he readily invited to join. Taylor made his debut with the Bluesbreakers at the Manor House, an old blues club in north London. For those in the music scene the night was an event ..."Let's go and see this 17-year-old kid try and replace Eric".(Robert Greenfield, S.T.P., A Journey Through America with the Rolling Stones, published by Michael Joseph Ltd, 1974. Reprinted by Helter Skelter Publishing, London 1997 quote from Chapter Four, page 103)
Taylor toured and recorded the album Crusade with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. From 1966 to 1969, Taylor developed a guitar style that is blues-based with Latin and jazz influences. He is the guitarist on the Bluesbreaker albums Crusade, Diary of a Band, Bare Wires, and Blues from Laurel Canyon. Later in his career, he further developed his skills as a .
Taylor's onstage debut as a Rolling Stone, at the age of 20, was the free concert in Hyde Park, London on 5 July 1969. An estimated quarter of a million people attended for a show that turned into a tribute to Brian Jones, who had died two days before the concert.
During their 1972 American Tour, Truman Capote profiled members of the band for an ultimately unfinished article for Rolling Stone; he would later describe Taylor to Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show as "pretty, a little Jean Harlow blond-type, but dumb, and totally uninteresting".
Between recording sessions, the band members were living in various countries as UK income tax exiles, with Taylor himself owing the Inland Revenue £22,000 after having spent less than a year and a half in the band.
Taylor took the opportunity to work on various side projects during his tenure with the Rolling Stones. In June 1973, he joined Mike Oldfield onstage at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in a performance of Oldfield's Tubular Bells. Taylor was asked to take part in this project by Richard Branson, as he felt Oldfield was a relative unknown, having just been signed to Branson's fledgling label, Virgin Records. Taylor joined Oldfield once more for a BBC television broadcast in November 1973. Taylor would also perform on the Herbie Mann albums London Underground and Reggae, both recorded in 1973.
Not long after those recording sessions, Taylor went on a six-week expedition to Brazil, travelling down the Amazon River in a boat and exploring Latin music. Just before the release of the album in October 1974, Taylor told music journalist Nick Kent from the NME about the new LP and that he had co-written "Till the Next Goodbye" and "Time Waits for No One" with Jagger. Kent told Taylor he had seen the finished artwork for the sleeve, which revealed the absence of any songwriting credits for Taylor, who "went silent for a second before muttering a curt 'We'll see about that!' almost under his breath. Actually, he sounded more resigned that anything else". (2026). 9781107030268, Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781107030268 Kent claimed that Taylor's wife had encouraged him to leave the band, and dismissively stated that Taylor "felt he should get songwriting credits because Keith hadn't turned up to a few sessions and he'd done a few riffs with Jagger", while Richards claimed that Taylor "never really wrote things, in spite of what he said", and that he could have resolved his creative frustrations and engaged in solo projects while still remaining a part of the band.
However, at the time, Taylor, who was apparently "determined to leave with a minimum of fuss", claimed that there "was no personal animosity in the split", and that his decision "had nothing whatsoever to do" with credits and royalties.
Taylor's last broadcast appearance with the Rolling Stones before his departure was in the promotional videos for "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" and "Ain't Too Proud to Beg".
In December 1974, Taylor announced he was leaving the Rolling Stones. He was attending a party hosted by Eric Clapton in London with Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood and record producer Marshall Chess. At some point, Taylor allegedly told Jagger he was quitting the band and walked out. Taylor's decision came as a shock to many. AllMusic. Retrieved 4 September 2007 The Rolling Stones were due to start recording a new album in Munich, and the entire band was reportedly angry at Taylor for leaving at such short notice.Davis 2004, p. 391 Jagger claimed that he "received a call from the office that Mick Taylor wasn't coming to the Munich sessions. Then I received a call saying Mick Taylor wasn't going anywhere anymore with the Stones." In response to questions about who would replace Taylor, Jagger spitefully commented: "No doubt we can find a brilliant six foot, three inch blond guitarist who can do his own makeup." Jagger later stated that "I suppose it was a bit inconsiderate of him to inform us a day before we were about to enter the studios...but maybe he hadn't made up his mind until that point". Bill Wyman claimed that "It was a very inconvenient time ... I didn't think he did it very politely." Richards allegedly sent Taylor a telegram the day after he left the band, stating: "Really enjoyed playing with you for the last five years. Thanks for all the turn-ons. Best wishes and love." According to his wife, Rose, "Mick just read it and started crying." Taylor's departure was officially announced on 12 and 16 December 1974: "After five and a half years Mick Taylor wishes a change of scene—wants the opportunity to try out new ventures, new endeavours. While we are all most sorry that he is going, we wish him great success and much happiness". Taylor made a statement to the press:
However, Taylor would later reveal that behind the scenes, things were more complicated:
When interviewed by Jann Wenner of Rolling Stone in 1995, Wenner wrote that Jagger had stated that Taylor never explained why he had left, and surmised that "Taylor wanted to have a solo career. I think he found it difficult to get on with Keith." In the same Wenner interview, Jagger had reportedly said of Taylor's contribution to the band: "I think he had a big contribution. He made it very musical. He was a very fluent, melodic player, which we never had, and we don't have now. Neither Keith nor Ronnie Wood (who replaced Taylor) plays that kind of style. It was very good for me working with him .... Mick Taylor would play very fluid lines against my vocals. He was exciting, and he was very pretty, and it gave me something to follow, to bang off. Some people think that's the best version of the band that existed". Asked if he agreed with that assessment, Jagger said: "I obviously can't say if I think Mick Taylor was the best, because it sort of trashes the period the band is in now." Charlie Watts stated: "I think we chose the right man for the job at that time just as Ronnie was the right man for the job later on. I still think Mick is great. I haven't heard or seen him play in a few years. But certainly what came out of playing with him are musically some of the best things we've ever done". A Life on the Road, Virgin Books 1999 In an October 2002 Guitar World interview, Richards reflected on his relationship with Taylor: "Mick Taylor and I worked really well together ... He had some lovely energy. Sweetly sophisticated playing, way beyond his years. Lovely sense of melody. I never understood why he left the Stones. Nor does he, I think ... I had no desire to see him go." Taylor later admitted in the 2012 documentary Crossfire Hurricane that he left because he wanted to protect his family from the drug culture surrounding the band. He further stated that in order to stay alive, he needed to escape the realm of the Stones.
In an essay about the Rolling Stones published after Taylor's resignation, The New York Times music critic Robert Palmer wrote that "Taylor is the most accomplished technician who ever served as a Stone. A blues guitarist with a jazzman's flair for melodic invention, Taylor was never a rock and roller and never a showman."
Taylor has worked with his former bandmates on various occasions since leaving the Rolling Stones. In 1977 he attended London-based sessions for the John Phillips album Pay Pack & Follow, appearing on several tracks alongside Jagger (vocals), Richards (guitar) and Wood (bass).
On 14 December 1981 he performed with the band during their concert at Kemper Arena in Kansas City, Missouri. Richards appeared on stage at a Mick Taylor show at the Lone Star Cafe in New York on 28 December 1986, jamming on "Key to the Highway" and "Can't You Hear Me Knocking"; and Taylor is featured on one track ("I Could Have Stood You Up") on Richards' 1988 album Talk is Cheap. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted Taylor along with the Rolling Stones in 1989. Taylor also worked with Bill Wyman's Rhythm Kings in the early 1990s.
In addition to his contributions to Rolling Stones albums released during his tenure with the band, Taylor's guitar is also on two tracks on their 1981 release Tattoo You: "Tops" and "Waiting on a Friend", which were recorded in 1972. (Taylor is sometimes mistakenly credited as playing on "Worried About You", but the solo on that track is performed by Wayne Perkins.)
Taylor's onstage presence with the Rolling Stones is preserved on the album Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!, recorded over four concerts at Madison Square Garden in New York and the Baltimore Civic Center in November 1969, and on the album Brussels Affair (Live 1973), compiled from two shows recorded in Brussels on 17 October 1973 in the Forest National Arena, during their European Tour. Taylor's live performances also feature in the documentary films Stones in the Park (released on DVD in 2001), Gimme Shelter (released in 1970) and Cocksucker Blues (unreleased); and in the concert film (shown in cinemas in 1974, and released on DVD and Blu-ray in 2010); these performances were also released on an album with the same title. Bootleg recordings from the Rolling Stones' tours from 1969 through 1973 also document Taylor's concert performances with the Rolling Stones.
For the 2010 re-release of Exile on Main St. Taylor worked with Jagger at a London studio in November 2009 to record new guitar and vocal parts for the previously unreleased song, "Plundered My Soul". The track was selected by the Rolling Stones for release as a limited edition single on Record Store Day.
On 24 October 2012, the Rolling Stones announced, via their latest Rolling Stone magazine interview, that Bill Wyman and Mick Taylor were expected to join the Rolling Stones on stage at the upcoming November shows in London. Richards went on to say that the pair would strictly be guests. At the two London shows on 25 and 29 November, Taylor played on "Midnight Rambler".
During an interview on the Late Night with Jimmy Fallon show (broadcast on 8 April 2013), Richards stated that Taylor would be performing with the Stones for their upcoming 2013 tour dates. Between 25 November 2012 and 13 July 2013 Taylor joined the Stones' 50 & Counting Tour performing at each of the 30 shows across Europe and North America, including sitting in on four songs at the Staples Center in Los Angeles and several numbers during their headline set at the Glastonbury Festival. The tour ended with two concerts at Hyde Park, London, which resulted in the album, Hyde Park Live and the concert film . He once again accompanied the Stones between 21 February and 22 November 2014 for the 29 dates of the 14 On Fire concerts across Asia, Europe and Australia/New Zealand.
Taylor appeared as a special guest of Little Feat at London's Rainbow Theatre in 1977, sharing slide guitar with then-frontman Lowell George on "A Apolitical Blues": this song appears on Little Feat's critically acclaimed live album Waiting for Columbus.
In the summer of 1977, Taylor collaborated with Pierre Moerlen's Gong for the album Expresso II, released in 1978. Taylor began writing new songs and recruiting musicians for a solo album and worked on projects with Miller Anderson, Alan Merrill and others. He was present at many of the recording sessions for John Phillips' prospective second solo album. The recordings for Phillips' LP took place in London over a prolonged period between 1973 and 1977. This led to Taylor working with Keith Richards and Mick Jagger who were also involved with the album. The LP was to be released on the Stones' own label Rolling Stones Records (distributed by Atlantic Records). Ahmet Ertegun decided to pull the plug on the project after hearing alarming reports of excessive drug use by Phillips and Richards, but bootleg recordings of the sessions circulated among fans under the titles "Half Stoned" and "Phillips '77". Eventually Eagle Rock Records made funds available to restore the original, rescued tapes and the album finally saw an official release in 2002 as Pay Pack & Follow.
In 1977 Taylor signed a solo recording deal with Columbia Records. By April 1978 he had given several interviews to music magazines to promote a new, completed album which mixed rock, jazz and Latin-flavoured blues musical styles. The album, titled Mick Taylor, was finally released by Columbia Records in 1979 and reached No.119 on the Billboard charts in early August, with a stay of five weeks on the Billboard 200. CBS advised Taylor to promote the album through American radio stations but was unwilling to back him for any supporting tour. Frustrated with this situation, Taylor took a break from the music industry for about a year.
In 1981 he toured Europe and the United States with Alvin Lee of Ten Years After, sharing the bill with Black Sabbath. He spent most of 1982 and 1983 on the road with John Mayall, for the "Reunion Tour" with John McVie of Fleetwood Mac and Colin Allen. During this tour Bob Dylan showed up backstage at The Roxy in Los Angeles to meet Taylor.
In 1983,Taylor joined Mark Knopfler and played on Dylan's Infidels album. He also appeared on Dylan's live album Real Live, as well as the follow-up studio album Empire Burlesque. In 1984, Dylan asked Taylor to assemble an experienced rock and roll band for a European tour he signed with Bill Graham. Ian McLagan was hired to play piano and Hammond organ, Greg Sutton to play bass and Colin Allen, a long-time friend of Taylor, on drums. The tour lasted for four weeks at venues such as Munich's Olympic Stadium Arena, Verona's Arena, and Milan's San Siro Stadium, sharing the bill with Carlos Santana and Joan Baez, who appeared on the same bill for a couple of shows.
He began what was to be a significant series of collaborations with Los Angeles-based Carla Olson with their "Live at the Roxy" album Too Hot For Snakes, the centrepiece of which is an extended seven-minute performance of "Sway". Another highlight is the lead track on the album, "Who Put the Sting (On the Honey Bee)", by Olson's then-bassist Jesse Sublett. It was followed by Olson's Within An Ace, which featured Taylor on seven songs. He appeared on three songs from Reap The Whirlwind and then again on Olson's The Ring of Truth, on which he plays lead guitar on nine tracks, including a twelve-minute version of the song "Winter". Further work by Olson and Taylor can be heard on the Olson-produced Barry Goldberg album Stoned Again. Taylor went on to appear on Percy Sledge's Blue Night (1994), along with Steve Cropper, Bobby Womack and Greg Leisz.
After spending two years as a resident of Miami, during which time he played with a band called 'Tumbling Dice' featuring Bobby Keys, Nicky Hopkins and others, Taylor moved back to England in the mid-1990s. He released a new album in 1998 entitled A Stone's Throw. Playing at clubs and theatres as well as appearing at festivals has kept Taylor connected with an appreciative audience and fan base.
In 2003, Taylor reunited with John Mayall for his 70th Birthday Concert in Liverpool along with Eric Clapton. A year later, in autumn 2004, he also joined John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers for a UK theatre tour. He toured the US East Coast with the Experience Hendrix group during October 2007. The Experience Hendrix group appeared at a series of concerts to honour Jimi Hendrix and his musical legacy. Players included Taylor, Mitch Mitchell, Billy Cox, Buddy Guy, Hubert Sumlin and Robby Krieger.
On 1 December 2010, Taylor reunited with Ronnie Wood at a benefit gig arranged by blues guitarist Stephen Dale Petit to save the 100 Club in London. Other special guests at the show were Dick Taylor (first bassist in the Rolling Stones) and blues/jazz trombonist Chris Barber. Taylor toured the UK with Petit, appearing as his special guest, featured on a Paul Jones BBC Radio 2 session with him and guested on Petit's 2010 album, The Crave.
Taylor also helped to promote the Boogie for Stu album, recorded by Ben Waters to honour Ian Stewart (original Stones pianist and co-founder of the band), by taking part in a concert to mark the CD's official launch at the Ambassadors Theatre, London on 9 March 2011. Proceeds from the event were donated to the British Heart Foundation. Although Jagger and Richards didn't show up, Taylor noticeably enjoyed performing with Watts, Wood and Wyman, among others. In 2012, Taylor rejoined the Rolling Stones as a special guest on their 50 & Counting Tour, typically performing "Midnight Rambler" in a prominent lead guitar role. Flashback: The Rolling Stones (Briefly) Reunite With Bill Wyman in 2012. Rolling Stone. 20 November 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2023.
Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash states that Taylor had the biggest influence on him.
Though Taylor is primarily known as an electric guitarist he has also contributed acoustic guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals, keyboards and synthesizers to solo and guest recordings.
Non-Rolling Stones work with Rolling Stones members:
Note: Too Hot For Snakes and The Ring of Truth were released by Fuel/Universal autumn of 2012 as a 2-CD set with three bonus tracks including two previously unreleased songs from the Roxy Theatre. "Sway: The Best of Carla Olson & Mick Taylor" ~ a vinyl-only compilation, December 2020 on Sunset Blvd Records.
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