Born in Benoit, Mississippi, as a boy Eddie Taylor taught himself to play the guitar. He spent his early years playing at venues around Leland, Mississippi where he taught his friend Jimmy Reed to play guitar. Bringing with him a style deeply rooted in the Mississippi Delta tradition, in 1949 Eddie Taylor moved to Chicago.
While Taylor never achieved the stardom of some of his compatriots in the Chicago Blues scene, he nevertheless was an integral part of that era and is especially noted as a main accompanist for Jimmy Reed as well as working with John Lee Hooker, Big Walter Horton, and others. Taylor's own records "Big Town Playboy" and "Bad Boy" on Vee Jay Records became local hits in the 1950s.
When you're talking about the patented Jimmy Reed laconic shuffle sound, you're talking about Eddie Taylor just as much as Reed himself. Taylor was the glue that kept Reed's lowdown grooves from falling into serious disrepair. His rock-steady rhythm guitar powered the great majority of Reed's Vee-Jay sides during the 1950s and early '60s, and he even found time to wax a few classic sides of his own for Vee-Jay during the mid-'50s.
Eddie Taylor was as versatile a blues guitarist as anyone could ever hope to encounter. His style was deeply rooted in Delta tradition, but he could snap off a modern funk-tinged groove just as convincingly as a straight shuffle. Taylor witnessed Delta immortals Robert Johnson and Charley Patton as a lad, taking up the guitar himself in 1936 and teaching the basics of the instrument to his childhood pal Reed. After a stop in Memphis, he hit Chicago in 1949, falling in with harpist Snooky Pryor, guitarist Floyd Jones, and -- you guessed it -- his old homey Reed.
I Feel So Bad From Jimmy Reed's second Vee-Jay date in 1953 on, Eddie Taylor was right there to help Reed through the rough spots. Taylor's own Vee-Jay debut came in 1955 with the immortal "Bad Boy" (Reed returning the favor on harp). Taylor's second Vee-Jay single coupled two more classics, "Ride 'Em on Down" and "Big Town Playboy," and his last two platters for the firm, "You'll Always Have a Home" and "I'm Gonna Love You," were similarly inspired. But Taylor's records didn't sell in the quantities that Reed's did, so he was largely relegated to the role of sideman (he recorded behind John Lee Hooker, John Brim, Elmore James, Snooky Pryor, and many more during the '50s) until his 1972 set for Advent, I Feel So Bad, made it abundantly clear that this quiet, unassuming guitarist didn't have to play second fiddle to anyone. When he died in 1985, he left a void on the Chicago circuit that remains apparent even now. They just don't make 'em like Eddie Taylor anymore.
Taylor's son Eddie Taylor Jr. is a blues guitarist in Chicago, and his stepson Larry Taylor is a blues drummer and vocalist. Taylor's wife Vera was the sister of well-known bluesmen Eddie Burns and Jimmy Burns.
You can also see Eddie 'Playboy' Taylor on last.fm.
Big Town Playboy
Eddie Taylor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Chicago's Okay, but these times so doggone hard
But you, go ahead Eddie
That's one thing I don't enjoy
She said everything is okay Eddie
You're nothing but a bigtown playboy
Walk the streets all day, come home late at night
But you, go ahead Eddie
That's one thing I don't enjoy
But everything is alright
Just a bigtown playboy
Days long baby, never treat me right
All you wanna do darling is, fuss and fight
But you, go ahead Eddie
That's one thing I don't enjoy
She said everything is Okay Eddie
You're nothing but a bigtown playboy
Dress yourself plainly, all the time
Got the nerve to tell me, you is dyin'
But you're, nothing but a big boy
You got to play around all the time
Everything is okay Eddie,
Nothing but a bigtown playboy
In "Big Town Playboy," Eddie Taylor sings about the struggles of living in Chicago during tough times and the tension within his relationship due to his own womanizing tendencies. The song opens with a discussion with his girlfriend who encourages him to find a job amidst the hard times, but expresses her dissatisfaction with his behavior, calling him a "big town playboy." Throughout the lyrics, Taylor expresses his frustration with the limitations of his life in the city and the constant fighting with his partner. At one point, he seems to acknowledge that he is not treating his partner well, but still cannot resist the temptation to cheat. In the end, Taylor seems resigned to his fate as a playboy, a fitting end for a song about a man who cannot resist the temptations of the big city.
Line by Line Meaning
Told me this morning, find myself a job
She advised me to search for a job this morning
Chicago's Okay, but these times so doggone hard
Chicago is a fine place to live, but it's tough to make ends meet these days
But you, go ahead Eddie
Despite her disapproval, she allows me to do as I please
That's one thing I don't enjoy
She only disapproves of my decision to be a playboy
She said everything is okay Eddie
Although she disapproves of my behavior, she believes everything else is fine
You're nothing but a bigtown playboy
She believes that all I do is play around with women in the city
Walk the streets all day, come home late at night
I spend my days wandering the city and return home late at night
Everything I say darling you know it ain't right
She believes that everything I say is wrong or inappropriate
Days long baby, never treat me right
She feels that I mistreat her all day long
All you wanna do darling is, fuss and fight
She believes that all I want to do is argue and pick fights
But everything is alright
Despite our problems, she believes that things are fine
Days long baby, never treat me right
She feels that I mistreat her all day long
You're nothing but a bigtown playboy
She believes that all I do is play around with women in the city
Dress yourself plainly, all the time
I always dress in a simple or understated way
Got the nerve to tell me, you is dyin'
Despite my womanizing ways, I have the audacity to claim that I'm dying
You got to play around all the time
She believes that I'm constantly playing around with other women
Everything is okay Eddie
Although she disapproves of my behavior, she believes everything else is fine
Nothing but a bigtown playboy
She believes that all I do is play around with women in the city
Contributed by Adrian I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
YoCyrus87
That first solo lick is just too good.
Paul Pollmann
I agree.
purplestuff
Eddie should have been more famous. Such an immense talent!
kordier
The best. 👌