Twelve fingered rough and ready blues maestro.

Theodore Roosevelt "H… Read Full Bio ↴Twelve fingered rough and ready blues maestro.

Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor (April 12, 1915 - December 17, 1975) was an American Chicago blues guitarist and singer.

Career

Taylor was born in Natchez, Mississippi in 1915 (although some sources say 1917). He originally played piano, but began playing guitar when he was 20. He moved to Chicago in 1942.

He became a full-time musician around 1957 but remained unknown outside of the Chicago area where he played small clubs in the black neighborhoods and also at the open-air Maxwell Street Market. He was known for his electrified slide guitar playing roughly styled after that of Elmore James, his cheap Japanese Teisco guitars, and his raucous boogie beats. He was also famed among guitar players for having six fingers on his left hand.

After hearing Taylor with his band, the HouseRockers (Brewer Phillips on second guitar and Ted Harvey on drums) in 1970 at Florence's Lounge on Chicago's South Side, Bruce Iglauer - at the time a shipping clerk for Delmark Records - tried to get him signed by his employer. Having no success getting Delmark to sign Taylor, Iglauer formed a small record label with a $2500 inheritance and recorded Taylor's debut album, Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers, on his fledgling Alligator Records in 1971. It was the first release on Alligator, now a major blues label. It was recorded in a studio in just two nights. Iglauer began managing and booking the band, which toured nationwide and performed with Muddy Waters and Big Mama Thornton.[citation needed] The band became particularly popular in the Boston area, where Taylor inspired a young protégé named George Thorogood. A live album Live At Joe's Place documented a Boston appearance from 1972.

Their second release, Natural Boogie, was recorded in late 1973, and led to greater acclaim and touring. In 1975, Taylor and his band toured Australia and New Zealand with Freddie King and Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee. His third Alligator album, Beware of the Dog, was recorded live in 1974 but was only released after his death. More posthumous releases occurred as well, including Genuine Houserocking Music and Release the Hound, on the Alligator label as well as some bootleg live recordings.

Taylor died of lung cancer in 1975, and was buried in Restvale Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.

Taylor was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1984.[citation needed]
Discography

Hound Dog Taylor and The HouseRockers (1971)(Alligator Records)

Natural Boogie (1974)(Alligator Records)

Beware The Dog! (1976)(Alligator Records)

Genuine Houserocking Music (1982)(Alligator Records)

Hound Dog Taylor - Deluxe Edition (1999)(Alligator Records)

Release The Hound (2004)(Alligator Records)
Legacy

George Thorogood dedicated "The Sky Is Crying" (song 9) to "the memory of the late great Hound Dog Taylor" on his Live album (EMI America CDP 7 46329 2).

It's Alright
Hound Dog Taylor Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

(Hound Dog Taylor)

Yes I love ya, I love ya
Woman I'm telling what I'll do
I don't love nobody I'm telling ya
In the whole round world but you
Alright, alright, it's alright

Yes let me tell ya, let me tell ya
Honey, just before you go
If you don't love me, won't you tell me
Baby I swear I don't wanna go
Alright, alright, it's alright

Lord wake up any morning
Then find your little woman gone
It can hurt you so bad by she leaving
Boy you just hate to be alone
Alright, alright, it's alright

Yes, I'm leaving, I'm leaving
Boy this time I'm really gone
There's no use in me hanging around here baby

And you steady doing me wrong
Alright, alright, it's alright

Overall Meaning

In "It's Alright" by Hound Dog Taylor & The Houserockers, the lyrics express the unrequited love of the singer for a woman. The singer tells the woman that he loves her and that he doesn't love anyone else in the whole world. He also begs her to tell him if she does not love him back, so he knows the truth, and he won't have to go on loving her for nothing. The singer shares with his listeners that waking up in the morning to find your loved one gone is one of the most painful experiences anyone can have. But he follows up with the message that, "it's alright," meaning that life goes on despite the pain, and one can come out stronger on the other side.

Towards the end of the song, the singer reveals that he is leaving because the woman is doing him wrong, and he can't handle it any longer. He says, "There's no use in me hanging around here baby, and you steady doing me wrong." Despite this, he still says, "Alright, alright, it's alright," indicating that he is fine and will manage. The song's theme of love and loss is universal and relatable, and the lyrics convey the emotional pain of unrequited love, the resilience of the human spirit, and the power of self-love and moving on, even when it is hard.

Line by Line Meaning

Yes I love ya, I love ya
I have strong feelings for you, I care for you deeply

Woman I'm telling what I'll do
I am being honest with you about my intentions

I don't love nobody I'm telling ya
There is no one else that I love

In the whole round world but you
You are the only one I have feelings for

Yes let me tell ya, let me tell ya
I need to communicate something important to you

Honey, just before you go
Before you leave, I need to say this

If you don't love me, won't you tell me
Please be truthful with me and tell me if you do not love me

Baby I swear I don't wanna go
I do not want to leave if we have a chance

Lord wake up any morning
It is terrible to open your eyes and find yourself alone

Then find your little woman gone
To see that your partner has left and you are alone

It can hurt you so bad by she leaving
This can cause immense emotional pain