Growing up amidst music, Taylor had one release, "Somewhere to Lay My Head", on Chicago's Chance Records in the 50s as part of a doo-wop group called Five Echoes. Taylor was also part of the gospel group, The Highway QC's also, replacing r&b artist Sam Cooke that had left to become the lead singer of the Soul Stirrers in 1951. Then, after Cooke left the Soul Stirrers in 1957, Taylor was hired to take Cooke's place as lead singer.
A few years later, after Cooke had established his independent SAR Records, Taylor signed on and recorded "Rome Wasn't Built In A Day" in 1962. However, SAR Records quickly became defunct after Cooke's tradic early death in 1964.
In 1966, Taylor moved to Stax Records in Memphis, where he was dubbed "The Philosopher of Soul". While there he recorded with the label's house band, Booker T. & the MGs. His hits included "I Had a Dream", "I've Got to Love Somebody's Baby" (both written by the team of Isaac Hayes and David Porter) and most notably "Who's Making Love?", which reached No. 5 on the Billboard Top 40 and No. 1 on the R&B charts in 1968. During his tenure at Stax, he became an R&B star, with over a dozen chart successes, such as "Cheaper to Keep Her" (Mack Rice) and producer Don Davis's "I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)".
After Stax folded in the mid 1970s, Taylor switched to Columbia Records, where he made his best-known hit, "Disco Lady", in 1976. "Disco Lady" was the first certified platinum single. Columbia pigeonholed Taylor as a disco artist, however, and neglected his wide-ranging talent. Not surprisingly, his record sales slipped.
After a brief stint at Beverly Glen Records, Taylor signed with Malaco Records after the label's founder Tommy Couch and producing partner Wolf Stephenson heard him sing at blues singer Z.Z. Hill's funeral in the spring of 1984. Backed by members of The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section as well as in-house veterans like former Stax keyboardist Carson Whitsett, Malaco gave Taylor the type of recording freedom that Stax had given him in the late 1960s and early 1970s, enabling him to record ten albums for the Malaco label in his sixteen year stint. Taylor's record sales were good but not enough for the singer to receive the measure of stardom he once had.
In 1996, Taylor's eighth album for Malaco, Good Love!, made it to Number One on Billboard's Blues chart (#15 R&B), the biggest record in Malaco's history.
Malaco recorded a live video of Taylor at the Longhorn Ballroom in Dallas, Texas in the summer of 1997.
Johnnie Taylor's 1999 album, "Gotta Get the Groove Back", also reached the # 1 Position on the Billboard Blues Charts. This album which featured veteran songwriter, Lamar Thmas (Woman don't be Afraid) was also a Grammy Nominated album during the same year that Johnnie passed.
Taylor was given a Pioneer Award by the Rhythm and Blues Foundation in 1999. He died in Dallas at the age of 66.
In what would turn out to be a sad foreshadowing, Taylor's final song was "Soul Heaven", in which he dreamed of being at a concert featuring deceased Soul music icons Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson, Marvin Gaye, Sam Cooke, and MGs drummer Al Jackson, among others. In one verse, Taylor sang, "I didn't want to wake up/I was havin' such a good time".
I Believe In You
Johnnie Taylor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I feel sorry, I feel sorry
I feel for sorry
For any man out there
When he can't look around
And say this is my woman
My woman alone
I feel sorry, yeah
For any woman out there
Who can't say I got somebody
That I can call my very own
I feel sorry, I feel sorry
I feel sorry, I feel sorry
One thing I can say about
The people of the world today
They see you with a good thing
They want to take it away
But I believe in you
You believe in me too, yeah
Even your best friend will come
Around making sly remarks
Trying to put you down
I believe in you
You believe in me too
Listen, honey
People talking
Trying to pull us apart
Sticking pins and needles
In both of our hearts
I love you no matter
Don't care about
The stormy weather
I heard your mother say
Loving me didn't make no sense
But when she put me down
You stood up in my defense
I believe in you
Anytime you against
Your own mother
It makes me know
You believe in me, yeah
Here's another thing
We had our hard times
And almost didn't make it
We always worked it
Never tried to fake it
But I believe in you
You believe in me too
Here's anything about it
People talking
Trying to pull us apart
Always ticking pins and
Needles in both of our hearts
Our love together
Don't care about
The stormy weather
I believe in you
You believe in me too, yeah
I believe
That's why every time
We get a chance
I tell you, honey
How much I love you
Love you, love you
Love you, love you
And most of all
How much I trust you
The reason why I trust you, baby
Is because of one thing
I can lean on you, yeah, baby
And you can lean on me too
One more time I'm gonna say
I believe in you
Honey, please
Let me believe in you
I know a lot of folk out there
Wish they had somebody
They could believe in
I believe, I believe in you
You believe in me too
Anytime you against
Your own mother
It makes me know
You believe in me
I believe in you
And you've shown me enough
To know you believe in me too
The song "I Believe In You" by Johnnie Taylor is about the importance of trust and belief in a relationship. The repeated chorus of "I believe in you, you believe in me too" demonstrates the mutual trust and support that the singer feels in his relationship. He also acknowledges the outside forces that can try to pull a couple apart, such as jealousy or interference from others, but he remains steadfast in his belief in his partner.
The verses highlight the specific challenges that couples can face. The first verse talks about the importance of being able to claim one's partner as their own, without fear of competition or outside interference. The second verse talks about the struggles that can come with relationships, and the importance of standing up for and defending one's partner, even in the face of criticism or disapproval from others.
Overall, the song is a celebration of the strength and foundation that comes from mutual trust and belief in a relationship, and a warning against the forces that can try to undermine that trust.
Line by Line Meaning
I feel sorry, I feel sorry
I feel for sorry For any man or woman out there Who can't claim their partner as their own
For any man out there
When he can't look around
And say this is my woman
My woman alone
I feel sorry, yeah, for any man who can't confidently say that his partner belongs to him alone
For any woman out there
Who can't say I got somebody
That I can call my very own
I feel sorry, yeah, for any woman who can't proudly claim that she has someone to call her own
One thing I can say about
The people of the world today
They see you with a good thing
They want to take it away
People today tend to snatch away the good things one has, if they see it in others
But I believe in you
You believe in me too, yeah
Even your best friend will come
Around making sly remarks
Trying to put you down
I believe in you
You believe in me too
Despite people trying to break us apart and put each other down, I believe in you and you believe in me
Listen, honey
People talking
Trying to pull us apart
Sticking pins and needles
In both of our hearts
I love you no matter
Don't care about
The stormy weather
Even when the world is trying to push us apart and hurt us, I will always love you and be there for you through any hardships
I heard your mother say
Loving me didn't make no sense
But when she put me down
You stood up in my defense
I believe in you
When your own mother put me down for loving you, you stood up for me, which is why I have always and will always believe in you
We had our hard times
And almost didn't make it
We always worked it
Never tried to fake it
But I believe in you
You believe in me too
Even when times were tough and it seemed like we might not make it, we worked hard and never pretended, and that's why I believe in you and you believe in me
Our love together
Don't care about
The stormy weather
I believe in you
You believe in me too, yeah
Our love is strong enough to survive any hardships, and we will always believe in each other
I believe
That's why every time
We get a chance
I tell you, honey
How much I love you
Love you, love you
Love you, love you
And most of all
How much I trust you
The reason why I trust you, baby
Is because of one thing
I can lean on you, yeah, baby
And you can lean on me too
One more time I'm gonna say
I believe in you so much that every chance I get, I tell you how much I love and trust you. I trust you because I know I can always lean on you, and you can lean on me too. That's why I'm saying it one more time
Honey, please
Let me believe in you
I know a lot of folk out there
Wish they had somebody
They could believe in
I believe, I believe in you
You believe in me too
Anytime you against
Your own mother
It makes me know
You believe in me
I believe in you
And you've shown me enough
To know you believe in me too
Please let me believe in you, because there are a lot of people out there who wish they had someone to believe in. I know you believe in me because you have stood up for me against your own mother, and you have shown me enough to know that you believe in me too
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Royalty Network
Written by: BRIAN J. CULBERTSON, STEVE LU, ERIC ROSS MARIENTHAL, DON DAVIS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@m.patsyfauntleroy9645
R. I. S
RISE IN SPIRIT
WE
NEED
SOUL MUSIC MUSE
BACK IN
HOUSE
AND
STREET
OPENED WIDOWS
WEEKENDS
IN
COMMUNITY
RAISE THE SOUL
BACK TO
NEIGHBORHOOD
POLICE
ONLY WE CALL
BLACK & COLORED
GAURDIANS
" DANCING IN THE
STREETS "
EAT OUTSIDE
" THE RIGHT TO
THRIVE " ( LAW )
MARYLAND OWE
US
HOUSES
" MAKE WHOLE
THE HARM "( LAW )
PRE - PAID
FEDERAL CRIME
PREVENTION
FUNDS
MIS -
APPROPIATED
&
HOARDED !!!
@kelvendyson1508
This my momma's song here!! Boy those Saturday nights was filled with music, card playing, vodka cocktails, and the parties in other apartments in our building!! Man I miss those days!! She would always plays this record!! Mom, still here, still going strong at 80 years old and I treasure every moment I have with her!! Love you mom!!
@mosesshelwood8061
May God riches bless you in jesus name.
@kelvendyson1508
@mosesshelwood8061 ...thank you!!
@sabrinaburnshartsfield3179
Still loving, listening and enjoying this too...God Bless you and your Mom still enjoying these tunes
Im still enjoying all too and it brings back memories of my Mom and Dad too❤
@claresamorris2087
My Mother Loved JT also,I know why now,he was a handsome Man and very Talented.I think about Mama everytime I hear a JT song ❤ 🎉 I'm a Lifetime Fan of his now
@geraldpittman8843
That's 😮what I love about Johnnie Taylor make me feel so good.
@lovingmylife9415
I’m the poster child of a 70’s baby NOW A STRONG SOUL 👑 QUEEN! Keep living
@SilkRouteRui
My mom is 96 y. o. but in pain and sore. Love heals.
@delethiamoses782
Blesss you and your mom ,I believe in her instincts of remembering if she heard this we as my family played songs from. Back then ,I'm 63 my granny was 98 and would still pat her feet to so.e ,.and recognize the music we played while she was here ,rest well grandmother 😢
@MaryHGoudie
@@delethiamoses782 Rui's mom died in May last year, at 97 and a third years old.