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".
Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone
Johnnie Taylor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Trying to get ahead
Working two jobs
Til you're almost dead
(You tell em)
Work your fingers
Right down to the bone
Sneaking around in your home
There's a cat named Jody
In every town
Spending lots of cash
And just riding around
Ride on, Jody
Ride on, ride on
With your bad self
Jody
The ashes in your ashtray
Footprints on your carpet
While you work all day
He even got the nerve
To sleep in your bed
Sit down at the table
Eat your bread
When you get home
After working hard all day
Jody's got your girl
And he don't play
I said
Ain't no sense in going home
Jody's got your girl and gone
(It ain't no sense in going home)
(You gotta get home but
You work too hard)
(It ain't no sense in going home)
(You gotta get home but
You work too hard)
Ain't no sense in going home
Jody's got your girl and gone)
I tell you, Jody's got
Your girl and gone
(Ain't no sense in going home)
When you discover
Your gross neglect
It'll be too late to
Give your woman respect
You'll hunt down Jody
Dead or alive
Ten thousand dollar reward
For Jody's hide
Ain't no sense in going home
Jody's got your girl and gone
"Jody's Got Your Girl And Gone" is a popular blues song by Johnnie Taylor that was released in 1971. At its core, the song is about infidelity, as Jody is a character who has taken another man's girl and left him alone. The song starts by highlighting how men work hard to make ends meet, often juggling two jobs and working tirelessly. Yet as they work hard to provide for their families, they leave their homes vulnerable to prowlers like Jody. Taylor paints Jody not as a physical threat but a sly cat who sneaks his way into the lives of the unsuspecting men.
The lyrics talk about how Jody spends money leading a lavish lifestyle while the hard-working men continue to work themselves to the bone. Jody takes advantage of the situation and squirms his way into the homes of the unsuspecting men, smoking and sleeping in their homes while they are working. The revelation of a man's girl leaving with Jody while he was working is sure never to leave his mind. The chorus 'Ain't no sense going home/Jody's got your girl and gone' captures the essence of the song, which is the terrible sucker punch that these hardworking men face when they find out what Jody has done. The song describes the frustration and rage these men feel knowing that they have sacrificed so much, to have their home life destroyed by this smooth talkin' womanizer.
Line by Line Meaning
Every guy I know
All of my male acquaintances
Trying to get ahead
Striving for financial success and recognition
Working two jobs
Holding multiple sources of employment
Til you're almost dead
Working oneself to the point of physical exhaustion
(You tell em)
Encouraging others to follow the same path
Work your fingers
Exerting oneself through manual labor
Right down to the bone
Working so hard that it affects one's health
There's a cat named Jody
Referring to a philandering man as 'Jody'
Sneaking around in your home
Being unfaithful with your loved one
In every town
Such men can be found everywhere
Spending lots of cash
Giving lavish gifts to your significant other
And just riding around
Driving luxury vehicles as a form of displaying wealth
Ride on, Jody
Encouraging the Jodys of the world to continue their ways
Ride on, ride on
Repeatedly encouraging their behavior
With your bad self
Acknowledging their ability to attract partners
The ashes in your ashtray
Evidence of Jody's presence in your home
Footprints on your carpet
His trackable markers of infidelity
While you work all day
As your continue to work hard for your family and future
He even got the nerve
Implying his audacity in such acts
To sleep in your bed
Performing sexual acts with your partner in your bed
Sit down at the table
Acting as if he lives in your home
Eat your bread
Taking advantage of the resources you provide
When you get home
Upon your arrival from work
After working hard all day
After exerting yourself at your workplace
Jody's got your girl
Jody has stolen your significant other
And he don't play
Implying that Jody is serious about his advances
I said
As a form of emphasis
Ain't no sense in going home
Suggesting that it is pointless to return home
(It ain't no sense in going home)
Reiterating the previous statement
(You gotta get home but
Despite the need to go home
You work too hard)
Working oneself to exhaustion makes it impossible to act upon that need
(You gotta get home but
Despite the need to go home
You work too hard)
Working oneself to exhaustion makes it impossible to act upon that need
Jody's got your girl and gone)
Explicitly stating the reason why it's pointless to go home
I tell you, Jody's got
Asserting the truth of the situation
Your girl and gone
Clearly communicating that Jody has stolen away your significant other
When you discover
Implying that there will be a time when you find out
Your gross neglect
Acknowledging that your lack of attention or commitment contributed to the affair
It'll be too late to
By this point it will be too late
Give your woman respect
To show consideration and affection towards your significant other
You'll hunt down Jody
Implying a violent or aggressive response to the situation
Dead or alive
Resulting in either the death or capture of Jody
Ten thousand dollar reward
Offering a substantial amount of money for information leading to his capture
For Jody's hide
Enforcing the statement that he should be brought to justice
Ain't no sense in going home
The chorus repeats the statement that it is pointless to go home
Jody's got your girl and gone
Explicitly stating the reason why it's pointless to go home
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DON DAVIS, JAMES WILSON, KENT BARKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@shawnrichards344
My Grandmother used to play this song, with the roof open, swerving on the way to get me some Happy Meal. I love you FOREVER OLD LADY!
@Queenofcydonia2
The thumbs down must have been a victim of Jody 🤣🤣🤣
@planetrock5864
😂😂😂
@DS-we2ru
Who’s makin love to yo old lady while you out makin
@eddie054
An older friend once gave me advice and said "There's a lot of Jodys out there." He was right for sure.
@torrienash4263
😳🤣🤣🤣🤣
@shirleywilliams5124
😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣💯🤝
@janemitchell2019
One of The Greatest R&B Singers Of All Time.
@mtonyjr4176
Exactly!!! Hands down!!!
@whitneydavis3500
JT❤