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".
Last Two Dollars
Johnnie Taylor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She lost all of her money
She said don't feel sorry for me no
Don't feel sorry honey
But if you want to do a lady a favor
Here's what I want you to do
Just loan me two dollars
But these last two dollars
I'm not gonna lose
These last two dollars
I'm not gonna lose
One's going for my bus fare
Other one for the jukebox
To hear me some blues
To hear me some blues
She said I wouldn't be over here
If my man had been treating me right
I came here to try to catch him, yeah
'Cause he's been sneaking around every night
But I got caught up over here
Got caught up in this scene
And put all of my money
In that doggone gambling machine
But these last two dollars
I'm not gonna lose
These last two dollars
I'm not gonna lose
One's going for my bus fare
Other one for the jukebox
I got to hear me damn some blues oh lord
Last two dollars
I'm not gonna lose
Last two dollars
I'm not gonna lose
Bus fare, jukebox hear some blues
Lady at the casino
Lost all of her money yeah
She said don't feel sorry
Don't feel sorry honey
If you want to do a lady a favor
Here's what I want you to do
Just loan me two dollars
Until the next time I see you
But these last two dollars
I'm not gonna lose
These last two dollars
I'm not gonna lose
One's for my bus fare
Other one for the jukebox
To hear me some blues, oh yea
These last two dollars
I'm not gonna lose
These last two dollars
I'm not gonna lose
I've learned my lesson and now baby
I wanna hear some blues
Alright now
These last two dollars, naw
I'm not gonna lose
These last two dollars
I sho' ain't gone lose
Got one for my bus fare
Other one for the jukebox
I gotta hear me some blues
Yea yea I think I said that again
These last two dollars
I'm not gonna lose
These last two dollars
I sho' ain't gonna lose
One goes for the bus fare
Other one for the jukebox
I gotta hear me some down home blues
The song "Last Two Dollars" by Johnnie Taylor tells the story of a woman who gambles away all of her money at a casino. She asks a man to lend her two dollars until the next time she sees him, which he does. She then explains that she is going to use the last two dollars to pay for her bus fare and to listen to some blues on the jukebox. The woman admits that she came to the casino to try and catch her cheating man, but ended up losing all of her money instead.
The lyrics paint a picture of someone who has hit rock bottom but is determined not to lose the last bit of money they have left. The woman's request for two dollars might seem insignificant, but it represents a last effort to hold onto some hope and dignity. The lyrics also touch on themes of heartbreak, love, and addiction.
Line by Line Meaning
A lady at the casino
There's a woman at the casino
She lost all of her money
She no longer has any money after gambling it all away
She said don't feel sorry for me no
She doesn't want anyone to pity her
Don't feel sorry honey
She's speaking to someone she knows, possibly a friend or lover
But if you want to do a lady a favor
She's asking for a favor
Here's what I want you to do
She's about to state her request
Just loan me two dollars
She's asking for a small loan of two dollars
Until the next time I see you
She promises to repay the loan when she sees the person again
But these last two dollars
The two dollars she has left
I'm not gonna lose
She's determined not to gamble it away
One's going for my bus fare
She needs one dollar for transportation
Other one for the jukebox
The other dollar is for the jukebox
To hear me some blues
She wants to listen to blues music
She said I wouldn't be over here
She explains why she's at the casino
If my man had been treating me right
She would not be at the casino if her partner treated her well
I came here to try to catch him, yeah
She's hoping to catch her unfaithful partner at the casino
'Cause he's been sneaking around every night
Her partner has been suspiciously out at night
But I got caught up over here
She became engrossed in gambling
Got caught up in this scene
She became involved with the gambling culture
And put all of my money
She spent all of her money
In that doggone gambling machine
She gambled it all away on a machine
I've learned my lesson and now baby
She's acknowledging that she made a mistake
I wanna hear some blues
She wants to listen to blues music after her loss
Alright now
An expression of affirmation or enthusiasm
I sho' ain't gone lose
She is confident in not losing her last two dollars
I gotta hear me some down home blues
She wants to listen to some authentic blues music
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: GEORGE HENRY JACKSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@SandraAlexander-xi5lb
He sounds exactly like his records and better. He looked good even as an older man. Fine as Wine 👑. 2024/2
@queenebony
Right. He looks great and sounds even better than his records.
@lindalocke3233
My old Man used to sing this song and I loved hearing him may he rest in heaven. Claudel Hart jr. 2015
@windelljones9066
😅gf
@SUNSHINE-fq8sc
This that front porch music with barrel bar b cue grill going, with that old screen door slamming, car parked across the grass, kids running wild, spade game going on, and put in a beer n gin run!!!!!! Everyone getting alone until that 1 Uncle arrives n start mess🤣🤣🤣🤣
@blessedandfavored9242
Perfect description
@davidmorant4982
😅 LP
@melvinwallace2816
And you know this!!!!! Hahaha 😂!
@user-re9fn8ei8p
A time to be alive
@phogue1
Best video comment of all time.