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".
Steal Away
Johnnie Taylor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wanna steal it (steal it)
Let me see you steal it (steal it)
I've got to see you somehow
Not tomorrow, right now
I know it's late, I can't wait
Come on, steal away
Don't wanna start thinking
I might change my mind
Everybody's sleeping
Let's not waste any time
I know it's late, I can't wait
Girl, you got to wanna steal it
I know it's wrong
Meeting you this way
There's no other way
That I can be with you
If only your folks
Would approve
Things like this, you and I
Wouldn't have to do, no, no
Steal it, lord, have mercy
I got to steal it
Somebody out there
They wanna steal it
They wanna steal it
I know it's late, I can't wait
Won't you help me steal it
I know it's wrong
Meeting you this way
There's no other way
That I can be with you
If only, if only, if only
Your folks would approve
Things like this, we
Wouldn't have to do, no
I won't tell
I won't tell nobody else
I'm gonna keep it to myself
I know it's late
Don't you hesitate
Come on and steal away
Let me steal your love
i know alot of folk out there trying to criticize me
But you would be doing
The same thing that I'm doing
Everybody wanna steal away
Lord, please don't criticize me
I'm trying to steal a little love
Don't you want to steal away
Don't you want to steal away
Don't you want to steal away
The lyrics to Johnnie Taylor's "Steal Away" depict a forbidden love between the singer and another person. The singer begs the other person to "steal away" with them, insisting that they cannot wait until tomorrow to be together. The song carries a sense of urgency, with the singer making it clear that they want to be with the other person as soon as possible, regardless of the danger or potential consequences.
The lyrics suggest that there may be societal or familial expectations preventing the singer and their love interest from being together. The line "If only your folks would approve / Things like this, you and I / Wouldn't have to do" implies that the relationship is disapproved of by the other person's family. Despite this, the singer insists that they will not tell anyone and just want to keep the love between them.
Overall, the lyrics of "Steal Away" express a passionate desire for love between two people who know they should not be together. The song's sense of urgency and forbidden nature make for a compelling narrative that still resonates with audiences today.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't you wanna steal it (steal it)
Do you not want to sneak away and be together with me?
I wanna steal it (steal it)
I desire to secretly be with you.
Let me see you steal it (steal it)
I want to witness you escaping to be with me.
I've got to see you somehow
I must see you and be with you, regardless of the time or place.
Not tomorrow, right now
I cannot wait until a future time to be with you.
I know it's late, I can't wait
Despite the time, I cannot delay any longer from being with you.
Come on, steal away
Let us go and be together secretly.
Won't you let me steal it
Please allow me to be with you secretly.
Don't wanna start thinking
I do not want to ponder over my actions and possibly change my mind.
I might change my mind
I do not want to consider my decision in depth and end up doing things differently.
Everybody's sleeping
Everyone else is asleep and unaware of our plans to sneak away.
Let's not waste any time
We should not spend any more time hesitating to be together.
Girl, you got to wanna steal it
You must also desire to secretly be with me.
I know it's wrong
I am aware that our actions are not socially acceptable or moral.
Meeting you this way
Being with you in this clandestine manner is problematic.
There's no other way
There is no other alternative for us to be together.
That I can be with you
This is the only method for us to be together.
If only your folks
If only your parents approved of us being together.
Would approve
If only they agreed to our relationship.
Things like this, you and I
This kind of covert relationship between us.
Wouldn't have to do, no, no
We would not have to meet and be together in secret.
Steal it, lord, have mercy
To have mercy on our actions and allow us to be together.
Somebody out there
Others may criticize our behavior, however,
They wanna steal it
They would do the same thing in our situation.
I won't tell
I will keep our relationship and secrets between us only.
I'm gonna keep it to myself
I will not share our relationship or secrets with anyone else.
Don't you hesitate
Do not delay or second-guess our plan to sneak away and be together.
Come on and steal away
Let us flee and be together secretly.
Let me steal your love
Allow me to love you privately and secretly.
I know a lot of folk out there trying to criticize me
Many people may judge or condemn our relationship.
But you would be doing the same thing that I'm doing
If they were in our situation, they would also sneak away to be with their loved one.
Everybody wanna steal away
Everyone desires to secretly be with their loved one and flee societal limitations.
Lord, please don't criticize me
I hope for mercy and understanding from a higher power regarding our forbidden relationship.
I'm trying to steal a little love
I am attempting to obtain a small amount of love from you, despite the societal obstacles.
Don't you want to steal away
Do you not desire to secretly flee society's limitations and be with me?
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANN HUGHES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Cherrie Greer
Love all his music....I wont tell nobody else, gonna keep it to my self
Rose Smith
Me too ...
Dream Chasers
That bassline is vicous!!! Goodness.
Esther Ingram
Yes sir!
Jackson Gause
FAIRGROUND you can thanks the swampers for that.
Marcus Brown
Brings back a lot of memories. My folks played blues all day and night at gatherings.
Valenda Newell
Johnnie Taylor’s songs always playing in our house BACK- N-DA-DAY, so I can say my parents did right by me..❤️BEST BLUES ❤️
PhatGirlLuva68-ThelastOG
One of the greatest songs ever made.
alexalot23
JOHNNIE DOES THIS SONG BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE WHO HAS TRIED TO DO. LOVE THE HORN ARRANGEMENT. GO HEAD JT WITH YOUR BAD SELF. RIP MY BROTHER.
Dolly Smith
❤❤❤🏆🥇