Taylor was born as Cora Walton on a farm just outside Memphis, Tennessee. In 1954, Taylor left Memphis for Chicago with her husband, truck driver Robert "Pops" Taylor. In the late 1950s she began singing in Chicago blues clubs and was spotted by Willie Dixon in 1962, leading to wider performances and her first recording contract. In 1965, Taylor was signed by Chess Records, for which her single Wang Dang Doodle (written by Dixon, and a hit for Howlin' Wolf five years earlier) became a major hit, reaching number four on the R&B charts in 1966 and selling a million copies. Taylor recorded many versions of this Dixon-penned song over the past several decades and added more material, both original and covers, but never repeated that initial chart success.
National touring in the late 1960s and early 1970s improved her fan base, and she became accessible to a wider record-buying public when she signed with Alligator Records in 1975. Recording over a dozen albums for that label (many nominated for Grammy awards), she came to dominate the female blues singer ranks, winning 24 W. C. Handy Awards -- more than any other artist. After her recovery from a near-fatal car crash in 1989, the 1990s found Taylor in movies such as Blues Brothers 2000. She opened a blues club on Division St. in Chicago in 1994, but closed it in 1999. Taylor released a new album in 2007 called "Old School."
Koko Taylor influenced such musicians as Bonnie Raitt, Shemekia Copeland, Janis Joplin, Shannon Curfman, and Susan Tedeschi.
Koko Taylor died on the afternoon of June 3rd 2009 (at the age of 80), while recovering from surgery to repair gastrointestinal bleeding. Koko Taylor is still referred to by fellow blues musicians and her fans as the "Queen of the Blues".
Better Watch Your Step
Koko Taylor Lyrics
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Written by Koko Taylor
Published by Voodoo Woman Music admin by Eyeball Music, BMI
You better watch your step now baby
Something bad might happen to you
You better watch your step now baby
Something bad might happen to you
All my love I had for you
You don′t want my loving
Why you keep hanging around?
Tired of being your puppet baby
Trash bag on the ground
Stay around my house, baby
Seven days a week
Soon as I turn my back
You get a woman out in the street
You better watch your step now baby
Something bad might happen to you
You done messed up a good thing
All my love I had for you
Tell me how can you love me
When you're playing that same old game?
I told you once and I told you twice
But you′re doing the same old thing
Tired of seeing you barking baby
Up that same old tree
You say that you don't love me
Why don't you set me free?
You better watch your step now baby
Something bad might happen to you
You done messed up a good thing
All my love I had for you
You been doing me wrong, baby
Since I don′t know when
Now your bridge is crumbling
And your good thing′s 'bout to end
You better watch your step now baby
Something bad might happen to you
You done messed up your good thing
All my love I had for you
You better watch your step
Watch your step now baby
You better watch your step
Watch your step now baby
Be careful baby
Be careful
Be careful baby
Be careful
You just might trip
And you just might fall
Be careful baby
Before you lose it all
Watch your step now baby
Watch your step
Watch your step now baby
Watch your step
You just might slip
And you just might fall
In Koko Taylor's song Better Watch Your Step, the singer warns her lover that he better start being careful or else something bad might happen to him. The song seems to talk about how her lover has messed up their relationship by playing games and cheating. She tells him that she is tired of being his puppet and wants to be set free. The lyrics also suggest that she is aware that he's been seeing other women while still hanging around her every day.
Koko Taylor uses strong and forceful vocals to express her frustration and assert her dominance in the relationship. She's had enough of her lover's lies and games and wants to put an end to it. Her words are uncompromising, and she doesn't mince her words when she says, "you just might trip, and you just might fall." The song has a bluesy feel with a catchy beat that could make anyone want to dance.
Line by Line Meaning
You better watch your step now baby
If you don't change your ways and treat me better, something bad might happen to you
Something bad might happen to you
Your actions and mistreatment of me will eventually have negative consequences for you
You done messed up a good thing
You have ruined a loving and beneficial relationship that we once had
All my love I had for you
I had deep feelings of love and care for you, but you squandered them
You don't want my loving
You don't seem to value or appreciate my feelings of love and devotion to you
Why you keep hanging around?
If you don't care about me, why do you keep sticking around and causing more harm?
Tired of being your puppet baby
I am done being controlled and manipulated by you
Trash bag on the ground
You are not treating me with respect or dignity, but instead like a piece of garbage
Stay around my house, baby, Seven days a week
You are constantly at my home, invading my space and my life
Soon as I turn my back, You get a woman out in the street
As soon as I am not around, you are out cheating on me with another woman
Tell me how can you love me, When you're playing that same old game?
How can you claim to love me but continue to treat me poorly and disrespect me?
I told you once and I told you twice, But you're doing the same old thing
I have already confronted you about your behavior and asked you to change, but you are not listening and refusing to make any changes
Tired of seeing you barking baby, Up that same old tree
I am sick of seeing you repeating the same behavior and causing the same problems
You say that you don't love me, Why don't you set me free?
If you truly don't feel love for me, then why are you still holding on and hurting me? It would be better to let me go
You been doing me wrong, baby, Since I don't know when
You have been mistreating me for a long time and I can't even remember when it all started
Now your bridge is crumbling, And your good thing's 'bout to end
The damage you have done to our relationship is irreparable and things will never be the same again
Be careful baby, Before you lose it all
You need to be more mindful and cautious in your actions or else you risk losing everything, including me
Watch your step now baby
Be aware of your actions and how they affect me, or else things will not end well for you
You just might slip, And you just might fall
Your careless behavior may result in negative consequences for you, so be careful and think before you act
Writer(s): Cora Taylor Harris
Contributed by Vivian D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.