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TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR JOE TAYLOR, CELEBRATED PERFORMER AND WORLD-CLASS STUDIO GUITARIST, AND TO OFFER A PALMETTO STATE WELCOME TO THIS NATIVE SON OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives are delighted to have the pleasure of welcoming South Carolina native and musical wonder Joe Taylor to our great chamber; and
Whereas, Joe Taylor has plied his trade as both guitarist and producer with a wide range of celebrities, such as Ahmet Ertegun, Dave Koz, Al B. Sure, and Donna Summer; and
Whereas, his first RCA album, Spellbound, topped the radio charts at Number One, and his album Accidental Sugar was Most-Added at Smooth Jazz Radio, entering at Number Seventeen on the Contemporary Instrumental charts; and
Whereas, still in demand as a film and television composer, Mr. Taylor has taken a musical journey that began in South Carolina and led to New York City and was greatly influenced by the legendary guitarist Chet Atkins; and
Whereas, Mr. Taylor played guitar around the Southeast in various groups, and then began working in Nashville before moving to Manhattan where he landed a gig at the famous jazz club called Lush Life in Greenwich Village; and
Whereas, a chance encounter with David Bowie saxophonist, Steve Elson, led to his first studio session work, and an opportune meeting with legendary drummer Peter Erskine led to sessions on some dance records with uberproducer Nile Rodgers; and
Whereas, after Ahmet Ertegun selected him to work on a project he was producing, Mr. Taylor began producing albums as a solo artist, and his first release, "Mystery Walk," was a top-ten Billboard charting instrumental. His subsequent signing with RCA Victor in the nineties resulted in the release of his hit album Spellbound; and
Whereas, a serendipitous introduction to Chet Atkins in 1999 grew into his association as an infrequent member of Atkin's Saturday Morning Breakfast Club; and
Whereas, an unplanned introduction to another writer and producer Keith Diamond led to numerous opportunities, and Mr. Taylor was invited to occupy the first-guitar chair in the orchestra for the Broadway production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit Starlight Express; and
Whereas, he composed the score for Stephen King's miniseries Golden Years on CBS and for the A&E Network's Spies, as well as the Discovery Channel's SpyTek with Roger Moore; and
Whereas, around 2001, Joe Taylor decided to return to the Lowountry, and now he and his wife, Stacy, who works on a Lowcountry plantation, live in Bennetts Point, where he built Salt Creek Recording, a state-of-the-art studio; and
Whereas, he continues to record solo albums; the latest of which is Sugar Dust in the Devil Wind, a collection of tunes he has been touring behind for some months and represents a departure from his earlier albums, half of the songs with the heat and the other half mellow; and
Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives wish Joe Taylor many years of continued creative genius, and the members expect to hear of his flourishing music career in the days ahead. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize and honor Joe Taylor, celebrated performer and world-class studio guitarist, and offer a Palmetto State welcome to this native son of South Carolina.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Joe Taylor.
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