Johnnie Taylor Net Worth

What Was Johnnie Taylor's Net Worth?

Johnnie Taylor was an American singer who had a net worth of $2 million at the time of his death. Known as the "Philosopher of Soul," Johnnie Taylor moved effortlessly among gospel, blues, soul, R&B, funk, and disco during a recording career that lasted more than four decades. Although he rarely wrote his own songs or played instruments, his gritty voice, rhythmic phrasing, and ability to interpret other writers' material made him one of the most consistent soul singers of his generation.

Taylor began his career in gospel music, eventually replacing his friend and mentor Sam Cooke as the lead singer of the Soul Stirrers. He later followed Cooke into secular music before signing with Stax Records, where he broke through with the 1968 hit "Who's Making Love." The song reached #1 on the R&B chart and #5 on the pop chart.

Taylor continued producing major R&B hits throughout the early 1970s, including "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone," "I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)," and "Cheaper to Keep Her." After Stax collapsed, he signed with Columbia Records and scored the biggest hit of his career with 1976's "Disco Lady." The song topped both the pop and R&B charts and became the first single certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Early Life

Johnnie Harrison Taylor was born on May 5, 1934, in Crawfordsville, Arkansas. For much of his career, Taylor claimed that he had been born in 1938, and his correct age did not become widely known until after his death.

The youngest of three children, Taylor was largely raised by his grandmother in West Memphis. She was deeply religious and made certain that he regularly attended church. Taylor began singing in church at the age of six and grew up listening to both gospel performers and blues musicians.

When he was 10, Taylor moved with his grandmother to Kansas City, Missouri. As a teenager, he sang with a gospel quartet called the Melody Kings, which occasionally opened for the Soul Stirrers. During that period, Taylor met the group's lead singer, Sam Cooke, who became his friend and mentor.

Gospel Career

Taylor moved to Chicago in the early 1950s and briefly performed with the doo-wop group the Five Echoes. He later joined the Highway QCs, an influential gospel group whose former members included Cooke and Lou Rawls.

Taylor sang lead on the Highway QCs' recording of "Somewhere to Lay My Head," which helped turn the group into a national gospel attraction.

After Cooke left the Soul Stirrers to pursue a solo career, Taylor was selected as his replacement. Taylor brought a rougher, more blues-influenced quality to the group's sound and appeared on recordings including "Stand by Me Father" and "The Love of God."

While performing with the Soul Stirrers, Taylor became an ordained minister and delivered his first sermon at Fellowship Baptist Church in Chicago. However, he eventually followed Cooke out of gospel music and into the expanding market for secular soul and R&B.

(Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

Sam Cooke and SAR Records

Cooke signed Taylor to his SAR Records label, where Taylor began developing his identity as a solo artist. His early recordings included "A Whole Lot of Woman," "Rome (Wasn't Built in a Day)," and "Baby We've Got Love."

Taylor's career was disrupted when Cooke was killed in 1964 and SAR Records folded. Faced with the choice of pursuing the polished Motown sound in Detroit or the grittier soul music emerging from Memphis, Taylor headed south.

In 1966, he signed with Stax Records.

Stax Records

Stax executive Al Bell gave Taylor the nickname "The Philosopher of Soul." His early Stax recordings combined gospel intensity with blues storytelling and the driving rhythm of Southern soul.

Taylor's breakthrough arrived in 1968 with "Who's Making Love." Produced by Don Davis, the song reached #1 on the R&B chart and #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. It became Stax's best-selling single up to that point, earned Taylor a gold record, and brought him his first Grammy nomination.

The timing was especially important for Stax. The label had recently lost Otis Redding and was separating from its longtime distributor, Atlantic Records. Taylor's success helped establish him as one of the leading artists of Stax's next era.

He followed "Who's Making Love" with a long series of successful singles, including "Take Care of Your Homework," "Testify (I Wanna)," "I Could Never Be President," and "Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone."

His 1973 album "Taylored in Silk" produced two of his most enduring recordings: "We're Getting Careless with Our Love" and the #1 R&B hit "I Believe in You (You Believe in Me)." Other popular songs from the period included "Cheaper to Keep Her" and "I've Been Born Again."

"Disco Lady"

After Stax entered bankruptcy in 1975, Taylor signed with Columbia Records and continued working with producer Don Davis.

Their first major Columbia release was "Disco Lady." Despite its title, the song was closer to bass-heavy funk and soul than conventional disco. Released in 1976, it spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and six weeks atop the R&B chart.

"Disco Lady" sold more than two million copies and became the first single to receive platinum certification from the RIAA. It also earned Taylor his second Grammy nomination.

The song appeared on the album "Eargasm," which became one of Taylor's most commercially successful releases. Although he continued recording for Columbia, he never again matched the enormous crossover success of "Disco Lady."

Malaco Records Comeback

Taylor briefly recorded for Beverly Glen Records in the early 1980s before signing with Malaco Records in 1984. Malaco specialized in traditional Southern soul and blues at a time when most major labels had shifted their attention toward newer forms of R&B.

The partnership revived Taylor's career. Albums including "This Is Your Night," "Lover Boy," and "In Control" sold particularly well throughout the South and helped him maintain a large touring audience.

His 1996 album "Good Love" became one of the biggest successes of his Malaco period. Powered by the song "Last Two Dollars," the album topped Billboard's blues chart and became the best-selling album in Malaco's history.

Taylor released his final studio album, "Gotta Get the Groove Back," in 1999. That same year, he received a Pioneer Award from the Rhythm and Blues Foundation.

Personal Life and Estate

Taylor was married twice and was survived by his wife, Gerlean. During his lifetime, he openly acknowledged six children.

Following his death, three additional people sought legal recognition as his children. In 2002, a Dallas County probate judge reviewed DNA evidence and ruled that Taylor was their father. The decision divided his estate equally among nine heirs.

The dispute and the complicated administration of Taylor's estate were later examined in an episode of the television series "The Will: Family Secrets Revealed."

Death and Legacy

Johnnie Taylor suffered a heart attack at his home in Duncanville, Texas, on May 31, 2000. He was taken to Charlton Methodist Hospital in Dallas, where he died at the age of 66.

He was buried beside his mother at Forest Hill Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri.

Over the course of his career, Taylor released nearly 30 albums and remained a popular touring performer until shortly before his death. His work helped bridge several eras of Black popular music, from traditional gospel and Southern soul to funk, disco, and contemporary blues.

Taylor was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame in 1999 and posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2022.

Read more: Johnnie Taylor Net Worth