J.T Taylor

James “J.T.” Warren Taylor was born on August 16th, 1953 in Laurens, South Carolina, and grew up in Hackensack, New Jersey. Before his rise to fame, he was a teacher and night club singer, having first joined a band at the age of 13. In 1978 he played with Milton Galfas, Christopher Galfas, and Eleton Johns in Full Force. He left Full Force when Christopher Galfas brought him to his brother’s House of Music studio to audition for Kool & the Gang.

Taylor joined Kool & the Gang in 1979, and remained with the group for 9 years. His tenure as lead singer was the most successful era in the band’s history, with the albums Ladies’ Night (1979), Celebrate! (1980), and Emergency (1984), and hit singles including “Ladies’ Night”, the US No. 1 “Celebration”, “Get Down on It”, “Joanna”, “Misled”, and “Cherish”.

In 1988, Taylor pursued a solo career and has released four solo albums to date. In 1989, he released his first solo album, titled Master of the Game, which produced several hits, including the album’s first single “All I Want Is Forever”, a duet with Regina Belle. The single “The Promised Land” was included on the soundtrack of Ghostbusters II. In 1991, Taylor released his second solo album, Feel the Need, which garnered the hits “Long Hot Summer Night” and “Heart to Heart”, a duet with Stephanie Mills. 1993 saw the release of the singer’s third solo album, Baby I’m Back, followed by his fourth solo album in 2000 titled A Brand New Me.