Melvin Taylor

Melvin Taylor (born March 13, 1959, in Jackson, Mississippi) is an American electric blues guitarist, based in Chicago, Illinois.

Taylor relocated to Chicago in 1962 and joined The Transistors, a popular music group. He switched his focus to blues music when the group disbanded in the early 1980s.  He found work playing in clubs on the West Side of Chicago.  He often played at Rosa's Lounge in Chicago.

During the 1980s he joined Pinetop Perkins and The Legendary Blues Band in a yearlong European tour. He has returned to Europe several times with his own group, which has opened for B.B. King, Buddy Guy, and Santana.

Taylor's recordings include two albums he first recorded for a French record label: "Blues on the Run" (1982) and "Plays the Blues for You" (1984). Recordings in the United States include "Melvin Taylor and the Slack Band" with John Snyder on the Evidence Music label and "Dirty Pool" (1997). Taylor's "Beyond the Burning Guitar" was recorded at Misty Creek Studios in Fairfax, Virginia. He also recorded a cover of the Eminem song, "Love The Way You Lie" with the rapper, Matt Christian, at Misty Creek Studios.

(Melvin Taylor at the Riverfront Blues Festival in 2007)