Koko Taylor has passed

[Jim Ervin]

Koko Taylor passed away today.

R.I.P., Koko. You will be missed.

http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/ ... at-80.html

[David Doggett]

I never knew where Koko came from. The obituaries say she came from a share-cropper farm in Shelby County, TN, which is the river county surrounding Memphis, and is just across the state line from the Mississippi Delta. Although Memphis is in TN, it is sort of considered the Capitol of the Mississippi Delta. This puts her firmly in the extraordinary tradition of Mississippi Delta/Memphis blues musicians who migrated to Chicago and created electric blues. I say we all pitch a wangdang-doodle in her name.

[Dave Mudgett]

Koko will indeed be missed. Absolutely one of a kind, she embodied the deep blues, and is one of the very last of her generation of blues singers.

If you want to hear the deep blues at its finest, listen to her and Willie Dixon on "Insane Asylum", which is one of the most powerful blues I've ever heard. In fact, there's a youtube clip of this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fq3QySTQlmI - this one brings me to my knees every time I hear it.

R.I.P., Koko.

[David Doggett]

Yeah, that's one of her best, Dave.

Here's the one that got her started: Wang Dang Doodle