equal parts nonsense words, off-tempo vocalese, and saxophone-inspired squawks." Irwin Chusid wrote that Taylor's scatting "echoes Mother Goose nonsense simmering in a rich Afro-Yiddish stew." According to Chusid, "Shooby's vocabulary is a whole 'nuther language. And he rarely meshes with his background music." Allmusic reviewer Jason Ankeny described his music as "singular and eccentric. He spits out nonsense syllables like a machine gun, communicating in a private language nearly impossible to imitate. As he tries to approximate the sound of a saxophone solo with his voice, he hits sour notes. Marc Ferris wrote that Taylor's music can be "difficult to digest. The label also distributes the Songs in the Key of Z compilation records. In 2017, a posthumous compilation of Taylor's work, entitled The Human Horn, was digitally released under the Songs in the Key of Z label. Taylor died on Jat the VA Hospital in East Orange, New Jersey. In September of that year, WFMU staff delivered birthday greetings to Taylor from fans around the world. Following the broadcast, Goetz and Chusid transferred a number of Taylor's home recordings to CD-R to preserve some of his legacy. On August 28, 2002, Shooby appeared for a radio interview on WFMU, leading to further publicity. In July 2002, Elektra Records executive and Taylor fan Rick Goetz managed to track Taylor down by cold calling every person named William Taylor in the New York area. In 2000, two of Taylor's songs, covers of "Stout-Hearted Men" and " Lift Every Voice and Sing", was released as part of the outsider music compilation albums Songs in the Key of Z, leading to further recognition. In 1992, Shooby moved to a senior complex in Newark, New Jersey, and in 1994, he experienced a stroke that crippled his scat skill, stopping him from recording and performing. Taylor, however, was unaware of the publicity, and his fans were unaware of his whereabouts. Shooby was an exciting character, someone you were drawn to right away." Bradley later transferred the tracks to cassette and sent copies to WFMU manager Ken Freedman, who, with Irwin Chusid, began broadcasting and circulating them, leading to a growing cult following for Taylor and "generating a frothing fan base". At around that time, he paid multiple visits to Angel Sound Studios in New York, where he recorded a number of tracks, and where he came to the attention of studio engineer Craig Bradley, who recalled "I was attuned to the unusual. In 1983, Taylor briefly appeared on the show Amateur Night at the Apollo, but was booed off the stage after roughly twenty seconds. He claimed to have gotten permission from Dizzy Gillespie to use the nickname "Shooby," and adopted the moniker "Shooby Taylor, The Human Horn." Īfter retiring from the Post Office in the early 1970s, Taylor devoted his time to music, making numerous home recordings. After attempting to learn the saxophone, he realized he could instead employ his voice as an instrument, declaring "I am the horn!" He began studying at the Hartnett Music School in New York under the GI Bill, and performed at Harlem clubs and in Greenwich Village jam sessions, emulating the vocal style of Babs Gonzales. A long-time jazz fan, he claimed he heard sounds in his head and felt the need to express them. Post Office following his discharge in 1955. He entered the army in 1953 and began working for the U.S. Shooby Taylor was born in Indiana Township, Pennsylvania and, at an early age, moved with his family to Harlem, where he spent the majority of his life.
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