Earl Taylor

American bluegrass multi-instrumentalist and tenor vocalist. Born June 17, 1929 in rural Rose Hill, Lee County, Virginia. Died January 28, 1984 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. In the late 1930s, Taylor was attracted to the music of the Monroe Brothers and was inspired to learn to play the mandolin and guitar. At the age of 12 he added the harmonica to his talents. In 1946 he relocated to Michigan where he played with the Mountaineers, working in Toledo and nearby Monroe. After a few months he formed The Stoney Mountain Boys, but by the end of 1948, he was broke and disenchanted with the music business, so he disbanded the group and returned to Virginia. By the early 1950s he was living in Maryland and again playing music in the area. In 1955 he was hired as a member of Jimmy Martin's Sunny Mountain Boys which at the time was based in Detroit. During his two-year tenure with Martin they recorded for Decca Records. Returning to Maryland he resurrected the Stoney Mountain Boys and in April 1959, they became the first bluegrass band to play Carnegie Hall. Taylor relocated to Cincinnati from Baltimore and became a fixture on the Cincinnati bar scene. He played stints at the Ken-Mill, Aunt Maudie’s, and the Minute Man Inn. Performing on harmonica as well as mandolin, he did a lot of sessions at King Studios with out-of-town bluegrass bands such as the Stanley Brothers. In 1965-66 he recorded and toured with Flatt & Scruggs.