Austin "Ted" Taylor

Ted Taylor
Ted Taylor in 1969
Background information
Birth name	Theodore Taylor
Also known as	Austin Taylor Ivory Lucky
Born	(1934-02-16)February 16, 1934 Okmulgee, Oklahoma, U.S.
Died	October 23, 1987(1987-10-23) (aged 53) Lake Charles, Louisiana, U.S.
Genres	Soul, gospel, doo-wop
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	Mid 1950s – 1987
Labels	Modern, RPM, Melatone, Ebb, Duke, Top Rank International, Laurie, Warwick, Gold Eagle, Soncraft, Apt, Okeh, Epic, Atco, Jewel, Ronn, Alarm, Solpugids, SPG
Associated acts	The Cadets

Theodore "Ted" Taylor (February 16, 1934 – October 23, 1987) was an American R&B and soul singer.

Taylor was born in Okmulgee, Oklahoma, and moved to California in 1952. He became a member of the Mighty Clouds of Joy gospel group, before joining the Santa Monica Soul Seekers as a tenor singer. In 1955, the Soul Seekers approached Maxwell Davis at Modern Records for a recording deal, and he persuaded them to concentrate on secular R&B music. The same group recorded as both The Cadets on Modern and The Jacks on the subsidiary RPM label. Taylor sang lead vocals on The Cadets' "Do You Wanna Rock (Hey Little Girl)" and "I Cry" and also on The Jacks' "Away" and "My Darling." He did not appear on The Cadets' biggest hit, "Stranded In The Jungle" in 1955; for that session, he was replaced by Prentice Moreland.

Taylor left the group, and recorded two singles on Melatone Records in 1957 with the Bob Reed orchestra on which he was credited for contractual reasons as "Ivory Lucky". Over the next seven years, he recorded singles for a succession of labels including Ebb, Duke, Top Rank International, Laurie (where several of his records were credited to Austin Taylor), Warwick, Gold Eagle, Soncraft, and Apt.

He was influenced by such singers as Little Willie John, Clyde McPhatter and Jackie Wilson. At Duke, he made the first recording of the ballad "Be Ever Wonderful" in 1959. Although he had several regional hits, and released an album, Ted Taylor Sings, on Warwick in 1963, he did not achieve national commercial success until his 1965 recording on Okeh Records of "Stay Away From My Baby" reached number 14 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 99 on the pop chart, his only national pop chart entry. He also released three albums on Okeh, Be Ever Wonderful (1963), Blues & Soul (1965) and Ted Taylor's Greatest Hits (1966).