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Tuesday, February 21, 2006

The Birmingham News; Mary Colurso


Taylor Hicks has not even had his first competition performance and he is already garnering a big buzz. And nicknames. Take Mary Colurso's article dated today;

"Soul patrolman"

..."Struggling and scraping have been his lot since age 18, when Hicks performed one of his first professional concerts at the Flora-Bama Lounge & Package Store in Perdido Key. He was inexperienced and green, while already sporting the prematurely gray hair that has become his trademark.
But Hicks had a talent for the harmonica and a love of classic tunes by R&B greats such as Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and Etta James.
"Taylor always liked the blues," recalls his grandmother, Joni Hicks, 78, of Gulf Shores. "I can remember him at age 12, bursting in the room doing a Mick Jagger strut. He'd say, `Grandmother, you've got to hear this!' And then he'd play `Try a Little Tenderness' by Otis Redding. What other kid do you know who does that?"


What is it with Alabama musicians and their Grandmothers. Must be that Southern upbringing. Makes a kind and respectful man out of a boy.

Taylor Hicks explains in Ms. Colurso's article:
"..."I can't read music," he says. "I can feel it, though. I started playing and the notes made sense. That was it for me. I knew that if I put my mind to it, I could be good at this."

"Bo (Bice) broke it open for somebody like Taylor to be looked at as a possible `American Idol' winner," says Sam Gunderson, 32, the guitarist in Hicks' band. "He's not a cookie-cutter pop singer, but he has a dynamic they need to make the show interesting. He's a consummate professional. And he can pretty much sing anything."

Hicks says producers for the show, Ken Warwick and Nigel Lythgoe, have encouraged him to be as flamboyant on camera as he might be in the grittiest Southern saloon. During his audition for the judges in Las Vegas, for example, Hicks says he first approached Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell in a subdued manner.
Warwick and Lythgoe, who had seen Hicks in earlier rounds, missed the Joe Cocker homage and Ray Charles movements they'd seen him perform before."


Hicks is the most interesting individual to date on American Idol. This is a man without any musical training, just a natural gift, a young man with already silvered hair that sings like an old bluesman. Interesting, intriguing. American Idol does it again, and hooks me in...

8 comments:

  1. Love your site! Glad to see a fan of Taylor!

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  2. Anonymous6:46 PM

    Taylor Hicks' albums will sell more then any other artist in this competition especially through out the life of his career. While his choice of music may not be the typical "pop" its what America wants. America isn't made up of young people anymore. Baby boomers are 28% of the population. I'm 20 years old and love seeing people in their 50's dance at a concert, but you only see it at concerts like Mellancamp and Country concerts. The last time I saw these older people at a pop concert was umm.. never. He appeals to everyone which is what is great. The last cd a babyboomer came out with was most likely a long time ago because they're still istening to their seger cd's and buffet cd's.This guy's cd will give them some music they like so they can go out and finally buy a new cd! When these old artist die off and stop performing, this man will be arround tearing it up and dancing his heart out and the crowd will be mixed from college students to retirees. I mean after all there is only 78 million baby boomers. Simon may be able to recognize talent but has he realized that people get older and these are the people who can afford concerts and buy cd's? The more people someone appeals to the more successful their going to be and the less competition with all of these pop stars. How many pop artist are their? way to many already. Thats all I have to say. oh yea, and Taylor Hicks is the man

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  3. He is really interesting. So good to see blues genuinely represented on AI. Sorely disappointed in the the rest of the show, but will tune in to see what happens to Taylor and the beautiful Mandisa. Nice blog.

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  4. Anonymous10:32 AM

    Love Taylor from Canada! Can't wait to get his CD. With this type of exposure, Taylor is bound to be a star no matter where he ends up on the show.

    However, I see him going all the way. Good luck Taylor.

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  5. Anonymous10:32 AM

    Love Taylor from Canada! Can't wait to get his CD. With this type of exposure, Taylor is bound to be a star no matter where he ends up on the show.

    However, I see him going all the way. Good luck Taylor.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous12:17 AM

    Great blog! Thanks for all the interesting articles about my fav singer. I do a search on him everyday, does that make me addicted to this guy or wat?? heh..

    A singapore fan

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  7. Anonymous12:30 AM

    Great blog! Thanks for all the interesting articles about my fav singer. I do a search on him everyday, does that make me addicted to this guy or wat?? heh..

    A singapore fan

    ReplyDelete
  8. Thank you for all the postings about Tay. He is a Force of Nature and I want to help him reach his goals. Plus he has this "teddy-bear" sex appeal that really is hot!
    Let's help the man reach his goals!

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