ALVIN TAYLOR AND KEN LAMBERT – ALVIN TAYLOR: DRUM MAJOR 2 MAJOR DRUMMER: CANDID STORIES FROM A MAJOR ROCK ‘N ROLL DRUMMER EXTRAORDINAIRE
INDEPENDENT
BOOK REVIEW BY AARON BADGLEY
Alvin Taylor is a world renown drummer, and one hell of a nice guy. He has a wonderful attitude towards life and a positive spirit. This spirit shines through the pages of Alvin Taylor: Drum Major 2 Major Drummer: Candid Stories from a Major Rock ‘N Roll Drummer Extraordinaire. This is an incredible memoir with lots of great stories and reflects a brilliant career. From his time in bands such as Peace and The American Eagles Blues Band, to working with the biggest names in music, Taylor tells his story. From his childhood to his famous session work, Taylor lets readers into the backstage of rock history. It is an inspiring story. Books written by session musicians tend to give the reader a very different perspective of the world of music, and Taylor does just that. He is honest, funny, and open and lets the reader into his world.
Over the years, Taylor has worked with people such as Leo Sayer (who wrote a wonderful foreword for the book), Bob Welch, Little Richard (which is an absolutely thrilling chapter), George Harrison, Ike and Tina Turner, Billy Preston and many more. Taylor has a nice way of articulating his time with these giants of the rock world and the stories are fascinating. Taylor writes about recording with George Harrison who took the time to explain what the songs were about to assist Taylor in coming up with the drum part of the song. The story behind the classic “Learning How To Love You” may not be what you think the song is about.
His time with Billy Preston is quite interesting as well. He writes that he “is probably the most talented and revered musician that I’ve ever met in my life. He could play any style, any key, at any time. And he was a totally multifaceted player- playing more than just the keyboards.” It is through his involvement with Preston that he finds work with Harrison. His time with Bob Dylan and Elton John are equally revealing.
As noted, Taylor is very honest in this book. His substance abuse is a reflection of the times, and he is able to look back at the time and see it as it was. But it is his recovery and survival that make this book so enjoyable and inspiring. Taylor is not trying to glorify anything with the party scenes, but there is a sense of glory and spirituality when he pulls himself out of the situation.
The book concludes with beautiful tributes and testimonials from a variety of musicians. Denny Seiwell’s is as beautifully written as Narada Michael Walden’s. It is a great idea to end the book with this section as it certainly puts Taylor’s contribution to music and to people’s lives in perspective. He is much loved in the industry and there is no question as to why artists feel the way they do. While Taylor talks about his influences, he has also influenced generations of musicians.
Alvin Taylor: Drum Major 2 Major Drummer: Candid Stories from a Major Rock ‘N Roll Drummer Extraordinaire is a great read. Taylor, and his co-author Ken Lambert have produced a readable, enjoyable, informative, and inspirational book. Taylor’s name is on a lot of the records in my collection, but with Alvin Taylor: Drum Major 2 Major Drummer: Candid Stories from a Major Rock ‘N Roll Drummer Extraordinaire he finally steps out into the spotlight to take his much-deserved bows.
ISBN: 979-8-33254-571-9
PURCHASE ALVIN TAYLOR: DRUM MAJOR 2 MAJOR DRUMMER: CANDID STORIES FROM A MAJOR ROCK ‘N ROLL DRUMMER EXTRAORDINAIRE VIA
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