Motown legend Bobby Taylor is a man who should be celebrated. Not just because he changed the direction of music history, but also because he brought so much joy, craziness and sweet music into the lives of everybody who ever met him.
Taylor died Saturday morning, July 22, 2017, at a hospital in Hong Kong, where he’d been living for the last several years. He was undergoing treatment for leukemia. Family friend and producer Suzy Michelson confirmed his death according to Rolling Stone magazine.
A Los Angeles memorial for Taylor is slated for Monday, September 25, 2017, at the swank Suede Bar & Lounge located in downtown’s prestigious Bonaventure Hotel. The theme is, “The Way We Were: Celebration of Life.”
Taylor fronted the band Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers (“Does Your Mama Know About Me”). At a 1968 concert in Chicago, a family group called The Jackson 5 were their opening act. Impressed by the group, Taylor arranged for The Jackson 5 to audition for Berry Gordy and other executives at Motown. Ultimately, the group was signed to Motown, and Taylor became their first producer.
Motown veteran Cornelius Grant says, “We want to tell the stories of times we shared with him, how hard he made us laugh and what listening to him sing meant to us. We will tell our Bobby stories, so you know there will be some tears, but laughter and more laughter.
Grant went on to say, “He was BOBBY TAYLOR and the VANCOUVERS! He was the man who kept a lion in his apartment in Detroit.
He’s the guy who brought those little Jackson kids from Indiana to Motown!”
Your contribution to the GoFundMe account that has been set up will help to bring this celebration together for a time to remember.
Please support this celebratory occasion to memorialize our friend whose persona was bigger than life itself.
Expected guests include many of Motown’s finest including the Vancouvers’ very own Tommy Chong (also known from Cheech & Chong fame).
The Bonaventure Hotel is located at 404 S. Figueroa, Los Angeles 90071 (enter at the Flower St. side). The event will take place from 7PM to 12 midnight. There’s no cover and no minimum. Visit http://www.suedeultralounge.com for more information.
