GAYLAN TAYLOR
03/20/06
An accomplished Performer, Vocalist, Guitarist, Songwriter, Recording Artist, Recording Producer and Recording Engineer, Gaylan’s first stage appearance was at age six at the school auditorium in Burns Tennessee. When his family moved to Phoenix Arizona in 1958, Gaylan became active in the music and drama programs at school and soon became a soloist in the choir and the male lead for many of the musical productions.
There were violin lessons, accordion lessons and trumpet lessons, The Phoenix Boy’s Choir and Allstate Chorus but Gaylan’s love for the guitar took over and by age fourteen he was performing in folk clubs and coffee houses all over Arizona and was a frequent guest on The Lew King Ranger Show television program. While attending high school, he met Bill and Pete Zorn. The three of them became good friends and worked together in Bill’s group The Win’Jammers, a nine member folk/variety group patterned loosely after the large folk acts of the day.
By the time Gaylan graduated from high school, his professional credits as a member of The Win’Jammers included a week at The Riverboat Room in New York as the opening act for The Buddy Morrow Big Band, two USO tours to Europe and Asia, Expo ’67 Word Fair and The Hollywood Bowl.
Following yet another USO tour to Vietnam, Gaylan was invited to join The New Christy Minstrels. While with ‘the Minstrels’, Gaylan had the privilege of sharing the stage with, Buddy Hackett, Frank Gorshin, Bobby Gentry, Linda Hart, Chris Andreas, The Coasters, Little Egypt, Ian Tyson, Fred Travolina and Barry Kane and played Las Vegas, Reno, Lake Tahoe, New York, Miami and all points in between. With a three year old daughter and a son on the way, Gaylan quit the road to be with his family. He landed a permanent position with Bojangles. The house band at a club with the same name in Houston, Bojangles was the opening act at the club for The Kingston Trio and The New Christy Minstrels.
Homesick for his beloved Arizona desert, Gaylan packed up the family and moved back home where he hooked up with another ex New Christy Minstrel, Igor Glenn. Along with Glenn, Gaylan is a founding member of Igor’s Jazz Cowboys. As a twenty-five year member of ‘The Cowboys’, Gaylan has toured worldwide and performed with Sammy Davis Jr., The Ink Spots, Phyllis Diller and many, many others.
Recently, Gaylan filled in for Alex Hasselev of The Limeliters while Alex recovered from surgery and was invited to do a tour of the UK with the popular Arizona Smoke Revue along with Pete Zorn, Paul Downes and Bill Zorn. Gaylan just finished a tour, including The Kerrville Folk Festival 2005, with Glenn Yarbrough as the leader of Glenn’s Havenstock River Band.
Just released in August 2005, Gaylan’s first solo CD in nearly twenty years, Taylor Made.
Gaylan has just been invited to become a permanent member of The Fabulous Limeliters as Mr. Alex Hasselev gracefully transitions to other interests. Be sure to visit www.limeliters.com.
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