oh wow. i hadn't heard. i'll miss her as well.

damn.

yeah, these old vids showcase her powerful voice, which had suffered over the years. wxrt is playing 'hey bartender' right now....

oh god, she is phenomenal. thank you for sharing these two songs!!! i love the blues so much. what a tragedy that she is dead. the world has lost someone vital. thank you!! love love love and huge gratitude for those who sing the blues and do it right.

love the blues, love koko, love this post. thanks nora!

i didnt catch the first time around that koko has passed on, so now i feel dumb. thanks even more for posting these great songs; she was one of our greatest lady blues singers.

I have never heard of Koko Taylor...... thanks for posting this. I'm going to see if I can hunt her music down on iTunes. I'll be in Chicago again soon, I might look for CDs there too..... Thanks!

R.I.P. Koko. You know how to bring the house down.

knew how. After watching those videos, I can hardly believe that she's gone.

Beats the Hell out of our airbrushed "singers" like Beyonce and Ciara. No back-up dancers required for this lady, she is the real deal.

damn

Thanks, I had not heard.

Thanks for this Nora. The one with Little Walter---that is rare. And the one on top---that's what we remember.

Kind of quiet and sad around here. I better play these again.

thanks for stopping by, theo, nana - she was one of the best

MAWB - I'm glad to turn you on to her music. Although her voice had gotten weaker in the last decade, she was still performing at 80! Try Reckless Records for her CDs in Chicago.

Emma - She really could bring the house down, from small venues like Buddy Guy's to Grant Park - she'd have the crowd on their feet.

Darryl - the real deal, for sure.

T-Bucket - exactly

Rich - sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but maybe the videos help.

Roger - Sad - yes; quiet - never. Keep playing the blues. I bet WXRT will feature her on their Monday night show, Blues Breakers.

Thanks for posting this, Nora. She'll be missed.

She was amazing. Blues Fest won't quite feel the same.

Last night I went to see the Beverly All Stars (a gem of a local band that plays regularly on 103rd St.). Their final number of the evening was a tribute to Koko Taylor. Chicago blues won't be the same without Koko's powerful voice. Having so many years of her music has been a gift.

Lisa, Stim, bike - glad you came by, and share my admiration for Koko.

I'll have to look for the Beverly All Stars. And I suspect there will be some tribute at Blues Fest, though it won't replace her presence.

I didn´t know her... and I´ve discovered her now, with your post;I´ll go to youtube to find more about her. Thanks.
Kisses.

Another powerful voice silenced. Thankfully, we have recordings to keep her memory and the music alive.

The first time I heard her voice, I thought damn, that woman can't sing (no really, I'm ignorant like that) She's grown on me though. Her growl only got better throughout the years. I would have loved to have seen her on stage.
I hope her family is doing ok.

so what'cha got going for the summer Nora? Any plans, or are you just going to take it easy and enjoy your garden?

Marcella - glad to introduce you to her music. Once when I heard her live I heard her sing a song with the refrain,"You say you're goin' fishing, but you ain't brought no fish home yet.." which I thought was funny. Not sure which song it was, and haven't heard it since. I should google, too.

Cartouche - I'm glad too for the recordings and videos.

Julie - I know what you mean, her voice was really gravelly, especially in the last decade. But I loved her energy and power.
There's a great audio piece on WXRT.com with Terri Hemmert and I think Tom Marker talking about Koko and her family.

Summer is finally here - today was my last day at school, but I'm still working part-time at Gethsemane. Not sure how long that will continue, but am looking forward to Bues Fest next weekend, gardening, bike rides, posting more on OS, and going through the boxes I moved out of my house a couple weeks ago. Maybe a little travel, if I can tag along with my flight-attendant sister. Oh, and the next Chicago OS meetup, right?