Johnnie Taylor - I Am Somebody - Parts 1 & 2 (Official Audio)

Track from the album One Step Beyond (1971). Subscribe to Johnnie Taylor on YouTube: Listen to “The Very Best of Johnnie Taylor”: Subscribe to Stax Records on YouTube: Listen to the “Stax Classics” playlist: Shop the Stax Online Store for #vinyl, exclusive collectible items and more: During a recording career that spanned nearly half a century, Johnnie Taylor covered more genres of African-American music than any other major artist. His earliest sides, in 1953, were with the 5 Echoes, a Chicago doo-wop group. In 1955 he joined the Highway Q.C.’s, a Chicago gospel quartet in which both Sam Cooke and Lou Rawls had previously sung lead. Then, in 1957, he joined the Soul Stirrers, filling a role in the famous gospel quartet previously occupied by Sam Cooke. Taylor then recorded blues and soul music with limited commercial success for Cooke’s SAR and Derby labels from 1961 to ’64. He signed with Stax Records in 1966 and over the next nine years scored a dozen Top Ten R&B hits. One Step Beyond was released in 1971 and it was Taylor’s sixth studio album. Johnnie included a mix of Southern soul, R&B, and gospel influenced tracks. The album garnered two hit singles including “Jody’s Got Your Girl and Gone,“ which hit number 1 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 23 on the Hot 100 chart, and “I Don’t Wanna Lose You,“ which reached number 13 on the R&B chart. One Step Beyond was described in as “...one of the singer’s best LPs.“ *About Stax Records* Stax Records, now owned by Concord/Craft Recordings, was founded by Jim Stewart in 1957 in Memphis, Tennessee. It rose from a small, family-operated company to become one of the most influential soul music record labels in the world, helping create “The Memphis Sound” and launching the careers of icons such as Otis Redding, Isaac Hayes, Booker T. & the M.G.’s, the Staple Singers, Sam & Dave, Rufus and Carla Thomas, The Bar-Kays, and dozens of other artists who helped change popular culture forever. In all, Stax placed 167 hit songs in the Top 100 in Pop and 243 hits in the Top 100 in R&B. Stax Records works closely with the Stax Museum of American Soul Music, the Stax Music Academy, and The Soulsville Charter School, all operated by the Soulsville Foundation and all located on a vibrant campus at the original site of Stax Records in Memphis, TN. The Soulsville Foundation perpetuates the soul of Stax Records by preserving its rich cultural legacy, educating youth to be prepared for life success, and inspiring future artists to achieve their dreams. Follow Stax Records: Website: Newsletter: YouTube: Instagram: Facebook: Twitter: Follow Craft Recordings: Website: Newsletter: YouTube: Facebook: Twitter: Instagram: Spotify: