TY TAYLOR
BIO
Ty (Tyrone) Taylor began singing at age five at St. Paul's Baptist Church in Montclair, New Jersey. His Cherub Choir solo in This Little Light Of Mine became an internal anthem of how he has navigated his life ever since. Ty's choir director and elementary school teachers encouraged him to start his professional career, leading to roles in multiple national commercials, voice-overs and a handful of Broadway shows before he reached adulthood. Then, at what many might consider the height of a performer's evolution, he finished his Broadway run with Jason Robert Brown’s Songs For A New World (Original Cast Recording), Grease!, and then left New York for a music career in Hollywood.
After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie Mellon, Ty pursued additional ambitions. Enter Elektra recording artists Dakota Moon for his first recording contract. They hit the road with the likes of Tina Turner, Celine Dion, Eric Clapton, and early Destiny's Child. It was in this acoustic, soul-rock, chart-topping band that Ty launched into songwriting. This led to the next band, Ghost Hounds, a bluesy rock outfit produced by Nile Rodgers. These two group showcases propelled Ty to winning a spot as a contestant on producer Mark Burnett's CBS Television series Rockstar: INXS, where he would be one of the last men standing.
Ty continued to find opportunities to express his talent in impressive and unexpected ways. His Rockstardom took him next in Las Vegas to wow crowds nightly in We Will Rock You, a musical by legendary supergroup Queen. Upon returning to California, Hollywood audiences got to catch him as The Leading Player in The Mark Taper Forum/Deaf West Theatre production of Pippin.
Ty's abilities also captured the attention of Martin Scorsese. Subsequently, he gave voice to The Blues, as Lester in Scorsese’s HBO original series Vinyl. He has several singles on the Grammy-nominated album Vinyl: Music From the HBO Series -Volume 1. He also crooned three love songs on Disney's Happily Ever After album, and his chops are ferociously animated in the Dr. Seuss film, The Lorax.
All this and more led him to his current and most recognized post as lead singer of the critically acclaimed soulful blues-rock band Vintage Trouble. Four albums in, these guys have toured across 30 countries and played over 3,000 shows. They've shared the stage with rock leviathans such as The Who, Bon Jovi, Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones, Lenny Kravitz, Booker T. Jones, Willie Nelson, and AC/DC. VT has been celebrated by media giants including Billboard, Rolling Stone, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and NPR, and has played a host of televised performances--Jimmy Kimmel LIVE!, Conan, The Late Show, Jools Holland, The Tonight Show, Austin City Limits, The View, and more--bringing Ty into living rooms all around the world. Vintage Trouble continues to be a national and international hit-maker, known for its authentic swagger and electrifying live shows.
His early radio jazz endeavor, Ty Taylor's Nouveau Mid-Century Romance Songbook, is a collection of songs he penned in the fashion of mid-century radio jazz tunes. These compositions hold to the beauty of the past, while ushering our complex American history to the present. Timeless and relevant.
Over the past year, besides releasing Juke Joint Gems (A collection of lost treasures) with Vintage Trouble and writing and recording their forthcoming album, Baz Lurhman hand picked Ty to sing in his upcoming Elvis project. Ty has written, produced and/or been featured in commercials for Nike, Body Armor and more. Spring and summer found him recording the world's biggest gospel spirituals, partnering with one of the film industry’s most celebrated composers. He starred on Daryl’s House with the legendary Daryl Hall as well as narrating and starring in “If These Walls Could Talk” with VT on AXS TV. Disney and Marvel chose him to be featured as an on camera performer to launch one of their Mega series.
It’s safe to say that the “little light” Ty used to sing about in church just keeps on shining.