1961 – 1978
1961
Taj Mahal joins forces with R&B dance band The Elektras who quickly become a popular dance band on area campuses.
Taj Mahal vocals
Ray Souza tenor, alto and baritone saxophone
Charles “Chucky” Reed tenor saxophone
Marcel Krudele guitar
Jack Moran bass
Don Littlefield drums
Steve Bonds organ and piano
1965
Taj Mahal moves from Springfield, MA to the golden hills of California with friend and fellow musician Jesse Lee Kincaid.
1966
Taj Mahal, Ry Cooder, Jesse Lee Kincaid, Gary Marker and Kevin Kelly form band Rising Sons.
Rising Sons signs recording contract with Columbia Records and recorded what turned out to be their only album Rising Sons. *This album was later released on CD in 1992 for the first time.
1968
Taj Mahal releases debut album Taj Mahal on Columbia Records.
Taj Mahal vocals, slide guitar, harp
Ry Cooder rhythm guitar, mandolin
Jesse Ed Davis lead guitar, piano
Bill Boatman rhythm guitar
James Thomas bass
Chuck Blackwell drums
1968
The Natch’l Blues - 1968 Columbia
Following his self-titled 1968 debut by only a few months, The Natch’l Blues is a riveting blend of superb musicianship and songwriting.
Taj Mahal harp (harmonica) and miss “national,” steel-bodied guitar, vocals
Jesse Ed Davis guitar, piano, and brass arrangements
Gary Gilmore bass
Chuck Blackwell drums
Al Kooper piano
Earl Palmer drums
1969
Giant Step/ De Ole Folks at Home - 1969 Columbia
Giant Step
Taj Mahal, Jessie Ed Davis, Gary Gilmore & Chuck Blackwell
De Ole Folks at Home
Taj Mahal vocals, harp, guitar, banjo and jive
1971
The Real Thing - Recorded February 13, 1971 at The Fillmore East in New York City. Taj’s first recording with Howard Johnson’s Tuba Band. First recording with Bill Rich on Bass. Bill tours with Taj still today as part of The Taj Mahal Trio.
1972
Happy To Be Just Like I Am - Columbia Records
Taj Mahal, Jesse Ed Davis John Simon, Bill Rich, Howard Johnson
Sounder (Soundtrack) - Columbia Records
First acting role as the character “Ike” in the powerful story of a sharecropper’s family, set in rural Louisiana during the early 1930s. Soundtrack written and composed by Taj Mahal
Recycling The Blues & Other Related Stuff - Columbia Records
Soul TV - First national television appearance. Taj Mahal and Cecily Tyson appear as guests to discuss new movie Sounder.
1973
Oooh So Good 'N Blues - Columbia Records
Taj releases his sixth studio album.
1974
Mo’ Roots - Columbia Records
Taj Mahal was one of the first, if not “The First” to connect “The Blues” as we know it here in America – with it’s Caribbean/Jamaican ancestry. Like a plant, “The Blues” has many Roots.
Bob Marley and Aston “Family Man” Barrett of the Wailers assist in production on tracks: “Slave Driver,” “Cajun Waltz,” and “Big Mama.” “Family Man” sets in on ska piano on track “Slave Driver.”
*First album that Kester Smith and Bill Rich appear together on album with Taj. Today they are better known as The Taj Mahal Trio.
1975
Taj Mahal signs with Warner Bros. Records
Music Keeps Me Together - Warner Bros. Records
Band: Intergalactic Soul Messengers Band
1976
Satisfied ‘N Tickled Too - Warner Bros. Records
The song “Black Man, Brown Man” was later recorded by Judy Mowatt.
Taj Mahal lead vocals
T. Life guitar
Carl Larkin guitar
Don Moors vibes
Sam Cox drums
John Turk keyboards
Joachim Young keyboards
Stan Mulelland bass
Rafael Ramirez congas
Rich Myers alto sax
Rudy Costa soprano sax
Mother’s Children background vocals
1977
Brothers (Soundtrack) - Warner Bros. Records
Music Fuh Ya - Warner Bros. Records
Evolution (The Most Recent) - Warner Bros. Records
Over 30 musicians combined, joined Taj Mahal on this recording.
Core Band:
Taj Mahal lead vocals, mandolin, banjo
Rudy Costa soprano and alto saxophone, flute, and kalimba
Bill Rich bass
Larry Mc Donald congas and percussion
Kester Smith trap drums
Robert Greenidge steel drums
Carol Fredericks and Claudia Stefer background vocals
Film
1972 Sounder [movie]
Songwriter / Composer of musical score / Actor: Ike Phillips
1976 Sounder, Part Two [movie]
Composer of musical score / Actor: Ike Phillips
1977 Saturday Night Live: Madeline Kahn aka Saturday Night Live: Episode 048 [TV]
Performer: Musical Guest
1977 Scott Joplin [TV]
Actor: Poor Alfred
1977 Brothers [movie]
Billboard Charts
1969 Giant Step/De Ole Folks At Home - Pop Albums No. 85
1969 The Natch’l Blues - Pop Albums No. 160
1969 The Natch’l Blues - Black Albums No. 47
1971 The Real Thing - Pop Albums No. 84
1972 Happy Just To Be Like I Am - Pop Albums No. 181
1972 Recycling The Blues & Other Related Stuff - Pop Albums No. 177
1973 Oooh So Good ‘N Blues - Pop Albums No. 190
1973 Oooh So Good ‘N Blues - Jazz Albums No. 22
1974 Mo’ Roots - Pop Albums No. 165
1975 Music Keeps Me Together - Pop Albums No. 155
1975 Music Keeps Me Together - Black Albums No. 40
1976 Satisfied ‘N Tickled Too - Black Albums No. 54
1977 Music Fuh Ya’ (Musica Para Tu) - Pop Albums No. 134