Vernon Taylor, a pioneering rockabilly musician whose career touched both Sun Records and Dot Records in the genre's earliest days, has died at 88 after a long battle with dementia. His death on July 12 came just one day after his brother, Luther Taylor, also passed away following his own battle with dementia - the two brothers sharing a bond that lasted their entire lives.
Born Walton Alderton on November 9, 1937, Taylor was raised in a Baptist farming family, the youngest of four children. At age 11, his family moved to Spencerville, Maryland, where he first learned to play guitar. By 15, he'd formed his first band, The Nighthawks, with two high school classmates - a group that eventually grew into a five-piece outfit and landed its own Saturday night television show on Washington, D.C.'s WTTG, running from 1957 to 1960.
Taylor's big break came when Sun Records founder Sam Phillips spotted him performing on American Bandstand. He signed with Sun and recorded "Today Is a Blue Day" in 1958, becoming one of the label's rockabilly artists during the genre's foundational years. When his early singles failed to break through commercially, Taylor stepped away from music to focus on family and business - but he wasn't done. In 1989, he returned to the stage at a benefit concert for Charlie Feathers, sparking a full comeback that took him touring throughout the United Kingdom and saw his Sun and Dot recordings reissued overseas.
Tributes have poured in from fellow musicians and fans since news of his passing broke. Kevin Booth, who once shared a stage with Taylor, remembered him on Facebook as "a very nice man and a great performer," adding, "My prayers for his family and loved ones." The Fabulous Hubcaps also honored Taylor, recalling how he inducted them into the Southern Legends Entertainment and Performing Arts Hall of Fame in 2005 - the start of a lasting friendship.
Taylor is survived by his wife, Brenda.
