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Taj Mahal (Singer)

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Vocalist

The Resume

    (May 17, 1942- )
    Born in Manhattan, New York
    Birth name was Henry St. Clair Fredericks Jr.
    Blues singer, musician and songwriter
    Plays guitar, piano, banjo, harmonica, ukelele and clarinet
    Formed the band Rising Sons with Ry Cooder (1964-66)
    Recorded the albums 'Taj Mahal' (1968), 'The Natch'l Blues' (1968), 'Giant Steps/De Old Folks at Home' (1969), 'Happy to Be Just Like I Am' (1971), 'Recycling the Blues & Other Related Stuff' (1972), 'Mo' Roots' (1974), 'Satisfied 'n' Tickled Too' (1976), 'Evolution' (1977), 'Shake Sugaree' (1988), 'Mule Bone' (1991), 'Dancing the Blues' (1993), 'Senor Blues' (1997), 'Hula Blues' (1998), 'Shoutin' in Key' (2000) and 'Maestro' (2008)
    Composed scores for the films 'Sounder' (1972), 'Brothers' (1977), 'Zebrahead' (1992) and 'Rose Wood' (1997)
    Appeared in the films 'Sounder' (1972), 'Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey' (1991), 'Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored' (1996), 'Six Days and Seven Nights' (1998), 'Songcatcher' (2000) and 'Blues Brothers 2000' (2000)
    Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame (2009)

Why he might be annoying:

    He named himself for a building after having a dream about India.
    His song 'Fishing Blues' was sued in commercials for Jimmy Carter's re-election campaign.
    Blues purists disdained his experiments with world music.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was sponsored by the State Department on a tour of Africa (1979).
    His version of 'She Caught the Katy' is the first song heard in 'The Blues Brothers.' (1980)
    He was described by 'The Rough Guide to Rock' as 'one of the first major artists, if not the very first one, to pursue the possibilities of world music.'
    He is a supporter of the Music Makers Relief Foundation, a nonprofit helping older blues artists continue to perform.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 10 Votes: 30.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 12 Votes: 41.67% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 65 Votes: 50.77% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 21 Votes: 47.62% Annoying