September 3, 2024 • 27 mins
Ever wondered what it takes to transform from a budding artist in New York to a global music sensation?
Join us as the iconic Taylor Dayne shares her incredible journey, revealing the heartfelt moments that shaped her career and her determination to stay grounded amidst her monumental success.
Taylor takes us back to her early days, reminiscing about the golden era of radio and the eclectic mix of 70s music that fueled her passion.
Her stories provide an authentic glimpse into the inspirations that molded her musical taste, from the influence of legendary radio personalities to the diverse genres that colored her childhood.
But that's not all—Taylor reflects on the exhilarating challenges of breaking into the 1980s music scene before the age of the internet.
She opens up about her grassroots beginnings, impactful encounters with industry icons like Aretha Franklin and Whitney Houston, and the whirlwind of sudden fame that carried her across continents.
Through her personal anecdotes, Taylor paints a vivid picture of the triumphs and trials of rising to stardom, including the significance of her girlfriend and fellow singer, Diane Jones, as her unwavering support.
Looking forward, Taylor hints at exciting future projects, from potential TV ventures to ongoing collaborations with the esteemed songwriter Diane Warren. This episode is packed with inspiring tales and insider insights that any music enthusiast will not want to miss!
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
My career in the entertainment industry has
enabled me to work with adiverse range of talent.
Through my years of experience,I've recognized two essential
aspects.
Industry professionals, whetherfamous stars or
behind-the-scenes staff, havefascinating stories to tell.
Secondly, audiences are eagerto listen to these stories,
(00:36):
which offer a glimpse into theirlives and the evolution of
their life stories.
This podcast aims to sharethese narratives, providing
information on how they evolvedinto their chosen career.
We will delve into theirjourney to stardom, discuss
their struggles and successesand hear from people who helped
them achieve their goals.
Get ready for intriguingbehind-the-scenes stories and
(00:58):
insights into the fascinatingworld of entertainment.
Hi, I'm Tony Mantura.
Welcome to Almost LiveNashville.
Today we are privileged to haveTaylor Dane join us.
Taylor's debut single, tell itTo my Heart, propelled her to
fame globally in 1987, followedby six US top 10 singles, two
(01:21):
Grammy Award nominations, anAmerican Music Award and
multiple New York Music Awards,along with several New York Hall
of Fame honors.
Ranked 18th on Rolling Stone'slist of the best female dance
artists of all time, it'sdefinitely an honor to have her
here today.
Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Not at all.
I love it, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Oh, it's my pleasure.
So have you ever been sittingaround just talking with your
friends, talking about yourcareers, and then you just
realize with your body of workthat you've done?
You just sit back and go wow,I've done that.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
It's a funny thing being an artist, isn't it?
Speaker 1 (01:57):
It is.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
No, I think life is a very interesting ride and I
think the more you experienceand the more you put into it and
the more you get out of it.
It allows you to have thosemoments of maybe perhaps sitting
back and saying, wow, look whatI've achieved, look what I've
done so far.
But those are far more rare ifyou're living in the moment, if
(02:22):
you're living in the now.
So there have been moments whenI was on tour, and there's
always been moments I rememberlooking out at a plane and going
Jesus, girl, you know, or beingon that tour bus and, wow, sure
, I'll have that moment inSeptember when I'm back on tour
and it's Paula and I and youknow Tiffany, and it's just.
There are moments where you cantake it away, but I'm still so
(02:46):
living in the now.
There's dreams come true allthe time.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Pinch yourself, but then I never look at myself like
I'm the person.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Yeah, I get that.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Pretty grounded that way.
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
So you graduated high school, joined some bands, went
to college, was in a few bands.
Then, all of a sudden, youstarted becoming yourself as a
singer.
So who inspired you to pick upthat mic and start singing?
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Well, you know, if you asked me at five years old,
I would have told you I'm goingto be a rock and roll star.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
It was the radio.
I grew up in New York.
I was born in the city, raisedin the Bronx a little bit, and
then we moved into Long Island.
So that was the early 70s.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Lots of great music back then.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
When you remember turning on WABC radio, because
see, those are some of the jocksthat in our time were like the
great, biggest radio jocks inthe world, cousin Brucie.
I just remember all thesesounds.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Oh yeah, great sounds .
Cousin Brucie was all a part ofthat.
Talked with him a few times.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Great guy great guy and I got my dad it was.
It was a sony like kind of likecube.
It was this coolest thing, likethink of the late 60s, early
70s, like it was a cool littlemodern.
He goes this is a radio and I'mlike, okay, I know I was five,
I know I was four because musicalways waved through the house.
It was always.
My parents were very um, avid,um theater goers and, uh, they
(04:01):
exposed me to music and the artsvery young, and my family and
that was their thing, whether itwas like Manila Mancha playing
on or the Fantastics.
Sunday was the one day.
Sunday was the one day, yeah,where at least the family was
together.
My father, at least we, we knewwe could see him and maybe I
could walk to the bakery withhim and pick up more pleasant
(04:22):
memories and music would beplaying.
And the first records I evergot were Crosby, sills, nash,
the Beatles and Stones from myparents.
I remember hearing NyshariaMoore and I just said who is
that?
What is that?
And my ear?
And then I just started seeingwhat these people look like and
they were obviously stars andmusic and I said I want to be
(04:42):
that.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Yeah, because the way that we looked at the stars
back in the 60s and the 70s iscompletely different than the
way the stars are looked attoday.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
God.
In the 70s you could haveanything from Karen Carpenter,
billy Preston.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Aerosmith Broke Three Dog Night.
Think about the pop artists.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
And what was on the radio?
There was such an allegorationof so many artists rock and pop,
if you will.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
The great thing is, you could hear all those artists
on one station One station.
Yeah, I remember you could hearJoni Mitchell in the morning,
Then later on you could hearAerosmith.
Yeah, those days were justgreat at radio.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Right, or Billy Preston, I mean it just.
Or the Beatles, not really theBeatles I'm talking about.
Early 70s is where I startedreally tuning in.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
But everything and anything that was played on
there was, quite, you know,earth, wind and fire.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
And I started getting vocal choices changed, but that
was time.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
So how much had you been involved in music in high
school?
Because when you got out,that's when you really started
to expand.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Like in high school.
I've already been in a band ortwo during high school and then
obviously singing and doingsolos and really focusing on my
voice and you know the guitarplayer boyfriend and the whole
thing.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
I just don't join a cover band.
I kind of strike out there andsay I'm in New York, I'm in the
playground of it all, it's whereeverything's happening, and now
you're talking about 1980.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yeah 81.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I'm already hearing a pop station that breaks 82, 83.
And that's Kiss FM.
That's for me.
I had KTU in the city.
We had the rock stations, lir,and you know that's what I
gravitated towards the Zeppelinsand the Bad Companies and the
singers that had more rhythm andblues influence.
But rock was a big thing andSouthern rock came along and
(06:24):
then me saying I don't want tobe in one more band and one more
person.
And then New Wave was just thehugest thing in the world and I
was in this band called the Next.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Well then, I was in a band called Felony, and every
club you can imagine I mean livemusic was how you played.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeah, I love those times.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
You went live band and an art?
There was no, it was mybrothers that went schooling,
coming out with lightingdesigning degrees.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Yeah, so when did you start writing?
It seems like when thathappened, everything started to
change for you, and it wasupward from there.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Well, also more of a producer, like my partner.
So I met Rick Wake probably in1986.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
All right.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
And now I'm out of high school, like four years.
So now I'm out of high school,like four years, so now I'm 22.
And by then I was like I don'twant to do a band ever again, I
don't want five opinions.
And right then you startedseeing I was really in the club
and culture scene in New York,like I was going down to eighth
Avenue, that's St Mark's andeverything you see, kind of like
where Madonna kind of got thatstreet stuff and everything that
(07:23):
was going on in the cat cluband my brothers were DJing and
also now VJing and that was justlike from Private Eyes to Dance
Interior to the Saint and theseclubs in limelight that were
like the epitome and what drove.
But there were even biggerclubs that were happening in the
middle of the night through sixin the morning and that was
(07:43):
like Paradise Garage.
And so I started getting intohouse music and really going
there in the middle of the nightafter I was doing my sets at a
Russian nightclub down inBrighton Beach.
We go into the city afterwardsand so tribal house, that stuff.
And then I met Rick Wake.
Rick came in, he was 19.
He was from Birmingham.
He's like this is what we did.
(08:06):
Yeah, I get it.
It's like all cylinders were on.
I'm like I need to do a singleand that's what started breaking
through and we could get onthose mix shows, those 12
o'clock midnight mix shows.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Yeah, great plan.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
I had a single and then I was like, well, it looks
like it's easy to break out.
No, the DJs might support youin the clubs, because the clubs
were the biggest thing then.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
You get the clubs, you have a chance to get on
radio.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Radio not was dictated by the clubs, but so
Rick was very.
Once we started collaboratinghe was like we need a crossover
record, a record that can goright from the clubs.
We can get the pools, the dancepools.
I mean it was a whole strategyand that's how I went, how
Leslie started with 12 inchesand I'm the one you want.
So this is the writing, this isthe producing.
It was far more than thatProducing, writing and really
(08:47):
honing in on my craft.
Your 10,000 hours.
They were built like nobody'sbusiness.
Yeah, a lot of work you knowsinging in session singers were
some of the greatest guys wewere bringing in from Trenton
and things like that and thatwas like the Billy T Scotts.
They taught me arrangements.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Definitely a need to know.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
When Mariah broke.
I mean she just took them onthe road.
But I mean, I'm just trying totell you these were these
sections.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Yeah, they were great rhythm sections, for sure.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
It's all growth like 19, you're 20, you're 21, 22.
I just knew I didn't want to bein a band anymore.
I felt like it wascounterproductive to getting
right to the heart of the matter.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
So make your own and build your own, and they will
come.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Oh, later on.
Sure Well, I was writing formyself.
That record's called Whateveryou Want, and that was during my
second album.
I was really more adamant aboutgetting my co-writes on there
and pushing for that, and it's asong I wrote with oh my God,
yeah, See the writers on that.
That's one of the greatproducers of the time, Arthur
Baker.
Arthur was such a greatpromoter but at the same time
(09:50):
Arthur was like took the firstStones remix and put it in the
clubs.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Yeah, that was cool.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
You don't take the Stones and then remix them into
a 12 and you put them in theclubs.
But that was what Arthur haddone.
And then, once I had a famewith Tell it to my Heart, then
the Diane Warrens were coming.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Yeah, that's great.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
I met and I was working with him and we wrote
this song yeah, whatever youwant, or me, and for my record,
my album, my label passed on itClive, and those guys just
didn't think it was it, but Iguess Tina did.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Yeah, she sure did.
So there's a lot of people outthere that try and do different
things.
How did you put the writinginto it, the production into it
and all of the development thatit took to create that one
project that made the differencefor you?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
This is me saying bravo to two 21, 22-year-olds
Rick myself, knowing that toinvest in yourself is the
greatest thing you can do.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
When you have that small amount of money.
If you keep trying to wait forsomething to happen to you,
you'll be waiting a long time.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Yes, that's so true.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
So we built it.
Rick was adamant.
We went to my dad, we drew up acontract for five to six
thousand dollars to do Tell itTo my Heart, that was a song
that Rick A and Art.
I went to high school with thiskid that I saw on the West Side
Highway because I was in thecity all day and night and he
was working at Warner Chapel andlet me see if we can send a
tape over and that's when he waslike we need something that is
(11:11):
a crossover appeal, let's putour money into that.
And so it was the productionaspect, not just writing.
It was being a producer,knowing that this is what was to
be funded and then knowing thepools and the promo people to
get to and like it wasn't justan artist sitting in a room and
figuring out my craft.
This was, this was a science tothe music business.
And that's the part that Inever want to take away.
(11:33):
And I still look at thingstoday and sometimes people say,
well, you micromanage and youthink it like that and I go, but
that's how I'm here today.
Nobody handed me on a plate,nobody discovered me, and all
those clubs I sang in, nobodywalked and said you're the
singer, you're it, you're thebest.
They did not.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Yeah, not yeah.
A lot of people think that it'slike the movies Someone walks
in, sees the person playing onstage and then just hands them a
million dollars and they got itmade.
They don't realize thecountless hours that it takes in
production, development, radiopromotion and all the chain of
people that it takes to make ahit record.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Oh for sure.
And I mean, in those days, wedidn't go on the Voice, we
didn't go on.
I mean, there was Star Search,I guess.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Yeah, I guess.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
TV was this miraculous thing where you went
on, I mean, but these kind ofshows, the formulaics, like it
always had that.
But when I broke in the 80s, Imean I opened up how I found.
Rick Wake was through theVillage Voice and you saw ads.
So true, there was no internet,there was no phones, there was
(12:37):
nothing like that.
You actually had magazines andpapers and for me, the artists
and the people that I wanted towork with were in the Village
Voice.
And that's how, at my firstaudition with Jive Records, that
was a nothing label, tommy Boy,nothing.
You think of them 10 yearslater, when they were in sync
and coming together.
But these were how we all weall were grassroots and started
that's how a lot of acts inthose years started.
Really putting our money either.
They were UK based.
Where I broke first makes sense.
(12:57):
I broke in Europe first.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Yeah, that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
So they took that single and they tell it to my
heart, put a Taylor Dane on thecover and didn't even put my
image and said let them figureit out for themselves.
And that's where dance hasalways really kind of been
embraced, european, even fromthat to EDM and how it really is
built.
What I saw in the clubs wasmore tribal, was more R&B, was
more urban.
What was going on, which laterwhat they called the speed of
(13:25):
Tell Me, can you Love Me?
The first songs I put out one,two beats per minute, so that
this is 85.
That was considered hip hop.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
It was kind of crazy.
That was this genre.
Now we call it freestyle.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Right.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
That was Alicia, all my passion and all these songs
that were breaking.
And then I said to Rick andthen you start hearing, I'll
never forget saying to Rick andhe goes well, we need a
crossover song.
And I remember hearing all of asudden this I heard Aretha song
.
And I remember hearing all of asudden this I heard Aretha
Franklin come out with a recordall of a sudden I was like who's
zooming who?
And like.
I heard all of a sudden classicvocalist from the 70s that we
(14:02):
knew, Aretha of course, butNatalie Cole with like Freeway
of Love for Aretha, then PinkCadillac and I, of course.
Whitney broke probably 85.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
I think you're right.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
And then Sade, and these were the voices I was like
, all right, somebody's gettingthis, and it was Clive, and it
was Arista Records, that's whoultimately signed us with the
single my Heart.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
So I'm always interested in hearing the
differences in which the waythat singers handle that sudden
burst of success.
I've worked around some thathave been so busy and so
scatterbrained that they didn'tknow where they were from one
day to another.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
That's true.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
When you broke with your single and then, all of a
sudden, the world just wentcrazy over it.
How did that affect you andyour perception of what you
thought it would be?
And then to the reality of howit actually affected your
day-to-day life.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Oh man, Nobody can prepare you for that.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Yeah, so very true.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Because it's not really overnight stardom.
It's something you dream andbuild and build and build.
And now I'm 22 and 23, and I'vegot to quit the Russian club.
I got to make sure I cansupport myself and Rick because
basically Rick was living in thebottom of the studio and this
is happening so slowly and thenso quickly because suddenly
you're wanted in another country.
(15:23):
It's not like it happened inthe States.
First I was wanted in UK, I waswanted everywhere and I was
separated from Rick.
And then it's like Rick, you sitin the studio here in America,
in the US, and then I'm offeverywhere, being the front of
this, and I'm just the girl fromthe Russian nightclub that was
hanging out with all thesemobsters and they hit, throwing
me in and out of Europe.
So hate to say it, but that'swhere I learned my Versace, my
(15:45):
Godier, all those looks, my hair, everything you saw was a
product of hanging around peoplethat had a lot of money real
quick, real fast.
All bets were off and theyshowed me like and that's how I
learned Europe real fast, goingshop, three suits in Godier and
then Alaya and I knew it wasfashion.
And that's the first Taylor dayand you saw with the powerful,
(16:07):
with knowing where my song camefrom, who it came from, how it
derived, and that was telling tomy heart.
So it was this fierce explosionthat took place.
How do you deal with that?
You have a lot of boyfriends indifferent countries and you try
to find you anchor yourself.
My one biggest anchor was mygirlfriend, diane Jones, who was
a singer as well.
In the club that I said I'mgoing to get famous and she goes
(16:29):
.
Okay, and she was eight yearsmy senior and she was an
incredible singer.
Diane Jones was my winger, myrock.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Yeah, it's great to have someone in our life that
has our back.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
I'll never forget.
I wouldn't even know a songLike if you asked me to sing
Amazing Grace.
She was black, she was a fierce, she was just my sister, my
soul sister, and I'll never.
When I looked at her and I wasgoing on the wine and she goes
you draw all this out, I go.
What does that mean?
She goes, you go to church.
On this and I was just.
Every club, every, every radiostation I went into, diane was
by my side until the recordcompany started catching up to
(17:04):
what they had.
They signed me for a single,single option album.
They had no idea.
No idea, yeah, that happens.
Tell Us.
Tomorrow started going numberone throughout all of Europe and
Pacific Rim Southeast.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Asia South.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
America.
Yeah, we didn't even have analbum ready.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Really.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Just records that same writers did Prove your Love
.
What a shocker.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Don't Rush Me was a song that I was doing.
I sang as a demo singer for oneof the writers.
It was mind-blowing.
Some of those songs I have oneof them, upon the Journey's End,
and another writer another onthat song is somebody that I
worked with in the Russian club.
I always said, wow, you're agreat writer, I'm going to put
you on.
I mean, it's astounding.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yeah, it is, but a great collaboration and it
worked.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
How it comes together , but it was Rick and I, and
then Diane was my anchor.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Yeah, that's great that you had her.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
And we were all over the world together that first
two years at 87, 88, until theyreally understood and we could
put a full record together.
I mean, it was wild.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Yeah, it is.
So I understand that you'regetting ready to go on tour now.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
That's a fast forward .
Well, now go back.
Let's go 35 years later, youknow.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Yeah, that's the beauty of my time machine.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Many years later, many incarnations later, and I
hit the streets with Paula Abdul.
We do our Canadian run, westart September Kind of full
circle, isn't it?
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Sure is.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Sure is that girl was my choreographer.
I mean, she was just phenomenal.
Obviously, janet broke beforeme in Control and watching that
and Paula.
And then Paula was mychoreographer for Prove your
Love.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Yeah, how good is that.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Like that's it, that's, she's the top of the
game.
You know, I'll never forgetwhen she came down to set and we
were working on it and thenwhen she broke, ultimately like
I think a couple of years laterwas straight up.
It was pretty amazing.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Yeah, it sure was.
So when you look back, is thereanything that just stands out
to you.
It can be an award, aperformance, someone you met,
someone you performed with, justanything.
What stands out to you that ifanyone asks you that's one of
the top few things that comes toyour mind.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
It's so interesting a question like I don't know.
There's been those joyfulmoments where you meet people,
you know where you're in thebackstage and where you walk out
and you're getting your yourthroat looked at, and there's
Tom Petty and there's StevenTyler and you get to talk.
We're just in the same officeyeah moments and they're like,
hey, what's going on, taylor?
And then there's just beenthose sweet gentle, more gentle
(19:29):
moments or bigger moments,prince.
I mean, there's always beenmoments.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Yeah, that's the great part about this music
business is you have thosemoments where you meet those
stars, those iconic stars.
It's just great.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Those are those moments that I guess, if I think
about them, I'll cherish thembecause they're so simple.
But there's been euphoricmoments where that last note of
the show you know, every night ashow is different.
Yeah that's the beauty of theroad.
So in sync with the band.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Yeah, that's a great thing.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
It's just a feeling, it's an energy, it's a zest.
I can say moments like that andI can tell you the antidote of
that story.
And Prince walked down thestairs and then we screamed at
each other.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Yeah, those are awesome moments.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
There's a million, but that doesn't take the.
It's the feeling.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Yeah, those live events can give you such a great
thrill and feeling.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Accomplishment?
I think that's that firstquestion you asked, like when do
you get feelings?
Those feelings come and go,yeah they do.
You know you work on them everyday to actually be able to
receive that.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Right.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
And sit on many laurels because I feel I have so
much to do Accomplish, improvestill, for whatever reason,
that's that little girl and thatvoice inside me that's still
got a lot to do.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
So you say you've got more to accomplish.
So what's in your bucket list?
What is it that's still there,that you want to try and do and
continue with your life?
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Bigger marks, bigger things, bigger territory
soundtrack.
I've had a lot of songs andsoundtracks, but now I want the
accolades and also actuallysitting on things.
More accomplishments that way,Right, Diane Warren and I have
another song in us.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Let's get her the Oscar.
I'd like that myself.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
Yeah, why not?
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Certain things like that, moments like that and
touring.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
It's just more creative things that creatively
and even a TV is.
I think I have a series in me.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Yeah, that'd be nice.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Just something, yeah, where I'm really I get to
really like say, wow, thischaracter and I like really we
really blend and this is myvoice and her voice and I think
that would be an appropriatething to say.
Yeah, I could see that comingtogether real nicely.
It'd be a lot of creative funand also finding another home I
love.
What I love about touring isyou're with your family, really
(21:41):
the energy.
You're all for the good and forthe good of the one project and
the project and this is yourfamily.
It's like any team and you canask any athlete.
They'll tell you the same thing.
When the team and athlete andyou know we've trained.
I'm training before I go outthere, I'm training before this
tour.
I'm in the studio now we'reputting together.
So when we're all targeted,it's like our, our, our, our,
(22:02):
our, we, we, we, we, us, us, us,us.
It's an incredible energy.
That's what you see when youtake this audience and you put
your arms around them yeah,there's nothing better they get
you, you get them, and there'snothing.
No, they get you, you get them,and there's nothing.
No greater energy.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Yeah, and when the band and you are just perfectly
in sync that special night andeverything is flowing, nothing
seems to be wrong.
And even if you do hit that offnote, it goes right and is just
not a better feeling at all.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
But you just smile, turn around and go mother, like
laugh, yeah, but it's all you'rein.
Turn around and go mother.
I didn't laugh, yeah, but it'sall.
You're in this dream together.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Yeah, there's nothing better than that, so let's
lighten it up a little bit.
Favorite movie.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
I gotta tell you I have a few, but like, let's just
start like Pulp Fiction or mostof them are kind of sagas, like
that Still Jaws, because it wassomething so simplistic and the
characters were justmind-blowing to me.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Yeah, we need to get a bigger boat.
I just love that line.
Okay, favorite song.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Well, I have the ones that I hold on to because they
are the soundtrack of thatlittle girl and what I hear, and
those songs would be somethinglike Wild World from Cat Stevens
, joni Mitchell I would sayalbums.
I couldn't even give you onesong because it's not fair to
say is it just Blue or Case ofyou?
I know where I was the firsttime I heard Black Dog and I was
(23:25):
just like, or where I was whenI first heard Bad Company, and I
mean this was a 13 year old ora 12 year old, but like smells
around me what the girl waswearing.
She was wearing Love's BabySoft.
I remember that.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Yeah, that's the power of music.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
And then the ones that took me to the next level.
I mean, I can tell you, alGreen, marvin Gaye, oh, yeah,
yeah.
I mean, and let us not forgetthe young Michael Jackson, like
just was when I hit, never CanSay Goodbye like I well up.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Yeah, I get that With me, the first person I saw on
TV.
It goes back to Elvis.
My mother introduced me toElvis and that's what led me to
getting into music and fromthere I just kept on going and
then from that, every personthat influences you just adds to
the story and that helps youbuild your story with your songs
, and that's just great.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
That's why you're doing what you're doing.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Absolutely.
The love of music can bite usall.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
My parents bought me three records, so Crosby, stills
and Nash Sweet Judy Blue Eyes.
I still see that cover and fromthere that led me to Neil and
Joni's and people would listento my music and go there's no
way, but believe me, there's way.
Chaka Khan.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Yeah, it's amazing how an influence of one or two
singers that you hear can changeone part of your song and then
that can turn it into somethingreally, really special.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Well, I always was amazed that people, when they
started responding to Tell it'smy Heart, I was like, oh my God,
I did a dance record Like thisis so not what I thought I would
be doing.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
That happens to so many different singers.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
But it allowed me to pull myself out of like again
that band scenario.
Like Deborah Harry, patti,benatar, they were all Chrissy
Hine, they were all in this bandbut they were my, like Annie
Wilson, like you know, thesewere my girls and I was like I
don't think I can do it with aband.
I need to come out.
And so what did I ever?
I came out like a pop, like a,but I said I'm not going to
(25:20):
dummy down my voice Like thatwas the big, thing, yeah sure.
Keep all that wild power.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Yeah, the great thing about that is that all the ones
that you listened to influencedyou to let you evolve into what
you are now 1,000%.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
It just doesn't mean you have the time or you have
the place to do it creatively.
That's why, when you watchthese shows, it's amazing to me
what Kelly Clarkson and CarrieUnderwood because they had a
real sense of, obviously, whatthey were as artists and how
they grew.
Because there's no way youreally have to have a sense of
yourself I mean, theirinstrument is one thing, but to
(25:53):
really be able to take any kindof music and turn it into like
your bitch, that's really whypeople love Jimi Hendrix.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
It's no way that guitar had.
He had no mercy on it, yet whenhe wanted it lilting it just.
It's the same thing with Greg.
I never understand what cameout of Greg Allman's mouth.
I couldn't even believe theache, the song, the territory In
our lifetime.
Now we have a Chris Stapleton.
It's hard to take a breath whenthey're performing.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
One of the bands I really liked was the Marshall
Tucker Band.
When they performed live, theywere just so, so good.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
And a lot of rhythm guitar.
Yeah, they were pretty amazing.
Live, you're right, you'reright.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Their live dynamics was so good.
At one point you're reallystruggling to hear them, and
then the next moment they're soloud you're covering your ears.
Yeah, that's the beauty ofmusic.
You take all these nuances fromall these other people and then
pour them into that littlekettle and then all of a sudden
they all become you.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
You never could have imagined.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Yeah, so true.
Well, this has just beenfantastic.
I really appreciate you comingon.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Oh, thank you so much .
You really had great questions.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Thanks so much.
It's been really great.
Thanks for joining us today.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
This has been a Tony Mantorproduction.
For more information, contactmedia at plateau music dot com.
My career in the entertainment industry has
enabled me to work with adiverse range of talent.
Through my years of experience,I've recognized two essential
aspects.
Industry professionals, whetherfamous stars or
behind-the-scenes staff, havefascinating stories to tell.
Secondly, audiences are eagerto listen to these stories,
(00:36):
which offer a glimpse into theirlives and the evolution of
their life stories.
This podcast aims to sharethese narratives, providing
information on how they evolvedinto their chosen career.
We will delve into theirjourney to stardom, discuss
their struggles and successesand hear from people who helped
them achieve their goals.
Get ready for intriguingbehind-the-scenes stories and
(00:58):
insights into the fascinatingworld of entertainment.
Hi, I'm Tony Mantura.
Welcome to Almost LiveNashville.
Today we are privileged to haveTaylor Dane join us.
Taylor's debut single, tell itTo my Heart, propelled her to
fame globally in 1987, followedby six US top 10 singles, two
(01:21):
Grammy Award nominations, anAmerican Music Award and
multiple New York Music Awards,along with several New York Hall
of Fame honors.
Ranked 18th on Rolling Stone'slist of the best female dance
artists of all time, it'sdefinitely an honor to have her
here today.
Welcome to the show.
Speaker 2 (01:39):
Not at all.
I love it, thank you.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Oh, it's my pleasure.
So have you ever been sittingaround just talking with your
friends, talking about yourcareers, and then you just
realize with your body of workthat you've done?
You just sit back and go wow,I've done that.
Speaker 2 (01:54):
It's a funny thing being an artist, isn't it?
Speaker 1 (01:57):
It is.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
No, I think life is a very interesting ride and I
think the more you experienceand the more you put into it and
the more you get out of it.
It allows you to have thosemoments of maybe perhaps sitting
back and saying, wow, look whatI've achieved, look what I've
done so far.
But those are far more rare ifyou're living in the moment, if
(02:22):
you're living in the now.
So there have been moments whenI was on tour, and there's
always been moments I rememberlooking out at a plane and going
Jesus, girl, you know, or beingon that tour bus and, wow, sure
, I'll have that moment inSeptember when I'm back on tour
and it's Paula and I and youknow Tiffany, and it's just.
There are moments where you cantake it away, but I'm still so
(02:46):
living in the now.
There's dreams come true allthe time.
Speaker 1 (02:50):
Yeah, that's true.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Pinch yourself, but then I never look at myself like
I'm the person.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Yeah, I get that.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Pretty grounded that way.
I don't know.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
So you graduated high school, joined some bands, went
to college, was in a few bands.
Then, all of a sudden, youstarted becoming yourself as a
singer.
So who inspired you to pick upthat mic and start singing?
Speaker 2 (03:12):
Well, you know, if you asked me at five years old,
I would have told you I'm goingto be a rock and roll star.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (03:16):
It was the radio.
I grew up in New York.
I was born in the city, raisedin the Bronx a little bit, and
then we moved into Long Island.
So that was the early 70s.
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Lots of great music back then.
Speaker 2 (03:25):
When you remember turning on WABC radio, because
see, those are some of the jocksthat in our time were like the
great, biggest radio jocks inthe world, cousin Brucie.
I just remember all thesesounds.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Oh yeah, great sounds .
Cousin Brucie was all a part ofthat.
Talked with him a few times.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
Great guy great guy and I got my dad it was.
It was a sony like kind of likecube.
It was this coolest thing, likethink of the late 60s, early
70s, like it was a cool littlemodern.
He goes this is a radio and I'mlike, okay, I know I was five,
I know I was four because musicalways waved through the house.
It was always.
My parents were very um, avid,um theater goers and, uh, they
(04:01):
exposed me to music and the artsvery young, and my family and
that was their thing, whether itwas like Manila Mancha playing
on or the Fantastics.
Sunday was the one day.
Sunday was the one day, yeah,where at least the family was
together.
My father, at least we, we knewwe could see him and maybe I
could walk to the bakery withhim and pick up more pleasant
(04:22):
memories and music would beplaying.
And the first records I evergot were Crosby, sills, nash,
the Beatles and Stones from myparents.
I remember hearing NyshariaMoore and I just said who is
that?
What is that?
And my ear?
And then I just started seeingwhat these people look like and
they were obviously stars andmusic and I said I want to be
(04:42):
that.
Speaker 1 (04:43):
Yeah, because the way that we looked at the stars
back in the 60s and the 70s iscompletely different than the
way the stars are looked attoday.
Speaker 2 (04:51):
God.
In the 70s you could haveanything from Karen Carpenter,
billy Preston.
Speaker 1 (04:54):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (04:55):
Aerosmith Broke Three Dog Night.
Think about the pop artists.
Speaker 1 (04:59):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:00):
And what was on the radio?
There was such an allegorationof so many artists rock and pop,
if you will.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
The great thing is, you could hear all those artists
on one station One station.
Yeah, I remember you could hearJoni Mitchell in the morning,
Then later on you could hearAerosmith.
Yeah, those days were justgreat at radio.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Right, or Billy Preston, I mean it just.
Or the Beatles, not really theBeatles I'm talking about.
Early 70s is where I startedreally tuning in.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (05:26):
But everything and anything that was played on
there was, quite, you know,earth, wind and fire.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
Exactly.
Speaker 2 (05:31):
And I started getting vocal choices changed, but that
was time.
Speaker 1 (05:35):
So how much had you been involved in music in high
school?
Because when you got out,that's when you really started
to expand.
Speaker 2 (05:45):
Like in high school.
I've already been in a band ortwo during high school and then
obviously singing and doingsolos and really focusing on my
voice and you know the guitarplayer boyfriend and the whole
thing.
Speaker 1 (05:52):
Yeah, sure.
Speaker 2 (05:53):
I just don't join a cover band.
I kind of strike out there andsay I'm in New York, I'm in the
playground of it all, it's whereeverything's happening, and now
you're talking about 1980.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Yeah 81.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I'm already hearing a pop station that breaks 82, 83.
And that's Kiss FM.
That's for me.
I had KTU in the city.
We had the rock stations, lir,and you know that's what I
gravitated towards the Zeppelinsand the Bad Companies and the
singers that had more rhythm andblues influence.
But rock was a big thing andSouthern rock came along and
(06:24):
then me saying I don't want tobe in one more band and one more
person.
And then New Wave was just thehugest thing in the world and I
was in this band called the Next.
Speaker 1 (06:33):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (06:34):
Well then, I was in a band called Felony, and every
club you can imagine I mean livemusic was how you played.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeah, I love those times.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
You went live band and an art?
There was no, it was mybrothers that went schooling,
coming out with lightingdesigning degrees.
Speaker 1 (06:48):
Yeah, so when did you start writing?
It seems like when thathappened, everything started to
change for you, and it wasupward from there.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Well, also more of a producer, like my partner.
So I met Rick Wake probably in1986.
Speaker 1 (07:01):
All right.
Speaker 2 (07:02):
And now I'm out of high school, like four years.
So now I'm out of high school,like four years, so now I'm 22.
And by then I was like I don'twant to do a band ever again, I
don't want five opinions.
And right then you startedseeing I was really in the club
and culture scene in New York,like I was going down to eighth
Avenue, that's St Mark's andeverything you see, kind of like
where Madonna kind of got thatstreet stuff and everything that
(07:23):
was going on in the cat cluband my brothers were DJing and
also now VJing and that was justlike from Private Eyes to Dance
Interior to the Saint and theseclubs in limelight that were
like the epitome and what drove.
But there were even biggerclubs that were happening in the
middle of the night through sixin the morning and that was
(07:43):
like Paradise Garage.
And so I started getting intohouse music and really going
there in the middle of the nightafter I was doing my sets at a
Russian nightclub down inBrighton Beach.
We go into the city afterwardsand so tribal house, that stuff.
And then I met Rick Wake.
Rick came in, he was 19.
He was from Birmingham.
He's like this is what we did.
(08:06):
Yeah, I get it.
It's like all cylinders were on.
I'm like I need to do a singleand that's what started breaking
through and we could get onthose mix shows, those 12
o'clock midnight mix shows.
Speaker 1 (08:12):
Yeah, great plan.
Speaker 2 (08:13):
I had a single and then I was like, well, it looks
like it's easy to break out.
No, the DJs might support youin the clubs, because the clubs
were the biggest thing then.
Speaker 1 (08:21):
Yeah, that's right.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
You get the clubs, you have a chance to get on
radio.
Speaker 1 (08:25):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
Radio not was dictated by the clubs, but so
Rick was very.
Once we started collaboratinghe was like we need a crossover
record, a record that can goright from the clubs.
We can get the pools, the dancepools.
I mean it was a whole strategyand that's how I went, how
Leslie started with 12 inchesand I'm the one you want.
So this is the writing, this isthe producing.
It was far more than thatProducing, writing and really
(08:47):
honing in on my craft.
Your 10,000 hours.
They were built like nobody'sbusiness.
Yeah, a lot of work you knowsinging in session singers were
some of the greatest guys wewere bringing in from Trenton
and things like that and thatwas like the Billy T Scotts.
They taught me arrangements.
Speaker 1 (09:00):
Definitely a need to know.
Speaker 2 (09:01):
When Mariah broke.
I mean she just took them onthe road.
But I mean, I'm just trying totell you these were these
sections.
Speaker 1 (09:06):
Yeah, they were great rhythm sections, for sure.
Speaker 2 (09:08):
It's all growth like 19, you're 20, you're 21, 22.
I just knew I didn't want to bein a band anymore.
I felt like it wascounterproductive to getting
right to the heart of the matter.
Speaker 1 (09:23):
So make your own and build your own, and they will
come.
Speaker 2 (09:28):
Oh, later on.
Sure Well, I was writing formyself.
That record's called Whateveryou Want, and that was during my
second album.
I was really more adamant aboutgetting my co-writes on there
and pushing for that, and it's asong I wrote with oh my God,
yeah, See the writers on that.
That's one of the greatproducers of the time, Arthur
Baker.
Arthur was such a greatpromoter but at the same time
(09:50):
Arthur was like took the firstStones remix and put it in the
clubs.
Speaker 1 (09:53):
Yeah, that was cool.
Speaker 2 (09:54):
You don't take the Stones and then remix them into
a 12 and you put them in theclubs.
But that was what Arthur haddone.
And then, once I had a famewith Tell it to my Heart, then
the Diane Warrens were coming.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
Yeah, that's great.
Speaker 2 (10:04):
I met and I was working with him and we wrote
this song yeah, whatever youwant, or me, and for my record,
my album, my label passed on itClive, and those guys just
didn't think it was it, but Iguess Tina did.
Speaker 1 (10:15):
Yeah, she sure did.
So there's a lot of people outthere that try and do different
things.
How did you put the writinginto it, the production into it
and all of the development thatit took to create that one
project that made the differencefor you?
Speaker 2 (10:30):
This is me saying bravo to two 21, 22-year-olds
Rick myself, knowing that toinvest in yourself is the
greatest thing you can do.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (10:41):
When you have that small amount of money.
If you keep trying to wait forsomething to happen to you,
you'll be waiting a long time.
Speaker 1 (10:48):
Yes, that's so true.
Speaker 2 (10:50):
So we built it.
Rick was adamant.
We went to my dad, we drew up acontract for five to six
thousand dollars to do Tell itTo my Heart, that was a song
that Rick A and Art.
I went to high school with thiskid that I saw on the West Side
Highway because I was in thecity all day and night and he
was working at Warner Chapel andlet me see if we can send a
tape over and that's when he waslike we need something that is
(11:11):
a crossover appeal, let's putour money into that.
And so it was the productionaspect, not just writing.
It was being a producer,knowing that this is what was to
be funded and then knowing thepools and the promo people to
get to and like it wasn't justan artist sitting in a room and
figuring out my craft.
This was, this was a science tothe music business.
And that's the part that Inever want to take away.
(11:33):
And I still look at thingstoday and sometimes people say,
well, you micromanage and youthink it like that and I go, but
that's how I'm here today.
Nobody handed me on a plate,nobody discovered me, and all
those clubs I sang in, nobodywalked and said you're the
singer, you're it, you're thebest.
They did not.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Yeah, not yeah.
A lot of people think that it'slike the movies Someone walks
in, sees the person playing onstage and then just hands them a
million dollars and they got itmade.
They don't realize thecountless hours that it takes in
production, development, radiopromotion and all the chain of
people that it takes to make ahit record.
Speaker 2 (12:07):
Oh for sure.
And I mean, in those days, wedidn't go on the Voice, we
didn't go on.
I mean, there was Star Search,I guess.
Speaker 1 (12:13):
Yeah, I guess.
Speaker 2 (12:14):
TV was this miraculous thing where you went
on, I mean, but these kind ofshows, the formulaics, like it
always had that.
But when I broke in the 80s, Imean I opened up how I found.
Rick Wake was through theVillage Voice and you saw ads.
So true, there was no internet,there was no phones, there was
(12:37):
nothing like that.
You actually had magazines andpapers and for me, the artists
and the people that I wanted towork with were in the Village
Voice.
And that's how, at my firstaudition with Jive Records, that
was a nothing label, tommy Boy,nothing.
You think of them 10 yearslater, when they were in sync
and coming together.
But these were how we all weall were grassroots and started
that's how a lot of acts inthose years started.
Really putting our money either.
They were UK based.
Where I broke first makes sense.
(12:57):
I broke in Europe first.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Yeah, that makes sense.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
So they took that single and they tell it to my
heart, put a Taylor Dane on thecover and didn't even put my
image and said let them figureit out for themselves.
And that's where dance hasalways really kind of been
embraced, european, even fromthat to EDM and how it really is
built.
What I saw in the clubs wasmore tribal, was more R&B, was
more urban.
What was going on, which laterwhat they called the speed of
(13:25):
Tell Me, can you Love Me?
The first songs I put out one,two beats per minute, so that
this is 85.
That was considered hip hop.
Speaker 1 (13:35):
Yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (13:36):
It was kind of crazy.
That was this genre.
Now we call it freestyle.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
Right.
Speaker 2 (13:42):
That was Alicia, all my passion and all these songs
that were breaking.
And then I said to Rick andthen you start hearing, I'll
never forget saying to Rick andhe goes well, we need a
crossover song.
And I remember hearing all of asudden this I heard Aretha song
.
And I remember hearing all of asudden this I heard Aretha
Franklin come out with a recordall of a sudden I was like who's
zooming who?
And like.
I heard all of a sudden classicvocalist from the 70s that we
(14:02):
knew, Aretha of course, butNatalie Cole with like Freeway
of Love for Aretha, then PinkCadillac and I, of course.
Whitney broke probably 85.
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:13):
I think you're right.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
And then Sade, and these were the voices I was like
, all right, somebody's gettingthis, and it was Clive, and it
was Arista Records, that's whoultimately signed us with the
single my Heart.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
So I'm always interested in hearing the
differences in which the waythat singers handle that sudden
burst of success.
I've worked around some thathave been so busy and so
scatterbrained that they didn'tknow where they were from one
day to another.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
That's true.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
When you broke with your single and then, all of a
sudden, the world just wentcrazy over it.
How did that affect you andyour perception of what you
thought it would be?
And then to the reality of howit actually affected your
day-to-day life.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Oh man, Nobody can prepare you for that.
Speaker 1 (15:00):
Yeah, so very true.
Speaker 2 (15:01):
Because it's not really overnight stardom.
It's something you dream andbuild and build and build.
And now I'm 22 and 23, and I'vegot to quit the Russian club.
I got to make sure I cansupport myself and Rick because
basically Rick was living in thebottom of the studio and this
is happening so slowly and thenso quickly because suddenly
you're wanted in another country.
(15:23):
It's not like it happened inthe States.
First I was wanted in UK, I waswanted everywhere and I was
separated from Rick.
And then it's like Rick, you sitin the studio here in America,
in the US, and then I'm offeverywhere, being the front of
this, and I'm just the girl fromthe Russian nightclub that was
hanging out with all thesemobsters and they hit, throwing
me in and out of Europe.
So hate to say it, but that'swhere I learned my Versace, my
(15:45):
Godier, all those looks, my hair, everything you saw was a
product of hanging around peoplethat had a lot of money real
quick, real fast.
All bets were off and theyshowed me like and that's how I
learned Europe real fast, goingshop, three suits in Godier and
then Alaya and I knew it wasfashion.
And that's the first Taylor dayand you saw with the powerful,
(16:07):
with knowing where my song camefrom, who it came from, how it
derived, and that was telling tomy heart.
So it was this fierce explosionthat took place.
How do you deal with that?
You have a lot of boyfriends indifferent countries and you try
to find you anchor yourself.
My one biggest anchor was mygirlfriend, diane Jones, who was
a singer as well.
In the club that I said I'mgoing to get famous and she goes
(16:29):
.
Okay, and she was eight yearsmy senior and she was an
incredible singer.
Diane Jones was my winger, myrock.
Speaker 1 (16:38):
Yeah, it's great to have someone in our life that
has our back.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
I'll never forget.
I wouldn't even know a songLike if you asked me to sing
Amazing Grace.
She was black, she was a fierce, she was just my sister, my
soul sister, and I'll never.
When I looked at her and I wasgoing on the wine and she goes
you draw all this out, I go.
What does that mean?
She goes, you go to church.
On this and I was just.
Every club, every, every radiostation I went into, diane was
by my side until the recordcompany started catching up to
(17:04):
what they had.
They signed me for a single,single option album.
They had no idea.
No idea, yeah, that happens.
Tell Us.
Tomorrow started going numberone throughout all of Europe and
Pacific Rim Southeast.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Asia South.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
America.
Yeah, we didn't even have analbum ready.
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Really.
Speaker 2 (17:18):
Just records that same writers did Prove your Love
.
What a shocker.
Speaker 1 (17:22):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (17:22):
Don't Rush Me was a song that I was doing.
I sang as a demo singer for oneof the writers.
It was mind-blowing.
Some of those songs I have oneof them, upon the Journey's End,
and another writer another onthat song is somebody that I
worked with in the Russian club.
I always said, wow, you're agreat writer, I'm going to put
you on.
I mean, it's astounding.
Speaker 1 (17:40):
Yeah, it is, but a great collaboration and it
worked.
Speaker 2 (17:43):
How it comes together , but it was Rick and I, and
then Diane was my anchor.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Yeah, that's great that you had her.
Speaker 2 (17:50):
And we were all over the world together that first
two years at 87, 88, until theyreally understood and we could
put a full record together.
I mean, it was wild.
Speaker 1 (17:59):
Yeah, it is.
So I understand that you'regetting ready to go on tour now.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
That's a fast forward .
Well, now go back.
Let's go 35 years later, youknow.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
Yeah, that's the beauty of my time machine.
Speaker 2 (18:16):
Many years later, many incarnations later, and I
hit the streets with Paula Abdul.
We do our Canadian run, westart September Kind of full
circle, isn't it?
Speaker 1 (18:23):
Sure is.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Sure is that girl was my choreographer.
I mean, she was just phenomenal.
Obviously, janet broke beforeme in Control and watching that
and Paula.
And then Paula was mychoreographer for Prove your
Love.
Speaker 1 (18:36):
Yeah, how good is that.
Speaker 2 (18:37):
Like that's it, that's, she's the top of the
game.
You know, I'll never forgetwhen she came down to set and we
were working on it and thenwhen she broke, ultimately like
I think a couple of years laterwas straight up.
It was pretty amazing.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Yeah, it sure was.
So when you look back, is thereanything that just stands out
to you.
It can be an award, aperformance, someone you met,
someone you performed with, justanything.
What stands out to you that ifanyone asks you that's one of
the top few things that comes toyour mind.
Speaker 2 (19:07):
It's so interesting a question like I don't know.
There's been those joyfulmoments where you meet people,
you know where you're in thebackstage and where you walk out
and you're getting your yourthroat looked at, and there's
Tom Petty and there's StevenTyler and you get to talk.
We're just in the same officeyeah moments and they're like,
hey, what's going on, taylor?
And then there's just beenthose sweet gentle, more gentle
(19:29):
moments or bigger moments,prince.
I mean, there's always beenmoments.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
Yeah, that's the great part about this music
business is you have thosemoments where you meet those
stars, those iconic stars.
It's just great.
Speaker 2 (19:40):
Those are those moments that I guess, if I think
about them, I'll cherish thembecause they're so simple.
But there's been euphoricmoments where that last note of
the show you know, every night ashow is different.
Yeah that's the beauty of theroad.
So in sync with the band.
Speaker 1 (19:55):
Yeah, that's a great thing.
Speaker 2 (19:56):
It's just a feeling, it's an energy, it's a zest.
I can say moments like that andI can tell you the antidote of
that story.
And Prince walked down thestairs and then we screamed at
each other.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
Yeah, those are awesome moments.
Speaker 2 (20:07):
There's a million, but that doesn't take the.
It's the feeling.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
Yeah, those live events can give you such a great
thrill and feeling.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Accomplishment?
I think that's that firstquestion you asked, like when do
you get feelings?
Those feelings come and go,yeah they do.
You know you work on them everyday to actually be able to
receive that.
Speaker 1 (20:26):
Right.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
And sit on many laurels because I feel I have so
much to do Accomplish, improvestill, for whatever reason,
that's that little girl and thatvoice inside me that's still
got a lot to do.
Speaker 1 (20:37):
So you say you've got more to accomplish.
So what's in your bucket list?
What is it that's still there,that you want to try and do and
continue with your life?
Speaker 2 (20:47):
Bigger marks, bigger things, bigger territory
soundtrack.
I've had a lot of songs andsoundtracks, but now I want the
accolades and also actuallysitting on things.
More accomplishments that way,Right, Diane Warren and I have
another song in us.
Speaker 1 (21:03):
Nice.
Speaker 2 (21:03):
Let's get her the Oscar.
I'd like that myself.
Speaker 1 (21:06):
Yeah, why not?
Speaker 2 (21:07):
Certain things like that, moments like that and
touring.
Speaker 1 (21:10):
Sure.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
It's just more creative things that creatively
and even a TV is.
I think I have a series in me.
Speaker 1 (21:17):
Yeah, that'd be nice.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
Just something, yeah, where I'm really I get to
really like say, wow, thischaracter and I like really we
really blend and this is myvoice and her voice and I think
that would be an appropriatething to say.
Yeah, I could see that comingtogether real nicely.
It'd be a lot of creative funand also finding another home I
love.
What I love about touring isyou're with your family, really
(21:41):
the energy.
You're all for the good and forthe good of the one project and
the project and this is yourfamily.
It's like any team and you canask any athlete.
They'll tell you the same thing.
When the team and athlete andyou know we've trained.
I'm training before I go outthere, I'm training before this
tour.
I'm in the studio now we'reputting together.
So when we're all targeted,it's like our, our, our, our,
(22:02):
our, we, we, we, we, us, us, us,us.
It's an incredible energy.
That's what you see when youtake this audience and you put
your arms around them yeah,there's nothing better they get
you, you get them, and there'snothing.
No, they get you, you get them,and there's nothing.
No greater energy.
Speaker 1 (22:16):
Yeah, and when the band and you are just perfectly
in sync that special night andeverything is flowing, nothing
seems to be wrong.
And even if you do hit that offnote, it goes right and is just
not a better feeling at all.
Speaker 2 (22:32):
But you just smile, turn around and go mother, like
laugh, yeah, but it's all you'rein.
Turn around and go mother.
I didn't laugh, yeah, but it'sall.
You're in this dream together.
Speaker 1 (22:39):
Yeah, there's nothing better than that, so let's
lighten it up a little bit.
Favorite movie.
Speaker 2 (22:45):
I gotta tell you I have a few, but like, let's just
start like Pulp Fiction or mostof them are kind of sagas, like
that Still Jaws, because it wassomething so simplistic and the
characters were justmind-blowing to me.
Speaker 1 (22:59):
Yeah, we need to get a bigger boat.
I just love that line.
Okay, favorite song.
Speaker 2 (23:05):
Well, I have the ones that I hold on to because they
are the soundtrack of thatlittle girl and what I hear, and
those songs would be somethinglike Wild World from Cat Stevens
, joni Mitchell I would sayalbums.
I couldn't even give you onesong because it's not fair to
say is it just Blue or Case ofyou?
I know where I was the firsttime I heard Black Dog and I was
(23:25):
just like, or where I was whenI first heard Bad Company, and I
mean this was a 13 year old ora 12 year old, but like smells
around me what the girl waswearing.
She was wearing Love's BabySoft.
I remember that.
Speaker 1 (23:37):
Yeah, that's the power of music.
Speaker 2 (23:38):
And then the ones that took me to the next level.
I mean, I can tell you, alGreen, marvin Gaye, oh, yeah,
yeah.
I mean, and let us not forgetthe young Michael Jackson, like
just was when I hit, never CanSay Goodbye like I well up.
Speaker 1 (23:57):
Yeah, I get that With me, the first person I saw on
TV.
It goes back to Elvis.
My mother introduced me toElvis and that's what led me to
getting into music and fromthere I just kept on going and
then from that, every personthat influences you just adds to
the story and that helps youbuild your story with your songs
, and that's just great.
Speaker 2 (24:13):
That's why you're doing what you're doing.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
Absolutely.
The love of music can bite usall.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
My parents bought me three records, so Crosby, stills
and Nash Sweet Judy Blue Eyes.
I still see that cover and fromthere that led me to Neil and
Joni's and people would listento my music and go there's no
way, but believe me, there's way.
Chaka Khan.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Yeah, it's amazing how an influence of one or two
singers that you hear can changeone part of your song and then
that can turn it into somethingreally, really special.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Well, I always was amazed that people, when they
started responding to Tell it'smy Heart, I was like, oh my God,
I did a dance record Like thisis so not what I thought I would
be doing.
Speaker 1 (24:54):
That happens to so many different singers.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
But it allowed me to pull myself out of like again
that band scenario.
Like Deborah Harry, patti,benatar, they were all Chrissy
Hine, they were all in this bandbut they were my, like Annie
Wilson, like you know, thesewere my girls and I was like I
don't think I can do it with aband.
I need to come out.
And so what did I ever?
I came out like a pop, like a,but I said I'm not going to
(25:20):
dummy down my voice Like thatwas the big, thing, yeah sure.
Keep all that wild power.
Speaker 1 (25:23):
Yeah, the great thing about that is that all the ones
that you listened to influencedyou to let you evolve into what
you are now 1,000%.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
It just doesn't mean you have the time or you have
the place to do it creatively.
That's why, when you watchthese shows, it's amazing to me
what Kelly Clarkson and CarrieUnderwood because they had a
real sense of, obviously, whatthey were as artists and how
they grew.
Because there's no way youreally have to have a sense of
yourself I mean, theirinstrument is one thing, but to
(25:53):
really be able to take any kindof music and turn it into like
your bitch, that's really whypeople love Jimi Hendrix.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Absolutely.
Speaker 2 (26:01):
It's no way that guitar had.
He had no mercy on it, yet whenhe wanted it lilting it just.
It's the same thing with Greg.
I never understand what cameout of Greg Allman's mouth.
I couldn't even believe theache, the song, the territory In
our lifetime.
Now we have a Chris Stapleton.
It's hard to take a breath whenthey're performing.
Speaker 1 (26:21):
One of the bands I really liked was the Marshall
Tucker Band.
When they performed live, theywere just so, so good.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
And a lot of rhythm guitar.
Yeah, they were pretty amazing.
Live, you're right, you'reright.
Speaker 1 (26:32):
Their live dynamics was so good.
At one point you're reallystruggling to hear them, and
then the next moment they're soloud you're covering your ears.
Yeah, that's the beauty ofmusic.
You take all these nuances fromall these other people and then
pour them into that littlekettle and then all of a sudden
they all become you.
Speaker 2 (26:51):
You never could have imagined.
Speaker 1 (26:53):
Yeah, so true.
Well, this has just beenfantastic.
I really appreciate you comingon.
Speaker 2 (26:58):
Oh, thank you so much .
You really had great questions.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
Thanks so much.
It's been really great.
Thanks for joining us today.
We hope you enjoyed the show.
This has been a Tony Mantorproduction.
For more information, contactmedia at plateau music dot com.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!