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Equipped with a “rabbit foot in my pocket, a toad frog in my shoes,” Cora Walton, aka KoKo Taylor, was fixed for some hoodoo witchery for with her 1974 track, Voodoo!
Sometimes referred to as “The Queen of Chicago Blues,” the Tennessee r&b singer acquired the name “KoKo” due to her love of chocolate (a woman after my own heart).
Discovered by Willie Dixon in 1962 Koko Taylor was signed to Chess and in close collaboration with Dixon she went on to release several singles, including her utterly superb 1965 rendition of Howlin’ Wolf’s “Wang Dang Doodle”. Vocally, especially with her shouting style, she was on a par with Big Mama Thornton and was considered to have the most powerful vocals of all her peers, including Etta James, Mitty Collier and Irma Thomas!!
By 1975 she was recording for the Chicago-based independent blues record label, Alligator Records and that same year released the single Mama, He Treats Your Daughter Mean Conjured from this 45 comes today’s little nugget of sorcery! Appearing as the b-side, Voodoo is delivered with raw, roaring vigor, the deep blues devilment continuing throughout as Taylor deliciously repeats, “They call me the voodoo woman/
And I know the reason why/ They call me the voodoo woman/ And I know the reason why/ Lord if I raise my name/ You know the sky begin to cry……. Check it out above.
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