Koko Taylor

Cora Anna Walton, known as Koko Taylor, was the 'Queen of the Blues,' the most prominent female blues singer of the postwar Chicago era. Born in Tennessee, she moved to Chicago in the early 1950s and was discovered by Willie Dixon, who wrote and produced her 1965 hit 'Wang Dang Doodle' for Chess Records: one of the last major hits on the label. Her voice was a rough, shouting instrument of tremendous power, and she became the dominant female presence on the Chicago blues scene for four decades. She recorded for Alligator Records beginning in 1975 and won 25 W.C. Handy Awards (more than any other artist), performing tirelessly on the blues festival circuit until her death in 2009.