Vernon Taylor was born on November 9, 1937 into a Baptist farming family. He was the youngest of four
children. Music was always present in his home while he was growing up. His fondest memories as a young lad
were family get togethers when his parents, brothers, aunts, uncles and cousins would sit around singing
hymns.
Some nights he'd listen to the radio while playing his guitar. Hillbilly artists like Roy Acuff,
Ernest Tubb and Hank Williams were a great influence on him as were cowboy singers like Gene Autry and
Roy Rogers. In the 50's he would listen to a small radio under the bedclothes. "Blue Moon Of Kentucky"
by Elvis was a song that really inspired him.
At fifteen he hooked up with two high school friends and they formed a group called "The Nighthawks."
They practiced hard three nights a week for a year and got occasional bookings at local sock hops
which kept their enthusiasm going. By the time Vernon was a senior in high school, they worked shows
throughout Maryland and Virginia. This led to their own 5:30 a.m. radio show.
Curley Smith and his Blue Mountain Boys were playing a local dance. Vernon asked Curley if he
would mind if "The Nighthawks" performed a few numbers during one of the breaks. They went over real
big with the crowd which led to Curley hiring "The Nighthawks" and letting his band go. The crowds increased
as they became popular with the younger set. On his nights off Vernon would go where Jimmy Dean and the
Texas Wildcats were performing and Jimmy would have him do a few tunes. Curley had a job offer in Arkansas,
but Vernon and the guys decided they wanted to stay local. They continued to play the same gig until
early 1957.
Vernon was just starting his professional music career playing USO shows for the experience when
rock 'n' roll was breaking out all over the United States. While in high school he began playing
dances and an early morning radio show. In 1957 everything started happening at once. He was offered
the starring spot on an hour long Saturday night TV show out of Washington, DC. This show ran for 3 1/2
years.
This led to a recording contract with Dot Records and an appearance on Dick Clark's American
Bandstand. Vernon got frequent spots on most of the TV sock hops up and down the East Coast, the
Mid-West and the South. While doing shows with many big names in country and rockabilly music,
Vernon was signed by Sam Phillips to Sun Records. Wanting to get the rich Memphis sound in his music,
Vernon's recording sessions were produced by Jack Clement and Sam Phillips.
A few years later Vernon retired from a full time music career but continued performing on weekends
throughout the 60's. In 1989 he was asked to do a benefit show for Charlie Feathers. This led to more
shows and occasional guest appearances.
After a long retirement from the music business, Vernon Taylor is back performing. In May of 1995
he was the headliner for Friday Night at The Great "Hemsby Rock 'N' Roll Festival" in the U.K. In the
fall of "95" a CD was released with all Vernon's original cuts from Sun and Dot on the famous "Eagle"
label in Germany.
Over the past three years he has appeared on shows with Narvel Felts, Dickey Lee, Ray Peterson,
Sleepy LaBeef, Vicki Bird and Ronnie Dove. The fall of "97" was spent with Taylor concentrating on
a promo video and frequent guest appearances in Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
