Alvin Taylor started playing drums at the age of 5. He played in various local bands and began his professional career at the age of 14, when he started touring with
Little Richard. As part of Little Richard's band, Taylor played with
Jimi Hendrix,
Billy Preston and opened a show for
Elvis Presley. Later he played with
PG&E on their number one record,
Are You Ready. He turned down
Jerry Goldstein's offer to play in the famous
funk band
War, but joined
Eric Burdon's band after Burdon left War. He played on two albums by
Billy Preston,
Billy Preston (1976) and
A Whole New Thing (1977). He then joined
Bob Welch's band and recorded the album
French Kiss (1977), which featured the hit single "Ebony Eyes". During subsequent years he appeared on albums by artists including
Elton John,
Aalon,
Jesse Colin Young,
Les McCann,
Lauren Wood,
Gil-Scott Heron,
The Originals,
Syreeta,
The Mighty Clouds of Joy,
Keni Burke,
Stargard,
Sammy Hagar,
Billy Thorpe,
America,
Cher,
Natalie Cole,
Sly & the Family Stone,
Bill Withers, and
Three Hearts by Bob Welch. On
Danny O'Keefe's record
American Roulette (1977) he appeared alongside
Reggie McBride,
Mike Melvoin, and
David Lindley. In 1979, he appeared on
Sammy Hagar's single ''
(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay'' which features
Leland Sklar,
Barry Goudreau and
Steve Cropper, who originally played on the
Otis Redding version. Later in the same year he appeared on Cher's album
Prisoner with
Toto members
Steve Lukather,
Jeff Porcaro,
David Hungate,
David Paich, and others. In 1980 he appeared again with Lukather and Paich on
Elton John's album
21 at 33. Other notable musicians include
Bill Champlin,
Chuck Findley, and
Lenny Castro. Taylor then appeared on
Bob Welch's albums
Man Overboard (1980) and
Bob Welch (1981). In 1981, he also appeared on the album
1234 by
The Rolling Stones member
Ron Wood. In 2011 he began working with Ukulele Ray and regularly plays at the
NAMM Show. Beginning in 2013 he toured with "The Gypsy Experience" as well as former
Earth, Wind & Fire member, David Lautrec and his group Desert Redux. In 2024, Taylor released his autobiography, “Drum Major 2 Major Drummer” on Amazon in both paperback and ebook. He also announced his
Official Website and has been actively promoting his book through book signings and new social media content on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and X (Twitter). == Discography ==