Crystal Taliefero-Pratt (née Taliefero) is an American multi-instrumentalist and vocalist. Taliefero grew up with a musical family, performing rhythm and blues with her brother in the Chicago metropolitan area. During her college years she was discovered by John Mellencamp, who helped guide her to a career as a professional musician. Taliefero performed with several artists throughout the 80s and 90s. In 1989 she was hired as a studio musician for the

Billy Joel Band The Billy Joel Band is the band that backs singer-songwriter and pianist Billy Joel on both studio and live recordings. The band began with the recording of his first album as a solo artist in 1971; it stabilized around 1975 and underwent severa ...

, and she has been touring and recording with them ever since.

Early life

Born in Bourne, Massachusetts, Taliefero spent most of her childhood in

Hammond Hammond may refer to: People * Hammond Innes (1913–1998), English novelist * Hammond (surname) * Justice Hammond (disambiguation) Places Antarctica * Hammond Glacier, Antarctica Australia *Hammond, South Australia, a small settlement in South ...

, Indiana. By the age of 11 she had begun performing rhythm and blues around Hammond and nearby Gary, Indiana, where her family moved two years later. She joined her brother Charles in the singing group Black Mist (later renamed Magic Mist), who performed in the Chicago area. Taliefero attended

William A. Wirt High School William A Wirt Senior High School was a four-year (9-12) public high school of the Gary Community School Corporation in Gary, Indiana. In May 2009 the school announced that after over 70 years, it would finally be closing. As of 2011, the site is ...

where she was a top athlete and graduated in 1981. She studied music at Indiana University, eventually making the dean's list. There, Taliefero was part of the Indiana University Soul Revue, Dr. James Mumford tutoring her. She was a member of

Delta Sigma Theta Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. () is a historically African American sorority. The organization was founded by college-educated women dedicated to public service with an emphasis on programs that assist the African American community. Delta ...

sorority.

Career

In college Taliefero performed in a band called Kilo, which included other now-notable artists such as Saturday Night Live drummer

Shawn Pelton Shawn Pelton is an American drummer and percussionist. He has recorded with a wide range of artists and has been a first call player since moving to New York in the late 1980s. Shawn has recorded with artists such as Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin, ...

, former Tonight Show bassist Robert Hurst, and trumpeter Chris Botti. John Mellencamp's drummer Kenny Aronoff often sat in on drums, and in 1986 after hearing the first song of a live performance, Mellencamp invited Taliefero to join his touring band. In a Spring 2011 interview, Taliefero credited her experience with Mellencamp as the fundamental training that "changed the whole course of erlife". In 1989, Mellencamp took time off as a musician to focus on painting. When asked, he lent Taliefero $3000, and with that she headed to New York City to pursue more musical opportunities. Two and a half months into living in New York, Taliefero received a phone call from a Mellencamp associate, asking her to play drums and sing for 1989's '' Storm Front'', the upcoming album from

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

. After a successful audition, she was invited to join the

, who she has been with ever since. With time, Taliefero claimed the role as background vocal arranger, which she is credited with on 1993's '' River of Dreams''. In 1991 Taliefero accompanied

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio were especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in the disco music era in ...

in their tour. A show in Europe needed an opening act, and they asked if she could perform some of her own material. She then formed a one-off band called Bonzai for the opening show which featured Pat Peterson, a Mellencamp backup singer, backed by the Bee Gees band. 1992 saw Taliefero taking a lead role in

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

's extensive 107-date world tour, ending in June 1993. The tour landed Taliefero a number of press hits. '' The New York Times'' music critic Jon Pareles described Taliefero as a "sassy female foil", while

Edna Gundersen Edna Gundersen is an American journalist who was a longtime music writer and critic for ''USA Today''. Gundersen grew up in El Paso, Texas. She attained a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at El Paso and then wrote features and en ...

of '' USA Today'' praised her performance alongside Springsteen. Taliefero's collaboration with Springsteen also includes a 1992 MTV Unplugged documentary performance. However, Gary Graff, writing in the ''Detroit Free Press'', lamented that Taliefero only played saxophone on " Born to Run" and missed longtime E Street Band saxophonist Clarence Clemons, who was not invited on the tour. Taliefero has performed with a wide range of other artists, including Faith Hill,

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

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, Tina Arena,

Bob Seger Robert Clark Seger ( ; born May 6, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. As a locally successful Detroit-area artist, he performed and recorded as Bob Seger and the Last Heard and The Bob Seger System throughout the 1960s, break ...

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Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

Enrique Iglesias Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (; (born 8 May 1975) is a Spanish singer and songwriter. He started his recording career in the mid-1990s on the Mexican indie label Fonovisa and became the bestselling Spanish-language act of the decade. By the ...

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, Meat Loaf, and Michael McDonald.

Musicianship

Taliefero's credits as a musician are chiefly as a vocalist and percussionist. Instruments in her percussion kit include bongos, cabasa, mark tree,

congas The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest) ...

, cowbell,

güiro The güiro () is a Puerto Rican percussion instrument consisting of an open-ended, hollow gourd with parallel notches cut in one side. It is played by rubbing a stick or tines (see photo) along the notches to produce a ratchet sound. The güiro ...

, hand percussion, jam block,

shaker Shaker or Shakers may refer to: Religious groups * Shakers, a historically significant Christian sect * Indian Shakers, a smaller Christian denomination Objects and instruments * Shaker (musical instrument), an indirect struck idiophone * Cock ...

, tambourine, timbales, triangle,

Djembe A djembe or jembe ( ; from Maninka language, Malinke ''jembe'' , N'Ko script, N'Ko: ) is a rope-tuned skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands, originally from West Africa. According to the Bambara people in Mali, the name of the djembe ...

, and

wood block Woodblock or wood block may refer to: * Woodblock (instrument), a percussion musical instrument * Woodblock printing, a method of printing in which an image is carved into the surface of a piece of wood * Woodblock graffiti * Toy block Toy bloc ...

. In addition, Taliefero is also quite accomplished on the guitar, keyboards, harmonica and saxophone, among other

wind instruments A wind instrument is a musical instrument that contains some type of resonator (usually a tube) in which a column of air is set into vibration by the player blowing into (or over) a mouthpiece set at or near the end of the resonator. The pitc ...

. She is known for her energetic stage performances. In its 2008 article "The 125-Plus People, Places and Things Ruling the Rock & Roll Universe", '' Rolling Stone'' magazine declared Taliefero the "Best Secret Weapon".

Personal life

In 1986, Taliefero suffered a ruptured appendix while touring with

. She was hospitalized for several weeks. Taliefero's goal is to establish the Taliefero Music Foundation that will inspire and shape young upcoming lives in the world of live entertainment. As part of her purpose to inspire young musicians, she visited Central High School in East Chicago, Indiana (her home state), in 2009. Taliefero was awarded the Indiana University African-American Arts Institute's Herman C. Hudson Alumni Award on April 19, 2011. In a congratulatory statement, Billy Joel noted that some of his songs would not have been written without her inspiration.

Film and book collaborations

Taliefero has contributed narration, compositions and/or music to a range of child-oriented videos and audiobooks though the

Weston Woods Studios Weston Woods Studios (or simply Weston Woods) is a production company that makes audio and short films based on well-known books for children. It was founded in 1953 by Morton Schindel in Weston, Connecticut, and named after the wooded area near h ...

division of Scholastic Corporation: * * * * * * * *

External links

* *
Crystal Taliefero Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2019)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taliefero, Crystal Living people Musicians from Gary, Indiana American rock saxophonists American rock percussionists 1963 births African-American drummers People from Bourne, Massachusetts American rock drummers American women singers African-American women singers American rock guitarists American multi-instrumentalists American harmonica players Delta Sigma Theta members Guitarists from Indiana Tambourine players Maracas players Conga players Bongo players Triangle players Güiro players Timbaleros Djembe players 20th-century American drummers 20th-century American guitarists 21st-century American saxophonists 21st-century American women musicians Billy Joel Band members 20th-century American women guitarists African-American guitarists