Paul Taylor (born June 4, 1960), formerly credited as Paul Horowitz, is an American musician, who is best known as the keyboardist/guitarist with the late 1980s and early 1990s
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band,
Winger (1987–1992, 2001–2003, 2013–2014, 2014–2017, 2018–present). Although he is perhaps most frequently associated with Winger, Taylor has also played with numerous other prominent musicians, including future
Sammy Hagar
Samuel Roy Hagar (born October 13, 1947), also known as the Red Rocker, is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s with the hard rock band Montrose and subsequently launched a successful solo car ...
and
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
guitarist
Gary Pihl
Gary O. Pihl (pronounced "peel") (born November 21, 1950) is an American rock musician and guitarist best known for playing with Sammy Hagar and the hard rock band Boston. (in his early days),
Eric Martin (solo artist and future
Mr. Big frontman),
Aldo Nova
Aldo Nova (born Aldo Caporuscio on November 13, 1956) is a Canadian guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist, and producer. He initially gained fame and popularity with the release of his 1982 debut album ''Aldo Nova'' which peaked to ''Billboards n ...
,
Steve Perry
Stephen Ray Perry (born January 22, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the rock band Journey during their most commercially successful periods from 1977 to 1987, and again from 1995 to 1998. He also wrote/co ...
of
Journey
Journey or journeying may refer to:
* Travel, the movement of people between distant geographical locations
** Day's journey, a measurement of distance
** Road trip, a long-distance journey on the road
Animals
* Journey (horse), a thoroughbred ra ...
,
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
and
Tommy Shaw
Tommy Roland Shaw (born September 11, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known for his tenure in the rock band Styx (band), Styx as co-lead vocalist. In between his stints with Styx, he has played with other groups includi ...
.
Taylor was born in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
. In the late 1970s he briefly played in a Northern California band called Stark Raving Mad (Paul on lead guitar, Piano and Vocals, with Donovan Stark, Gary Pihl (later on with Sammy Hagar and Boston), Jay Causbrook, and David Payne, with Eric Martin (of Mr. Big). Taylor experienced his first mainstream success in the early 1980s as the touring keyboardist in Canadian musician
Aldo Nova
Aldo Nova (born Aldo Caporuscio on November 13, 1956) is a Canadian guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist, and producer. He initially gained fame and popularity with the release of his 1982 debut album ''Aldo Nova'' which peaked to ''Billboards n ...
's backing band, and he appears in the music video for Nova's biggest hit, "
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...
."
Prior to forming Winger, Taylor and
Kip Winger
Charles Frederick Kip Winger (born June 21, 1961) is an American bass guitarist and singer, active as a member of the rock band Winger and as a solo artist. He initially gained notability as a member of Alice Cooper's band, contributing bass an ...
were both playing with
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
's backing band on the tours for Cooper's mid-80s albums, ''
Constrictor'' (1986) and ''
Raise Your Fist and Yell
''Raise Your Fist and Yell'' is the tenth solo studio album by American rock musician Alice Cooper, released on September 5, 1987, by MCA Records. It features the track “Prince of Darkness”, which is featured very briefly in the John Carpent ...
'' (1987). During this time, the two began composing songs together and, while on break from touring, recorded what would become the first Winger demos. Whereas Kip left Alice's band prior to the European leg of the 1987 tour, Paul remained on board for the European dates. However, in the midst of touring Europe, Paul received a call from Kip, who had been working with future Winger lead guitarist
Reb Beach
Richard Earl "Reb" Beach Jr. (born August 31, 1963) is an American rock guitarist. He is a member of the bands Winger and Whitesnake.
Career
After graduating from Fox Chapel Area High School and attending Berklee College of Music in the ear ...
recording more demos in New York, informing him that he had gotten a record deal. After the European tour was finished, Paul flew straight back to New York, and the Winger project (initially known as "Sahara") began rehearsing and recording their debut album.
Taylor remained in Winger throughout the band's most successful period, which included the two smash albums, ''
Winger'' and ''
In the Heart of the Young
''In the Heart of the Young'' (also known as ''Winger II'') is the second studio album by the American rock band Winger. It was released by Atlantic Records in 1990. Beau Hill produced the album. Although coming out at the decline of the glam ...
''. However, after the tour supporting the latter album ended in 1991, Taylor left the band in early 1992, citing exhaustion and a desire to write and get involved with other projects.
Throughout the 1990s, Taylor immersed himself in numerous other projects, perhaps the most prolific of which was recording and touring with Steve Perry for his 1994 solo album. In 1996, he returned to the Alice Cooper band (this time, alongside fellow former Winger guitarist Reb Beach), and once that tour ended, he embarked on a brief tour with
Tommy Shaw
Tommy Roland Shaw (born September 11, 1953) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known for his tenure in the rock band Styx (band), Styx as co-lead vocalist. In between his stints with Styx, he has played with other groups includi ...
.
Winger reunited in 2001 to record new material for a ''Greatest Hits'' album. Although it is unclear whether Taylor participated in these recording sessions, he did later join the band on the supporting tour.
Though Paul was asked by
Kip Winger
Charles Frederick Kip Winger (born June 21, 1961) is an American bass guitarist and singer, active as a member of the rock band Winger and as a solo artist. He initially gained notability as a member of Alice Cooper's band, contributing bass an ...
to rejoin the band again to work on their 2006 reunion album, he declined because he was already involved with other projects.
More recently, Taylor has become involved in composing music for television series programs and has also been pursuing his passion for photography. He also spent the summer months of 2012 touring with
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
throughout the U.S. playing keyboards for them. He returned to Winger during mid-2013 and performed with them on select tour dates up through early 2014 and appeared in the Queen Babylon released in late 2014.
Discography
with Alice Cooper
*''
Raise Your Fist and Yell
''Raise Your Fist and Yell'' is the tenth solo studio album by American rock musician Alice Cooper, released on September 5, 1987, by MCA Records. It features the track “Prince of Darkness”, which is featured very briefly in the John Carpent ...
'' (1987)
*''
A Fistful of Alice
''A Fistful of Alice'' is a live album by American hard rock singer Alice Cooper. It was released on July 29, 1997, and was recorded the previous year at Sammy Hagar's Cabo Wabo club in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Slash plays guitar for part of the ...
'' (1997)
with Winger
*''
Winger'' (1988)
*''
In the Heart of the Young
''In the Heart of the Young'' (also known as ''Winger II'') is the second studio album by the American rock band Winger. It was released by Atlantic Records in 1990. Beau Hill produced the album. Although coming out at the decline of the glam ...
'' (1990)
with Steve Perry
*''
For the Love of Strange Medicine
''For the Love of Strange Medicine'' is the second solo studio album by Steve Perry, released on July 13, 1994 through Columbia Records. The album came after a lengthy 8-year hiatus following the breakup of Journey. The first single " You Bette ...
'' (1994)
Guest appearances
*
Bryan Ferry
Bryan Ferry Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 26 September 1945) is an English singer and songwriter. His voice has been described as an "elegant, seductive croon". He also established a distinctive image and sartorial style: according to ' ...
- ''
Frantic'' (2002)
*
Böhse Onkelz
Böhse Onkelz (), sensational spelling of ''böse Onkel'' (German for "evil uncles") is a German rock band formed in Frankfurt in 1980. The band reunited in 2014. Despite mass-media criticism concerning their past as skinheads, several of their ...
- ''Memento'' (2016)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Paul
1960 births
Living people
Winger (band) members
Alice Cooper (band) members
American rock keyboardists
American rock guitarists
American male guitarists
Guitarists from California
Progressive metal guitarists
20th-century American guitarists
20th-century American male musicians
21st-century American guitarists
21st-century American keyboardists
21st-century American male musicians