BEDFORD bluesman Matt Taylor finds happiness in singing rhythm and blues.
He says there is honesty in the music; a commodity rarely found in mainstream pop and rock.
The 61-year-old vocalist and harmonica player, renowned as one of the pioneers of Oz blues, will perform in Scarborough this month with his band Chain, most known for the timeless classic, I Remember When I was Young.
Taylor wrote the track in 1973 while living on a spiritual commune in Victoria.
He said that after finishing an arduous two-week fast, he saw his life before him and the lyrics starting to flow.
“The song is more well-known than Chain – it’s strong all by itself,” he said.
“It doesn’t need fame or hype; it’s just an icon forever.
“You’ll hear it anywhere in Australia, every day.”
The local muso, who has shared the stage with legends like Deep Purple and Freddie King, first heard blues music in the ’60s at the age of 13 – it immediately struck a chord.
“I was a Beatles fan but then when I first heard blues music it seemed so much more honest,” Taylor said.
“You could hardly buy a blues record in Australia back then, I had to trawl through record stores.
“I liked BB King, Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker – they (record sales staff) would look at you with a blank face if you asked for these people.”
Taylor inherited a love for the harmonica from his father who played the instrument in a local band.
“I came from a musical family, but I was the least musical, and then I heard The Beatles and I thought, I can do that,” Taylor said.
“I got all the harmonicas in the house… my dad had 20 different harmonicas in the house, but not one you could play blues on.
“I went and bought one and Dad said: ‘That’s just a toy,’ because it was much smaller than any of his.”
Chain perform at the Indian Ocean Hotel (Indi Bar) in Scarborough on February 14.