Taylor Reuben Hicks (October 7, 1976) is an American singer who achieved fame in 2006 as a contestant on the
fifth season of
American Idol, which he won later that year. Hicks got his start as a professional musician in his late teens and performed around the
Southeastern United States for well over the span of a decade, during which he also released two
independent albums. Upon winning
Idol, he was signed to
Arista Records, under which his
self-titled major label debut was released on December 12, 2006. His energetic stage performances and influences derived from
classic rock,
blues, and
R&B music had earned him a following of devout fans, who have been dubbed the "Soul Patrol." He is currently on tour in
Grease playing Teen Angel, the role originated by
Alan Paul.
[ibdb.com/production.php?id=3641]
Biography
Early life
Taylor Hicks was born in
Birmingham,
Alabama, on October 7, 1976, to Bradley Hicks and Pamela Dickinson. His hair started turning
gray by the time he was 14. He and his family moved to suburban
Hoover when he was eight years old. His parents divorced, and stepmother Linda shared custody of their son until he
became of age. Hicks attributed his difficult childhood as the reason for him to find solace in soul and blues music.
He has a younger half-brother, Sean, who would later convince him to audition for
American Idol.
He bought his first
harmonica when he was 16, for $2 at a flea market in
Bessemer, Alabama,
["Taylor Hicks Bio"] and taught himself to play
blues harp. He discovered that he possessed
absolute pitch when he was able to recognize the
pitches of ordinary noises and mimic them on the harmonica.
Hicks was 18 when he wrote his first song, "In Your Time", and he taught himself to play
guitar when he was 19.
Hicks graduated from
Hoover High School in 1995. He played varsity
baseball,
soccer, and
basketball while studying in Hoover. He then pursued a major in
business and
journalism at
Auburn University, but lost interest and dropped out after three years.
Independent music
{(({listen|filename=Taylorhicksthefall30.ogg|title="The Fall" excerpt|description="The Fall" is an
acoustic ballad about a painful, failed relationship.
[
Sample box endWhile in college, Hicks was part of a band called Passing Through, which he later quit to start his own band.][Taylor Hicks Bio] to record a three-track demo but was unable to find a label that would sign him. He left Nashville after a year due to what he called the "oversaturation of the market".[ ] Hicks returned to Alabama and launched a professional music career, performing at various venues and parties mostly around the Southeastern United States, including The War Eagle Supper Club (a popular college bar) in Auburn, Alabama.[ ] Hicks has performed with the likes of James Brown, Tom Petty, Jackson Browne, Drive-By Truckers, Robert Randolph, Snoop Dogg,and Keb Mo.[ ] He also performed in the huge infield of Talladega Superspeedway in 2004 during a NASCAR race weekend. After Hicks won Idol, driver David Stremme said that he hoped Hicks would come back for the October race weekend there.[ ]
He recorded, produced, and released a second album, Under the Radar, in 2005. Despite releasing two albums prior to appearing on American Idol, he did not violate their requirements for contestants, as he had never held a recording contract.
Hicks has allowed audience members to record his concerts for personal, non-commercial use, has authorized the Internet Archive to create a section for fans to upload and share their recordings. The Archive does not accept the upload of concerts recorded after January 1, 2006 due to the terms of his "American Idol" contract.
American Idol 2006
Hicks auditioned for American Idol in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 10, 2005. Hicks passed the audition by the approval of judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, but not Simon Cowell, who said that Hicks would never make it to the final round. On Hicks' first performance for the voting public, Cowell called back to this quote, admitting he was wrong.
On the May 10, 2006, results show, Hicks along with Katharine McPhee and Elliott Yamin, were announced as the Top 3 finalists. On May 12, Idol producers brought Hicks to Birmingham for a weekend of promotional events including television interviews for the local FOX affiliate, a downtown parade, concerts, and an audience with Governor Bob Riley.[ ][ ] Also on May 12, Gov. Riley issued a proclamation making May 16 "Taylor Hicks Day".
Hicks was named the new American Idol on May 24, 2006, winning the title over McPhee, with over 63.4 million votes cast in total. The proclamation was aired to a worldwide audience of 200 million television viewers.
In June 2006, Ford Motor Company, the show's major sponsor, signed Hicks to promote Ford's "Drive on Us" year-end sales event.
[ ]
Post-Idol career
[hicks with harmonica on the miller stage june 18 2006.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Hicks played harmonica and guitar on every date of the [[American Idols LIVE! Tour 2006|American Idols LIVE! Tour]]] Hicks signed a recording contract with 19 Recordings Limited/Arista Records, managed by American Idol creator Simon Fuller, in May 2006.
Hicks made guest appearances in concerts by Snoop Dogg, Widespread Panic, and Willie Nelson, among others.[Newsome, Melba. "Overnight Star?".] Hicks also joined his fellow Top 10 Idol finalists on the American Idols LIVE! Tour which ran from July to September. The members of the former Taylor Hicks Band, formed by Hicks two years prior, regrouped as the Little Memphis Blues Orchestra and shadowed the Idols' tour route. Hicks occasionally appeared as a "special guest" when circumstances permitted, and was even accompanied at times by the other Idols, such as Elliott Yamin, Chris Daughtry, Ace Young, and Bucky Covington.[ ]
In August 2006, Hicks' lawyers sued a producer with whom he worked in Nashville, for redistributing without permission songs that Hicks had copyrighted in 1997. The lawsuit was dropped when the masters were handed over to Hicks.
In the same month, it was announced that Hicks received a $750,000 (USD) deal to write a memoir of his life.
2006-2007: Taylor Hicks
Studio recording sessions for the eponymous major label debut Taylor Hicks ran in Calabasas, California between October and November 2006, and took six weeks in total.
[ ] It was certified as a platinum album by the RIAA on January 17, 2007.
December 16, 2007, Hicks performed "Do I Make You Proud" live together with 6 Asian Idol finalists in Jakarta Indonesia. Hicks also performed on the American Idol (season 6) finale at the Kodak Theatre on May 23, 2007.
2008: Early Works
Despite winning American Idol 2006, Hicks' post Idol career had its ups and downs. Arista Records confirmed in January 2008 that it had dropped Hicks from its roster.[‘Idol’ winner Taylor Hicks loses record deal - Music - MSNBC.com. See also Taylor Hicks, Ruben Studdard dropped from J Records? by Shirley Halperin. EW.com. January 3, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-05.]
J records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG, also announced that they were releasing Hicks from his recording contract. [CNN Jan 8, 2008, "An Idol loses his Record Deal"] Hicks has the lowest selling American Idol winners album.
Early January, Taylor Hicks made this statement on his Myspace page:
As of June 2008, Hicks has signed a distribution deal with Vanguard/Welk records to distribute a compilation album "Early Works". At this time, he is also starring in Grease in the national tour as the Teen Angel after playing the role on Broadway.[www.broadway.com/Taylor-Hicks-Signs-On-for-National-Tour-of-Grease/broadway_news/570994][www.nypost.com/seven/06202008/tv/hicks_finds_niche_116267.htm] Early Works was released on August 12, 2008.[www.amazon.com/Early-Works-Taylor-Hicks/dp/B001C4ZQG6/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1216677552&sr=8-1]
Taylor has also been part of the concert series that airs on HDNET.
Soul Patrol
Hicks's fanbase has been dubbed the "Soul Patrol". The phrase started among his Internet fan base after the episode of Hicks's Idol auditions aired, but it is difficult to trace its exact origin. Hicks frequently mentioned the Soul Patrol after performances on Idol, which was best shown after winning the competition—Ryan Seacrest asked if he had any parting words and Hicks yelled, "Soul Patrol!".
During a promotional event for Idol in Alabama, Hicks "inducted" Governor Bob Riley and his wife into the Soul Patrol.
In addition to zealously following the musical career of Taylor Hicks and related artists, the Soul Patrol is also known for its charity work on behalf of various organizations such as Studio By The Tracks, Kid One Transport, Habitat for Humanity, and American Red Cross among others.
The first Soul Patrol Convention was organized in Birmingham, Alabama, USA on May 9th and 10th, 2008, with event proceeds earmarked for Kid One Transport. The Soul Patrol was represented from all over the US, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Popular culture
Hicks became the subject of two Weekend Update skits on NBC's Saturday Night Live on April 15 and May 20, 2006, portrayed by cast member Jason Sudeikis. In a reference to Hicks's quirkiness and disposition, Sudeikis mocked playing Hicks's trademark harmonica and repeatedly shouted out "Soul Patrol!"
"Weird Al" Yankovic parodied Hicks on his 2006 album, Straight Outta Lynwood, on a track called "Do I Creep You Out", which is set against the melody of "Do I Make You Proud". In the music video of the song, an animated Hicks, voiced by Yankovic, is portrayed as the stalker. The video can be seen on JibJab.[ ] Hicks is also known to perform Yankovic's version during soundchecks.
Talk show host Jay Leno frequently refers to Hicks as "his son" due to their striking gray-haired resemblance. Seacrest has also mentioned on American Idol that Hicks resembles Leno, Phil Donahue and George Clooney.[AI5]
Stephen Colbert, host of The Colbert Report, had also promised to give political pundit Bill O'Reilly a copy of "Do I Make You Proud" upon O'Reilly's appearance on the show on January 18, 2007.
On the television sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine, in the episode titled "The Real Thing", Christine, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, mentions that she has an imaginary relationship with Taylor Hicks.
Discography
See also
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References and notes
External links
Wikiquote
American Idol 5
American Idol
Taylor Hicks
DEFAULTSORT:Hicks, Taylor
