Taylor, Laura, (Vocalist)

Laura Taylor was born in New Haven, Connecticut and spent her childhood bouncing between New York and Ohio to follow her father’s career. Robert Cox, her father, was a businessman who attended Syracuse University on the Government-Issued Bill. Her mother, Lillian Cox was a concert pianist and college music professor. At the age of seventeen, Taylor received a scholarship to attend the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, Ohio under the tutelage of Dr. Robert Powell. Unfortunately, Dr. Powell died two years later, which prompted Taylor’s move into commercial music. Taylor performed at a number of local clubs as well as soloed in national commercial campaigns for United Airlines and Buick. She moved to Miami, Florida with her first husband in her early 20s. After she and her husband divorced, Taylor recorded her first album with Good Sounds Records of Criteria Studios. Her songs “Dancin’ in My Feet”, “Lady Scorpion”, “All Through Me”, and “Some Love” made Billboard and Record World charts. She returned to New York City, New York and formed the Laura Taylor Trio to perform jazz music in famous hotels like the Plaza Hotel and The Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Taylor moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1983 to open for Don Rickles at the Desert Inn Hotel, which led to many years of performing in the Desert Inn’s Starlight Theater. She married her second husband, Robert Cox, in 1985 after meeting him at a concert. Taylor also enjoyed a number of jazz performances on public radio and at a number of venues across Las Vegas. Laura Taylor was active in the jazz world of Las Vegas, serving as a member of the Las Vegas Philharmonic and the Jazz Society. She also continued to write and perform jazz music, appeared at Smith Center for Performing Arts, and released five CDs.