The 92-year-old gospel
Singer worked as a turpentine farmer, built a house and church, raised eight children, and survived decades of brutal
racism – with his
music guiding the way
Struck by the melody of Brother Theotis Taylor’s given name, I’d consulted dictionaries. When I repeat the meaning to him – a gift from God – a wide smile eclipses his face. “I’m the only one in my family called Theotis,” he says.
The definition is apt for the Georgia spiritual singer and pianist, who has spent much of his 92 years playing music and preaching in churches, and whose astounding songs feel like they’ve been handed down from above. He was called to perform on bills with Sam Cooke when Cooke and the Soul Stirrers toured the region; he has sung at hallowed US venues such as Carnegie Hall and Harlem’s Apollo Theater. His shimmering, soaring voice elicits comparisons to Cooke, and to the Reverend Al Green, but apart from a handful of self-released singles and the 2018 collection Something Within Me, his recordings have not been widely available. A new collection finally arrives this month on Mississippi Records.