Until he recorded his first album (and Alligator's first album), Hound Dog Taylor and the House Rockers in 1971, Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor, was largely unknown outside of Chicago. His searing slide guitar style recalled Elmore James, but Taylor was his own man. His band-second guitarist Brewer Phillips and drummer Ted Harvey--were kicking out the blues jams all over town, including a regular Sunday night gig at Florence's on Chicago's South Side. It was at one of these gigs where a young blues fan named Bruce Iglauer decided to risk some inheritance money and start a blues record label for the sole purpose of recording Hound Dog Taylor and the HouseRockers.

Born in Mississippi in 1917, Taylor didn't start playing guitar until he was 20. He worked Delta juke joints and house parties until he moved north to Chicago in 1942. He occasionally performed in South Side bars at night while working various day jobs. By the late 1950s, though, he became a full time musician.

Upon release of his Alligator album in 1971, Taylor finally started to receive the critical acclaim due him. He appeared at the second Ann Arbor Blues Festival in 1970 to 5000 enthusiastic new, mostly white, college kids. Taylor began touring the country, continuing to gain new, young fans. And he never changed a bit. Taylor played the same songs the same way whether he was at Florence's on the South Side of Chicago or at Yale or Princeton University.

In all, Hound Dog Taylor recorded a total of four Alligator albums. Aside from his self-titled debut, Taylor's records are Natural Boogie, the live Beware Of The Dog!, and Genuine Houserockin' Music. The success of these records helped Alligator grow and become the force in blues that it is today. Taylor died of cancer in 1975. He was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 1984.
 

Hound Dog Taylor & The HouseRockers 1. She's Gone 2. Walking The Ceiling 3. Held My Baby Last Night 4. Taylor's Rock 5. It's Alright 6. Phillips' Theme  7. Wild About You, Baby 8. I Just Can't Make It 9. It Hurts Me Too 10. 44 Blues 11. Give Me Back My Wig 12. 55th Street Boogie

Beware Of The Dog 1. Give Me Back My Wig 2. Sun Is Shining, The 3. Kitchen Sink Boogie 4. Dust My Broom 5. Comin' Around The Mountain  6. Let's Get Funky 7. Rock Me 8. It's Allright 9. Freddie's Blues

Genuine Houserocking Music 1. Ain't Got Nobody 2. Gonna Send You Back To Georgia 3. Fender Bender 4. My Baby's Coming Home 5. Blue Guitar  6. Sun Is Shining, The 7. Phillips Goes Bananas 8. What'd I Say 9. Kansas City 10. Crossroads

 

Natural Boogie 1. Take Five 2. Hawaiian Boogie 3. See Me In The Evening 4. You Can't Sit Down 5. Sitting At Home Alone 6. One More Time  7. Roll Your Moneymaker 8. Buster's Boogie 9. Sadie 10. Talk To My Baby

Deluxe Edition 1. Wild About You, Baby 2. Sun Is Shining, The - (live) 3. Roll Your Moneymaker 4. Give Me Back My Wig - (live) 5. Walkin' The Ceiling 6. See Me In The Evening 7. Phillips Goes Bananas 8. It Hurts Me Too  9. What'd I Say? 10. Rock Me - (live) 11. Phillips' Theme - (previously unreleased, live) 12. Take Five 13. She's Gone 14. Ain't It Lonesome - (previously unreleased, live) 15. Ain't Got Nobody 16. (untitled hidden track)