By Dave Parsons
For the last 20+ years, December brought a Christmas concert tour through Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. The shows would sell out immediately and became a beloved tradition for folks to attend every year. The artist, B. E. Taylor, produced three Christmas CD’s with his own Taylorized arrangements of Christmas hymns and classics. He also included a few original songs, one of which was Feel The Love Of Christmas.
So, it was no surprise that the four dates for the 2024 tour, 2 shows near Pittsburgh and 2 shows in West Virginia sold very well. Staging the same band over the last 20 years, comprised of the best musicians in the region, adding in some new surprises, and the tradition continued for many people.
Except that B. E. Taylor passed away on Aug. 7, 2016, at the age of 65.
Wait…..what?
How does 3 CD’s of Christmas music, the first released 30 years ago, still command large audiences to hear them live, 8 years after the artist passed away?
Let me introduce you to William Edward Taylor…
He formed B.E. Taylor and The Establishment group, a band playing covers on the bar circuit while still in high school. He later formed the B.E. Taylor Group, teaming with local guitar legend Rick Witkowski. Signed in 1982 to MCA Records, the Witkowski-penned hit Vitamin L peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1984.
In 1991, it was a “Taylorized” version of Silent Night for a Pittsburgh TV station’s compilation CD that started the wheels turning. In 1994, he recorded B.E. Taylor Christmas, and a one-time concert playing was scheduled. The response was so tremendous that the full tour started the next year. More than 40,000 fans would attend his Christmas tour each year. His CD’s were offered on QVC, and his tour branched out to other states for a few years.
Despite all that talent on the stage every year, it was Taylor’s personality, combined with that incredible voice that people related to. If you stayed after the show, he was in the lobby for hours greeting everyone. Taylor did Valentine’s shows, and other appearances throughout the year. He also lent himself to numerous local charities to help raise funds.
But maybe the best quality was if you ran into him at the grocery store, or at the post office, there was an aura about him and he pulled you into it. He literally made you feel like you were the only person in the world when he talked to you.
I know because I ran into B. E. Taylor at the local post office in the late 1990’s. We talked about my wanting to record music and he encouraged me. I was a complete stranger at the time. Every time I ran into him after that he asked me how the music was coming. How did he remember that?
We lost our home to a flood in September, 2004. I get a phone call in December from Taylor’s wife Veronica, that B. E. would like my family to be his guest for the Christmas show. After the show, I thanked him, and he said, See you at the post office with a smile. I still don’t know how he knew about what we went through. He was the first person we asked to sing at our St. Baldricks event for childhood cancer research in 2006 and he came. Over the next decade, he did nearly every St Baldricks event we put on, and although we heard the rumors, he never told us he was battling an inoperable brain tumor the entire time.
In 2010, right before singing Somewhere Over the Rainbow at the event, he said I would be singing backup. My instant thought was…….are you serious, sing with you? The next two events, we ended up singing something together. He knew how to encourage and bring the best out in people. In 2011, my daughter’s school choir was to sing on the local tour date with him, and the show was sold out. We managed to win tickets, but it was the look of relief and the I am SO glad you got to come after the show that resonated with me. It’s safe to disclose now that we had devised a scheme of sneaking in the back door with the kids, if I hadn’t won tickets. I was just touched he remembered I was trying so hard.
When he passed, there were thousands of posts on Facebook. It seemed like everyone has a picture with him, and that is probably true. I was so grateful he took the time to do the things he did with me over the years. To know he did that with everyone, is the stuff legacies are made of.
His band, led by his son B. C., (who had played drums behind his dad on a lot of those tours) originally got together for two concerts the year after he passed, and then proclaimed 2019 to be the last shows. Covid would have wiped the shows out in 2020 anyhow, but in that interim the posts became more frequent. The fans wanted to hear the songs live again. It was part of their Christmas they wanted to relive one more time.
And so it shouldn’t be much of a surprise, that the crowds still come to hear the versions of Christmas songs that he “Taylorized”. Walking into the auditorium at Moon Township High School was like walking into a family reunion. Everyone going into the show seemed to know each other, even if it was the thread of the music.
Starting off with two of those versions of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and O Little Town of Bethlehem, it was as if all the Christmas preparations were now underway. Taylor’s niece, Bailey Taylor, a Nashville based recording artist in her own right did several songs off her debut Christmas effort, Christmas Love. I had a chance to do an interview with Bailey before the shows and you can watch it here:
B. C. Taylor provided most of what would have been his dad’s vocals. B. E.’s brother Dan, who if you close your eyes and listen, sounds a good bit like B.E. jumped in on several songs. As in the original tour, each member of the band took their solo turns to do a song. In a band comprised of this much talent, the show can not help but be entertaining, even if the reason they are all up there was not there in physical form.
After a reggae infused arrangement of Mary’s Boy Child, the band left the stage to a standing ovation. After a minute or so, one mic stand was brought to center stage, and a flood of stage lights surrounded the spot. The recording of B.E. Taylor singing his version of O Holy Night filled the theater among the sniffles in the crowd. You could feel the power in his voice, as he took the stage with this group once again, and was a part of the show he created.
After a few more encores from the band, the crowd filed into the hallway, smiling and content it seemed to once more experience this show. The Taylor family, along with bandmates who are like part of their family, indeed had the audience Feel the Love of Christmas.
Somewhere over the rainbow, I have a feeling B. E. Taylor had the biggest smile on his face.
You can check out the all of B. E. Taylor’s CD’s here: https://www.betaylor.com/
Feel The Love: A Taylor Family Christmas Setlist:
- God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
- O Little Town of Bethlehem
- We Three Kings
- One Wish
- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
- Light Of the Stable
- What Child is This?
- Wish You a Merry Christmas/Jingle Bells/Winter Wonderland
- Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
- Little Drummer Boy
- Feel the Love of Christmas
- Please Come Home for Christmas
- Home for the Holidays/Hard the Herald Angels Sing/Go Tell It on the Mountain
- Back to the Magic
- Joy to the World
- Mary’s Boy Child
- O Holy Night
- I Saw 3 Ships
- Away in a Manger/Do You Hear What I Hear?
- Happy Christmas (War is Over)
