An artist from the 1950s rockabilly phenomenon has died.
Vernon Taylor was 88 years old.
He died on July 12 after a long battle with dementia, an online obituary said.
Taylor was born Vernon Walton Alderton on a farm in Layhill, Maryland, southwest of Baltimore.
He started performing with his high school band, The Nighthawks, before signing with record label Dot Records and releasing two songs, “Losing Game” and “Why Must You Leave Me,” in the 1950s before leaving the label.
A performance on “American Bandstand,” however, changed his trajectory, leading to a signing with legendary Sun Records founder Sam Phillips.
He released two singles under Phillips’s label, including “Today Is a Blue Day,” from Elvis Presley’s songwriter Jack Clement.
AL.com said he was a pioneer of rockabilly music.
He left the industry for the most part and found a career in the printing industry. But he still dabbled in music. He found new fame in 1989 after performing in a benefit concert, which eventually led to the rerelease of his old music, as well as new songs, for the album “Daddy’s Rockin’” in 1999, USA Today reported.
He leaves behind his wife, three children and five grandchildren.
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