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Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes were a British rock and roll band, formed in Liverpool in the late 1950s. One of the first beat groups in the Merseyside area, they were a locally popular and influential group who were contemporaries and rivals of The Beatles, and featured Cilla Black as a guest singer before her solo career, but had little commercial success except in Germany. ==Career== The Dominoes were originally formed in north Liverpool, in 1957, from a school skiffle group called the Sinners. The original members were Arthur Baker (vocals), George Watson (guitar), Charlie Flynn (guitar), Sam Hardie (piano) and Cliff Roberts (drums). The following year, Ted "Kingsize" Taylor (b. Edward W. Taylor, 12 November 1939, in Crosby, Liverpool, Lancashire)〔(Joseph C. Self, ''The Beatles vs. Lingasong: The Star Club Litigation )〕 - so called for his 6' 5" height - joined as lead vocalist and guitarist. Over the next two years, Baker, Watson and Flynn all left, and the group was completed by Bobby Thompson (bass and vocals) - with whom Taylor had played in another skiffle group, the James Boys - and John Kennedy (rhythm guitar), with Geoff Bethell often standing in for Hardie on piano.〔〔( Biography by Bruce Eder at Allmusic.com )〕〔( Salvatore Libertino, biography of Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes )〕 The band played local clubs, and Taylor developed a reputation as one of the best rock and roll singers in the Liverpool area as well as being noted for his vivid chequered jackets.〔( Merseybeat Nostalgia: Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes )〕 By summer 1960, the group were being billed as Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes. They first performed at the Cavern Club in January 1961, when they featured 17-year-old singer Cilla White, who was mistakenly renamed Cilla Black later that year by Bill Harry in an article in his magazine ''Mersey Beat''. Soon after that appearance, Kennedy and Roberts left the band to join another group, Ian and the Zodiacs, and were replaced by John Frankland (rhythm guitar) and Dave Lovelady (drums). At the beginning of 1962, the band were placed sixth in a ''Mersey Beat'' readers' poll, topped by the Beatles.〔 Cilla Black sang regularly with the group until 1962.〔 In early 1962, Ken Shalliker replaced Bobby Thompson on bass for several months when Thompson temporarily joined Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. In the summer, the band (without Cilla Black) went to Hamburg, where they began making regular appearances at the Star-Club. Dave Lovelady left later in the year, and was replaced briefly by Brian Redman and then by Gibson Kemp, after Ringo Starr turned down the opportunity to join having been offered more money to join the Beatles.〔〔〔〔( Gary James, interview with Ted "Kingsize" Taylor )〕 In December 1962, Taylor recorded several performances by The Beatles at the Star-Club, on reel-to-reel tape; the recordings were eventually released in 1977 as ''Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962'', after legal proceedings over their ownership were resolved.〔 Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes were signed by Decca Records in Germany, and also recorded there for the Philips and Ariola labels. They added saxophonist Howie Casey in 1963; later that year, Sam Hardie left to join Tony Sheridan's band, and was replaced by a second sax player, Dave Woods. In 1963 they recorded an album, ''Live At The Star Club'' for Ariola, with whom they had a recording contract, but were also persuaded to make a separate album for Polydor. The album, ''Let's Do the Slop, Twist, Madison, Hully Gully...'', was released under the pseudonym of The Shakers.〔( Liverpool Beat: Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes )〕〔( David Britton, ''Kingsize Taylor — no pratt'', interview with Kingsize Taylor, 1985 )〕 Three singles from the album - "Money", "Whole Lotta Lovin'", and "Hippy Hippy Shake" - were released by Polydor in the UK. All the recordings by Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes were covers of rock and roll and rhythm and blues songs by other artists; they wrote no songs themselves. Their biggest success in Germany was a version of Solomon Burke's "Stupidity", also released on the Decca label in the UK. While in Germany, they also performed regularly in Kiel and Berlin, and acted as backing group for Alex Harvey, before returning to the UK to back Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins on tour in 1964. They also appeared on the British TV show ''Ready Steady Go!''.〔〔〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Kingsize Taylor and the Dominoes」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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