B. E. Taylor

William Edward "B. E." Taylor (March 18, 1951 – August 7, 2016) was the lead singer of the pop rock band B. E. Taylor Group and a solo artist. The group's 1983 single, "Vitamin L", reached No. 66 on the Billboard 100 singles chart.

Life and career Hailing from Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, he was the eldest of three sons of Bill and Betty Taylor. Born William Edward, he was called 'Billy Eddie' by his mother, which he eventually shortened to B. E. While in high school, he formed B.E. Taylor and The Establishment.

In the 1970s he fronted a number of bands and performed at clubs and venues in the Tri-state of Pennsylvania; Ohio and West Virginia. For a short time in the mid 1970s he paired with Donnie Iris as Iris/Taylor, between Donnie's time with the Jaggerz; Wild Cherry and Donnie Iris and the Cruisers. Recordings exist of the duos work yet have never been released. Donnie produced Taylor's first MCA album in 1981 titled INNERMISSION.

Bill also toured with the band Q who had a national hit "Dancin' Man" in 1977 on Epic. The actual lead vocalist on the recording didn't want to tour.

Taylor also replaced the lead singer, Ronnie Lee Cunningham of Ohio based band THE LAW on tour, who scored a regional hit titled "Wake Up" in 1975.

In 1977, after John Palumbo took a one album hiatus from progressive rock band CRACK THE SKY, B.E. Taylor recorded the lead vocals on five of the tracks for the SAFETY IN NUMBERS album. After a review of the contract with his entertainment lawyer, he was advised not to do the deal and another vocalist, Gary Lee Chappelle was hired. The Taylor tracks do exist in the archives.

In the early 1980s, Taylor joined with three former members of the progressive rock band Crack the Sky - Rick Witkowski (guitar), Joe Macre (bass), and Joey D'Amico (drums) - along with keyboardist Nat Kerr to form the B.E. Taylor Group. The group generated some noise during the first half of the 1980s, particularly in 1984, when they scored MTV video rotation and a Billboard regional No. 1 hit with the song "Vitamin L."

In 1991, Taylor, a dedicated Christian, contributed a reworking of “Silent Night” to a local radio station’s Christmas compilation, launching his second career as a holiday performer.

B.E. and Rick Witkowski would regularly tour with Contemporary Christian singer Kathy Troccolli between 1994 and 1997 with one of the highlights performing for The Pope and over 70,000 people in Washington D.C.

B.E. would lend his voice to the Rick Witkowski produced jingles and bumpers for Old Navy and Nick at Night/ Nickelodeon TV network and shows.

Taylor went on to record five solo albums and developed a following in the adult contemporary market with his annual Christmas tours. He had also performed for many popular television programs in the 1990s, including the award-winning LightMusic, for which he was the music director, Nickelodeon, and its night-time programming block, Nick At Nite.

In 2008, Taylor was awarded the Duquesne University Lifetime Achievement Award.

He died on August 7, 2016, aged 65 from complications of the tumor. He was survived by his wife Veronica (née DeBlasis) Taylor and two children, B.C. and Tahnee. "Dangerous Rhythm" (1986) "Reggae Rock & Roll" (1986) - #102 Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 "Karen" (1986) - #94 Billboard Hot 100

As a solo artist

Albums B. E. Taylor Christmas (1994) Try Love (1997) B. E. Taylor Christmas 2 (2000) One Nation Under God (2004) Love Never Fails (2006) B. E. Taylor Christmas 3 (2012)

Singles "This Time" (1997) - #29 Gavin Adult Contemporary "Love You All Over Again" (1997) - #28 Gavin Adult Contemporary "Let There Be Peace On Earth" (2002)