Troy Taylor (music producer)

Musical upbringing

Taylor was born in suburban New Haven, Connecticut into a family of musicians, resulting in exposure to music at a very early age.^[4] He started by singing in local talent shows, which evolved into playing keyboards as well as learning how to listen to and understand music.^[4] He would later graduate from Hartford Conservatory in 1988, studying jazz theory and record production. Anxious to enter the music industry, Taylor regrettably signed a record deal with an independent label in New York in his youth without the assistance of an attorney.^[5] Record executive Timmy Regisford would subsequently buy out Taylor's contract, and sign him to Motown Records.^[5]

1990s: Motown Deal and "The Characters"

Taylor was signed in early 1990 at the age of 21 to a solo recording deal with Motown, but decided to instead explore songwriting and production for other artists after several fruitful sessions with a group of talented teenagers who would evolve into R&B vocal group Boyz II Men, as well as a meeting with label president Jheryl Busby and then-Vice President-A&R Regisford.^[6] Taylor would subsequently place records from his unreleased debut album on other projects he was writing for at the time, with the remaining portion of his debut album being eventually released in 2021.^[3] Two of Taylor’s debut songs, “Little Things” and “Your Love”, were placed on Boyz II Men’s debut album Cooleyhighharmony, which sold over 12 million copies.^[7][8][9] Two previously unreleased Taylor tracks, "Just A Cover Up" and "Can't Be Liked", would later appear on a 2009 Cooleyhighharmony repackage.

In the 1990s/early 2000s, Taylor was also a member of The Characters alongside fellow songwriter/producer Charles Farrar: a production collective that signed several acts to their production company Character Music Corporation, and worked with Brownstone, SWV, Darius Rucker, and Kenny Lattimore, among others.^[10] They also produced several remixes for physical singles during their tenure, including Brandy ("Best Friend") and Babyface ("Chivalry").^[11] Their work on song "Jezzebel" from 1994 Boyz II Men album II won the duo a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album. Songwriter Johnta Austin would later join the collective after his label delayed the release of his debut album, and together the trio created award-winning hit single "Sweet Lady" for Tyrese, as well as other songs for SWV and Jason Weaver.

2000-present: Songbook Entertainment and Trey Songz

The Characters disbanded amicably in 2002, but would continue to work together to contribute to albums from B2K and Jhené Aiko, as well as appear on the Barbershop soundtrack.^[12] Taylor would next create Songbook Entertainment, a multi-disciplinary firm meant to encompass songwriting, publishing, and the development of new artists.^[6] Taylor met singer Tremaine Neverson in 2000 while he was participating in various Virginia talent shows, and he would become Taylor's first signee.^[13] Taylor would also work with former IMx member Marques Houston on his solo debut.^[14] While developing Neverson over the next five years, Taylor would also be commissioned to work on projects from Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Patti Labelle, Ginuwine, and the Isley Brothers, receiving recognition from the R&B wing of the Grammys for his contributions to 2003 Aretha Franklin album So Damn Happy.^{[15][16][17][18][19]} Taylor would later reminisce about recording sessions in Franklin's home studio, Franklin's ability to record ten full songs without breaks, as well as recording his time producing for Houston for posterity in various interviews and publications.^[5][8][20]

In 2016, Taylor was tasked with writing and producing songs based on scripted plotlines for Lee Daniels' Fox television series Star.^[21] In 2020, Taylor worked with gospel artist Koryn Hawthorne on her second album I Am, contributing two singles ("Speak To Me", "Pray") that charted on the Billboard Gospel Charts.^[22][23] He reunited with Characters collective member Austin to co-write his contributions to Hawthorne's album.^[24]