#436: Taos New Mexico by R. Dean Taylor
Peak Month: May 1972
9 weeks on CKLG’s Vancouver Chart
Peak Position ~ #4
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ #83
YouTube: “Taos New Mexico”
Lyrics: “Taos New Mexico”
Richard Dean Taylor was born in Toronto in 1939. At the age of 12 in 1951, he made his debut singing performance at open-air Country & Western shows in Greater Toronto. In 1960 he recorded his first single release titled “At The High School Dance”, and also formed a band. Taylor toured around south-central Ontario and into Upstate New York and Michigan. In 1962 he went to New York City, recorded and released “I’ll Remember”. It was a Top 30 hit on CHUM-AM in Toronto. In 1963 R. Dean Taylor auditioned to be a writer for a new record label called Motown. He was hired to work at Motown and released a Beatlemania-themed song titled “My Ladybug (Stay Away From That Beatle)”. However, the label chose not to release the single.