Wild ‘n’ Woolly Ronnie Taylor

 

Wild-n-woolly Ronnie Taylor looked like lightning combed his hair

He lived in lower east Manhattan where the devil wouldn’t dare, where

Ronnie sang for his lunch and dinner and when he cut loose on a stage

You could hear the hunger deep inside him rage

 

Wild-n-woolly Ronnie Taylor weighed at least 300 pounds

And Ronnie knew just how to use every ounce to create a sound

Like a creature in the jungle, low and threatening like a growl

You could hear the hunger deep inside him howl

 

Wild-n-woolly Ronnie Taylor stoked the blues

But now he’s gone, there ain’t been no one

Big enough to fill his shoes

Wild-n-woolly Ronnie Taylor stoked the blues

 

Wild-n-woolly Ronnie Taylor called himself the Sugar Bear and

The truth is, every girl he sang to longed to hang onto that hair

For a woolly ride on the wilder side

On the wild and the woolly side with the Sugar Bear

Looked like lightning combed his hair

 

Wild-n-woolly Ronnie Taylor busted screws loose on the floor

With his stomping and his jumping and his perspiration pouring and

If you lived in Greenwich Village back in 1974

You might have heard the hunger deep inside him roar

 

Wild-n-woolly Ronnie Taylor stoked the blues

But now he’s gone, there ain’t been no one

Big enough to fill his shoes

Wild-n-woolly Ronnie Taylor stoked the blues

 

Quote Ronnie Taylor: “It Ain’t Nothin’ But The Blues”

 

© 2007. Billy Marabella.

NOTES ON THIS SONG
Ron Taylor was a real man, a good friend and a broadly talented singer, actor, writer and musician. Ron died when he was fifty years old, a tragedy in the entertainment  world. Ron wrote a play called “It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues,” which was nominated for four Tony awards. We played high school football together, wrote  a couple of songs together, and mostly just enjoyed being friends. We also lived in New York in 1974. This is a true story. Peace, brother man.