David Taylor
December 5, 1964 – June 30, 2009
David Taylor was the lead vocalist for ’80s hard rock band, Drive. Formed in Houston, Texas by Rick Chavez and Mercy Valdez, Drive soon found their voice in a young David Taylor, just barely out of his teens. In the mid ’80s, the band moved to Los Angeles, which was quickly becoming the epicenter of the ’80s metal scene. Winning a radio contest with their song “I Need The Nights,” Drive landed on the Best Of The West compilation that was released on Rampage Records. Rampage soon signed the band, and in July of 1988, released their debut, Characters In Time. The album received tremendous reviews from the industry’s top hard rock press, including the coveted 5 “K” rating from Kerrang magazine. The album also received solid airplay from hard rock stations around the country, including Los Angeles powerhouse, KNAC. What separated Drive from the “hair” bands of the Sunset Strip, was their intelligent lyrics, intricate musicianship, and of course, Taylor’s supurb voice that fell somewhere between Ronnie James Dio and Queensryche’s Geoff Tate. And what endeared them to true metal critics and fans alike was that they were more akin to Iron Maiden and Judas Priest than most of the L.A. bands that were coming up at the time. Characters In Time was followed by the more mature and sonically advanced, Diablero on Zoo Records. Unfortunately, a shake-up at the label along with the dawn of the metal-killing “grunge” scene, left the album without much of a push, so the band’s recording career ended as the band members moved back to Texas, where Taylor was living in recent years. While driving along a San Antonio interstate on June 25, 2009, Taylor apparently lost control of his vehicle after a tire came off, causing him to crash. He was airlifted to an area hospital where he died of his injuries five days later. He was 44.
More photos of David Taylor and Drive can be found at
davidtaylormemorial.blogspot.com
Continue to rest in peace my dear brother!
Your life and your songs will remain in our hearts and in the hearts of those you touched!
David, We will never forget you and your band members, you did great! You touched our hearts when you were a teen! You came to our house and partied with my sons, Mike Paul and Jimmy Paul!
Bill Davis was to young at the time but, he remembers you!!
R.I.P.
Friends Forever, Blondie