Myra Taylor(1917-2011)

Myra's family moved when she a child to Kansas City, Missouri. At age 14, she got her start as a dancer then as a singer in the area of 12th and Vine and later 18th and Vine. In 1937 she moved to Chicago but returned to Kansas City in 1940 where she joined Harlan Leonard's band. After a lengthy NY engagement at Harlem's Golden Gate Ballroom. Taylor's voice was first recorded, on RCA's famous Bluebird Records label. Myra and Leonard parted after a disagreement over writing credits. Myra went on tour with Eubie Blake then returned to Kansas City. In 1946, she had a hit with the song Spider and the Fly on Mercury Records, but once again had a dispute over credits. Frustrated over the American music business she spent years in Mexico and Europe. She toured with the USO during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Myra returned to the US, settling in Los Angeles in 1977 where she began her acting career. Myra returned to Kansas City for good in 1994 where she continued her singing career most recently with the Wild Women of Kansas City. Her last performance was in June 2011.