Meet Paula Jo Taylor | The Viral Granny Guitarist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Paula Jo Taylor and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Paula Jo, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
I started playing lead guitar and singing on stage at the age of seven. I got my start in Fort Wayne, Indiana with my dad’s band, Joe Taylor & The Red Birds. Performing both on stage and on dad’s live weekly radio show meant balancing my time between my music and attending elementary school. During high school, I started my own band and continued to perform for festivals, fairs, weddings and dances. With the added workload of high school however, balancing my time became a little more difficult.

After graduation, I worked a full time job along with continuing to perform. I took on yet another aspect of the business by hosting a television show that aired weekly on PBS. I quickly began to learn what it meant to run a business and do whatever was needed to succeed.

In my mid twenties, I became the mother of three wonderful children, (Jesse Elick, Joseph Elick and Amanda Taylor Elick) which as you can imagine, presented the biggest time management challenge for me. Thank God I was young enough to make it work and I continued all the way through the time my children were grown. When my daughter was in college we moved to Nashville and started our mother-daughter band.

I have since performed on National television shows such as The Huckabee Show and have even acted in a movie, called My Perfect Love released by Acclaim Films in 2022. Having my daughter Amanda working closely with me has helped me greatly in managing my time and allowed me to grow and accomplish much more.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
As I mentioned earlier it all began performing with my family band back in Indiana and branching out to have my own band. By the time my youngest child and only daughter Amanda was in high school, she started singing with me in my band. After graduation Amanda wanted to pursue music and was accepted into Belmont University so I, along with my husband John and daughter Amanda, moved to Nashville. While Amanda attended college, I traveled with an all-girl band called, broadBand. We played all over the country opening for many major label acts and making wonderful memories. After Amanda graduated college we formed our mother-daughter band, The Taylors, and The Mama Tried Band.

As we all know, often time’s life throws us a curve ball. In 2015 I was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. Shortly after having a double mastectomy I returned to the stage and for eighteen months, I underwent chemotherapy by day and performed gigs by night. It wasn’t always easy but it was my faith in the Lord and love for music that gave me the drive to keep going and beat cancer.

I feel very blessed for many things that have happened. In 2017 a video of me playing guitar at summer NAMM, made its way to Nikki Sixx, bass player for Motley Crue. He graciously featured my video on his L.A. radio station Sixx Sense, coining me the “Viral Granny Guitarist.” The video has gone viral with over six million views and has been shared by ‘Guitar World Magazine, Guitar Player Magazine, Society of Rock, NAMM, and hundreds of iHeart radio stations across the country. I am proud to brand myself as the “Viral Granny Guitarist.” I want the world to know you are never to old to succeed.

Family is of utmost importance to me and being able to work with my daughter Amanda Taylor is a blessing. Sharing the stage as mother and daughter is what sets us apart from other entertainment acts.

I have also had success in song writing having had several cuts by major label artists. I have written comedy songs recorded by Cledus T. Judd and I have performed with him for a pilot television show as well as CMA fest and other venues. Being a grandma who writes comedic songs is also something I feel sets me apart.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take them to Broadway to experience all the wonderful music and shops. Everything from the historic Ryman Auditorium and Printers Alley, to the new Fifth + Broadway Mall. I would take them on a tour through the Music Row area to show them where the record labels and publishing companies are located and we would go to The Country Music Hall of Fame. I would take them to see The Grand Ole Opry House, The Opryland Hotel and the rest of the Music Valley Drive area. I would take them to the Natchez Trace Bridge and Parkway and we would enjoy an awesome family style dinner at the Loveless Café. I would take them to see Percy Priest Lake and show them some of the beautiful scenery we have. We would then stop into Papa Turney’s BBQ for some great food and live music. I would introduce them to the owners, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Turney, who are some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to thank my late father, Joe Taylor for inspiring me and teaching me everything there is to know about being a good performer. I want to thank my late mother, Pauline Taylor for supporting me and letting me know how proud she was of my accomplishments. I want to thank my late Aunt, Patty Corbat for teaching me every aspect of running the business end of things. I want to thank my brother, Dan Taylor for helping me with computer and equipment problems whenever I call on him. I want to thank my son’s Jesse and Joseph Elick for supporting me and thank my daughter and business partner, Amanda Taylor for being a major part of making our mother-daughter band a success. Most of all however, I want to thank my husband, John Marqueling for believing in me, for giving up everything and for moving four hundred miles away from home so that I could live out my dream and further my career.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/viralgrannyguitarist/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paula-jo-taylor-b20340235/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/paulajotaylor?lang=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paulajo.taylor/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLPux6PFd_wqEBO3MSWZhKQ

Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wjEnr3A2yjQ&t=6s

Image Credits
Doug Littlejohn; Thomas Blug; Sam Hicks;