Taylor, 62, was stricken at his suburban Duncanville, Texas, home and transported to the Charleton Methodist Medical Center where he died.

The Crawfordsville, Ark., native was nicknamed the “Philosopher of Soul” by Memphis’ Stax Records.

“I do love music because it’s always loved me,” Taylor told the Dallas Morning News in 1999. “It gives me a certain kind of feeling.

“The material I choose isn’t black music or white music,” he said. “It’s just music – real, honest music.”

Despite first recording in the 1950s with a doo-wop group called the Five Echoes, Taylor’s career got its start when he took over the Soul Stirrers after Cooke left gospel for R&B in 1957.

He signed with Stax Records in 1966, and scored his first million-seller and No. 1 on the R&B charts with “Who’s Making Love” in 1968. Taylor had a steady run of other hits, but when Stax folded in 1975, he moved on to Columbia Records. There he hit the top of the charts with “Disco Lady,” his biggest commercial success.

Taylor’s star status didn’t survive the collapse of the disco era, though he continued recording for several labels. He signed in 1984 with Malaco Records, where he remained until his death.