Born in Gregory, Arkansas, United States,[1] he is frequently confused with his contemporary and near namesake Johnnie Taylor, especially since the latter made a cover version of the song that Little Johnny Taylor was most famous for, "Part Time Love" (1963), and the fact that both men began their careers as gospel singers.
However, he did not achieve major success until signing for San Francisco-based Fantasy Records' subsidiary label, Galaxy.
His first hit was the mid-tempo blues "You'll Need Another Favor," sung in the style of Bobby Bland, with arrangement by Ray Shanklin and produced by Cliff Goldsmith.
[3][4] The follow-up, "Part Time Love", written by Clay Hammond and featuring Arthur G. Wright on guitar, became his biggest hit, reaching number 1 in the U.S.
[5] By 1971, Taylor had moved to the Ronn subsidiary label of Jewel Records in Shreveport, Louisiana, where he had his second R&B Top 10 hit with "Everybody Knows About My Good Thing".