Cole Taylor is one of the youngest and most talented singer/songwriters in country music these days. The Cuthbert, Georgia native started writing around the age of fourteen, writing “what a typical 14-year-old would write.” Cole recalled, “the songs were horrible but they got me interested and I knew I wanted to do it the rest of my life.” The singing, however, came before songwriting for the adolescent, who got his start at fall festivals and church, mixed in with some karaoke country songs. Cuthbert is no stranger to producing country music talent, with the likes of Luke Bryan and Cole Swindell both hailing from the southern city.
Since then, the genuine artist, who also plays the guitar and keyboard, has flourished. When NECM asked Taylor if he preferred singing or songwriting more, he laughed. “They are both what I’ve always wanted to do,” Cole told us. “With songwriting, if I get to do that for a living, that’s great. Singing, if I get to do that for a living, that’s even greater.” To take the next step in his career, a move to Nashville was inevitable. He made the move with his fiancée, who is a paralegal, on February 1, 2013 and was making connections immediately. Ironically enough, the landlord of his first apartment is now his drummer. “He had some friends he thought would get along with me,” explained Taylor, who was signed by Universal Music Publishing Group in 2013. “It has kind of been fate how my band got together. Random dudes from random places with a common goal in mind.” With full intentions of writing songs every day and not slowing down, the budding artist released his debut, self-titled EP on March 3, 2015. Producing a fresh, country sound, fans have begun to taken notice. There is no better place to see his results than on Twitter, where Cole takes pride in responding to most, if not all, of his fans.
The self-titled EP consists of five songs, all of which were written or co-written by Taylor with personal experience and friend’s experiences at the forefront. It became an art form for him to read people and know what they want to say through music. ‘Drop Top’ has received the most playing time on Sirius XM The Highway, but when asked if he had to pick a favorite, it would be ‘See You Around.’ He says, “Every day I try to get the best song I can. They’re all my babies.”
Another place you may have seen Cole’s work without noticing, is Chase Rice’s ‘Look At My Truck,’ and also in ‘Sippin’ on Fire,’ a song that recently hit the #1 spot on Mediabase and Billboard Country, helped made popular by Florida Georgia Line. After writing what turned out to be his first number one single back in December of 2013, the songwriter got the call from co-writer and friend Matt Dragstrem while turkey hunting in Georgia. “’Hey man, Florida Georgia Line is gonna cut the song, they just told me.’ I was super pumped. [It was] one of my first major cuts as a songwriter.” Last October ‘Sippin’ on Fire’ was recognized as the #1 downloaded song and received a plaque for it from the National Songwriters Association. It was a surreal moment for the 23-year-old. “All those little moments around one song is cool to see. All your hard work comes in a full circle two years later.”
The full circle will only get bigger for the talented Cole Taylor. His debut EP hit the ground running and was a success to say the least. Keep your eyes out for his next piece of music as he continues to collaborate with everyone’s favorite country stars of today.
You can purchase Cole’s EP here.
This was written by Lauren Rose, contributing writer for New England Country Music. You can follow me on Twitter here.