Artist: R. Dean Taylor, Album: Made In Canada Volume 2, Song: Indiana Wants Me

"Indiana wants me, Lord I can't go back there."  R. Dean Taylor was a singer songwriter from Toronto who released his first single in 1960.  He achieved some early success which garnered him radio play along with some television spots in Canada.  He would then relocate to New York and continue recording before auditioning for the writing team of Holland, Dozier, Holland at Motown Records in Detroit.  He got the job and started an amazing apprenticeship writing and playing on tracks with some of Motown's biggest acts like The Supremes, The Four Tops and The Temptations.  He also released some of his own material during that time with the label.  However, promotional support wasn't always forthcoming.  A couple of his songs did catch on in Britain during the late sixties.  With much of Motown's focus on their strong roster of black recording artists, R. Dean Taylor, was moved to their subsidiary, Rare Earth Records, which managed the white artists.  However, in 1970, he hit pay dirt with the song, Indiana Wants Me.  It was a controversial song that told the story of a man on the run from the law in Indiana for murder.  Apparently, different versions of the song had to be recorded with and without the sirens in order for it to be played on the radio in some states.  R. Dean Taylor wasn't the first white artist on the Motown label but he would become the first with a number 1 hit in the U.S..  Taylor would follow up the single with more releases but none were able to capture the commercial success of the song, Indiana Wants Me.  The song itself has been included on many seventies rock compilations over the years and is very accessible.  You can also find it on Itunes.  You can read about R. Dean Taylor at http://www.rdeantaylor.com/.  You can hear the song, Indiana Wants Me, on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fZL_tZxyBDo).  Thanks for reading and enjoy!