65-year-old grandmother Paula Jo Taylor has some mean chops on electric guitar as seen in a viral video which shows her tearing up the fretboard. Taylor, who has four grandchildren, shows off some rocking country licks on a Telecaster style guitar, playing not only some tasty rhythm guitar but also some lightning lead licks.
You can watch the clip of Taylor rocking out below, which has been viewed 6 million times across various uploads. The improvised jam was recorded at a NAMM booth in the capital of country music Nashville, Tennessee. The viewers really admired her skills, with comments such as: ”Her alternate picking economy is incredible — I really admire this lady’s talent!”
The performance has endeared Taylor to some big names, with Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx dubbing her “the viral granny guitarist” and featuring on his radio show Sixx Sense. Sixx is not the only industry figure to notice her incredible skills, with Guitar Player Magazine, Guitar World Magazine, Society of Rock and iHeart Radio featuring her playing. NAMM also invited her back for a second appearance the following year.
Taylor was 65 when she performed in the first viral NAMM video in 2017, although she is now presumably 71. She was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana and is now based in Nashville. The guitar granny also knows how to rock and roll, as you can hear yourself in the video below, where she jams some harder stuff with a full band during an appearance on Huckabee’s Jukebox.
Taylor even channels some Eddie Van Halen with a tapping lick halfway through the performance, all with a big smile on her face. She has enjoyed a long career in entertainment, beginning with performances at age seven on her father Joe Taylor’s live radio show.
She also has also hosted television variety shows with her father and written comedy songs for major label artists, as well as opening concerts for big acts such as Johnny Cash, Hank Williams Jr., Ernest Tubb, George Jones and others.
Taylor likes to keep in the family, as she frequently performs with her group The Taylors, which is a duo featuring her daughter Amanda Taylor. Together with their backing group, the Mama Tried Band, the duo plays rocking country music with plenty of guitar fireworks from Granny Taylor!