Dulcie Taylor's career in music could have turned out far differently if she had continued to pursue her first love, the ukulele. Fortunately for fans of her guitar and dulcimer work (and her vocals), Taylor's ukulele dreams were smashed -- literally -- when ten-year-old Dulcie saw her beloved instrument crumpled to pieces beneath a drunken teenager's behind as he unwittingly sat on it. But in hindsight, a grown-up Taylor sees the ignominious demise of her ukulele as a blessing in disguise. The loss led her mother to present her with a guitar as a Christmas gift and Taylor went on to pursue the new, larger instrument with the same fervor she had previously reserved for the ukulele. Years later, she's become a celebrated, award-winning singer and songwriter known for her engaging, rootsy melodies and literate, subtly emotional lyrics. Dulcie Taylor was born and raised in South Carolina, and during her childhood, she was surrounded by music. She took lessons, and her relatives were positive role models. An aunt was a radio singer in their small town, while another aunt was a piano teacher. Her sister grooved to the Beatles and Bob Dylan, while her mom's eclectic tastes spanned everything from Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald to Elvis Presley. Show tunes captivated another relative. Taylor absorbed it all, including Glenn Miller's "Moonlight Serenade," a haunting melody that her mom would make sure played after every screening in the movie theater the family owned. A grown-up Dulcie decided to make music her livelihood, and she left South Carolina for Los Angeles. In California, she performed as an opener for a long list of artists, including Bonnie Raitt, Jerry Lee Lewis, Asleep at the Wheel, Vern Gosdin, and Eddy Raven. By 2000, Taylor was living in Washington, D.C., and her self-released debut album, Other Side of the Bed, took home a Wammie, presented by the Washington Area Music Association. That same year, in the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest, five Taylor-penned numbers won awards. At North Carolina's Merlefest the following year, Taylor placed among the finalists in the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest. In addition, she performed for the Mid-Atlantic Song Contest's award ceremony, as well as at Merlefest. Taylor next signed to Mesa/Bluemoon Recordings, and continued to build a strong catalog with subsequent albums Diamond & Glass (2002), Mirrors & Windows (2004), Free of this Sorrow (2012), and Only Worn One Time (2014). In addition to recording and performing, Taylor was also on the board of directors of the Poetry Series at Washington, D.C.'s Folger Shakespeare Library. In 2015, Taylor released the album Wind Over Stone, and two of the tracks -- "When the Cherokee Roamed" and "Not Here, Not Today" -- gained significant online exposure, racking up over 800,000 plays together. The Better Part of Me, a collection of personal and topical songs, followed in 2018. ~ Linda Seida