JO BETH TAYLOR

Jo Beth Taylor (born Joanne Guilfoyle on 29 May 1971 in Perth, Australia) is an Australian television personality most well-known for hosting three weekly programs on the Nine Network at the same time between 1993 and 1997: Australia's Funniest Home Video Show, What's Up Doc? and Hey Hey It's Saturday, before taking a hiatus from television for more than two years. Taylor also had a music career in the early 1990s with the release of an album and four singles.

Taylor began singing when she was five years old, and at the age of 13 began performing professionally when she started her career with the television program Perth's Young Entertainers. When she was 17, she joined a band named Street Cafe and played regularly around Perth. Alan Laguda from Street Cafe was originally from Melbourne and talked Jo Beth and the band and crew into moving there. Jo Beth recorded a demo tape, which found its way into the hands of Molly Meldrum, who immediately signed her to Melodian records. In 1990 Taylor toured with Indecent Obsession as the support act for Debbie Gibson. The two became firm friends and Gibson invited Taylor to go to New York, where she then lived for a year. Gibson wrote and produced five tracks on her debut album '99 Reasons'.

While in New York she also worked with Jelly Benetez who produced five tracks on her album. The single "99 Reasons" reached the Australian Top 40, peaking at #31 in 1991. "You Don't Own Me" was released as the second single. In 1993 also saw the release of the song "A Prayer For Jane". The lyrics of the song were about a friend of Taylor's who committed suicide. The song reached #61 on the Australian Charts. In February 1993, Taylor took over the hosting role of the top-rating Nine Network program Australia's Funniest Home Video Show. This made Taylor not only the sole woman to be hosting a prime time show in Australia, but at just 22 years old she was the youngest. In 1996 saw Taylor make a brief return to music with the release of "I Love My Dog", a single for the 101 Dalmatians Movie soundtrack; reaching #95 on the ARIA chart.

SINGLES

99 Reasons

14 JUL '91

#31

A Prayer for Jane

15 AUG '93

#61

I Love My Dog

2 FEB '97

#95

References

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jo_Beth_Taylor

http://top100singles.blogspot.com.au/