Crystal L. Taliefero is a revered vocalist and instrumentalist. She is a native of Gary, Indiana. She first began performing R&B at a local nightclub at the age of 11. She attended Indiana University where she became a member of the IU Soul Revue and studied under the tutelage of Dr. James Mumford. Crystal earned her big break in 1986 while performing in a local band called Kilo. Her skills impressed John Mellencamp so much that he invited her to join his own band on tour. Through her hard work she then received an invitation to join the Billy Joel Band in 1989. Since then Taliefero has enjoyed extensive success as a performer touring with the likes of John Mellencamp, Billy Joel, Bruce Springsteen, Faith Hill, Brooks & Dunn, and a host of other widely successful artists and groups.

She is not only a talented musician, but also a prolific writer and a talented producer/arranger with credits on several multi-platinum albums, most notably her collaboration on the acclaimed River of Dreams album with Billy Joel in the mid-1990’s. She also uses her talents and success for service as the co-creator of a series of children’s books as well as actively supporting VH-1’s “Save The Music” campaign.

Read more at Indiana.edu.

Photo by Myrna Suarez (@myrnsuarezphoto)