Hyderabad:

 When you hear the name Taj Mahal, the first image that likely comes to mind is India’s white-marble wonder in Agra. A breathtaking symbol of love and Mughal architecture. But in the world of blues, jazz, and world music, Taj Mahal means something entirely different. It means the living legend Henry St. Clair Fredericks, a five-time Grammy winner who, at 83, is still enthralling audiences with his genre-bending music. In fact, on April 26, he performed at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, one of the most respected music events in the United States.

So, how did a musician born in Harlem, New York, end up with a stage name that evokes India’s most iconic monument?

“The name Taj Mahal came to me in dreams about Gandhi, India, and social tolerance,” he once said.

While the monument in Agra was built by an emperor to honor a queen, this Taj Mahal never saw himself as royalty. “It’s never been about ‘Watch me,’” he said. “I’m just one man trying to make a global connection that anyone can plug into.”

On his birthday today, let's revisit the story, as Taj Mahal himself once shared, is as soulful and mystical as the music he makes. The name came to him not through a branding strategy, a marketing team, or a childhood nickname but in a dream. In that dream, powerful symbols from India appeared: Gandhi, India itself, and ideas of peace and tolerance. These images spoke to him deeply. When he awoke, he chose Taj Mahal as his new name a name that carried not just global recognition, but also spiritual and philosophical depth.

Born to a jazz pianist father with Caribbean roots and a gospel-singing mother from North Carolina, the man who would become Taj Mahal grew up steeped in music and cultural heritage. He studied agriculture and animal husbandry at the University of Massachusetts, but it was the rhythms of the world—blues, calypso, jazz, reggae, African folk, and even Hawaiian melodies—that truly shaped his journey.

In 1964, he followed his passion west to Los Angeles, where he formed a band with Ry Cooder. Though the band never took off, Mahal’s career soared over the next six decades. He blended musical styles from across continents, collaborating with artists from Mali to Hawaii to India. His 1995 album Mumtaz Mahal with Indian slide guitar maestro Vishwa Mohan Bhatt and N Ravikiran is a glowing example of East meets West in sound.

He plays more than a dozen instruments, including guitar, harmonica, piano, banjo, and his signature resonator guitar, known for its bright, metallic tone. Yet what truly sets him apart is not just his technique, but his intent: to make music that heals, connects, and lifts the human spirit.

In one interview, he explained why he never stuck to a single sound:

“I just heard the value of people needing to hear music. The tendency was that they would wear out a particular vein of music and then everybody would be looking around for what’s next. So I just got busy and brought stuff out. That’s what musicians are supposed to do; expose people to things they’ve never heard before. That’s our job.”

Though he’s received multiple Grammy Awards and a star on the Memphis Walk of Fame, Mahal has never cared much for awards or chart rankings. “There are 7 billion people on this planet,” he once said. “What’s considered commercially viable doesn’t interest the majority of them. So why would I limit myself to what record executives think will sell?”

Even in his early 80s, he remains committed to live performance, touring globally and sharing his soul-stirring sound with new generations. He continues to tour and record. Most recently winning the 2025 Grammy for Best Traditional Blues Album for Swingin’. Before getting on the familiar stage of Grammys, Taj Mahal was asked about his remarkable longevity. Standing on the red carpet, he said: “Musicians are... you come on stage until you can’t come on stage.”

Among his Grammy-winning works are:

Señor Blues (1997) – Best Contemporary Blues Album

Shoutin’ in Key (2000) – Best Contemporary Blues Album

TajMo (2017) – Best Contemporary Blues Album (a collaboration with Keb’ Mo’)

Get on Board (2023) – Best Traditional Blues Album (with Ry Cooder)

Swingin’ (2025) – Best Traditional Blues Album

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