‘We Were Falling in Love Without Realizing It. We Went From Being Friends … To Husband And Wife’

BY JE’DON HOLLOWAY-TALLEY | Special to the Birmingham Times WILLIE AND ANITA TAYLOR Live: Irondale Married: June 13, 1992 Met: Summer 1990, in Ensley at WIllie’s apartment. They shared a friend who dropped by for a visit with Anita in tow. Willie was 34, and Anita was 30. “There was no goal to make a connection… She was cute, there was a slight interest, but I didn’t act on it at that time,” Willie said. “I had a roommate and we were known for entertaining with music, so people stopped by to listen to music and hang out. We loved rock and roll, and it was different for two Black guys to listen to rock, we had a different kind of vibe,” he laughed. “I’ll never forget pulling up outside and hearing loud rock music and I was like ‘Oh my goodness, where are we going?’ But we got in and they were nice,” Anita recalled of Willie and his roommate. “When I met him, I said to myself ‘I like everything about him, he likes music, and he listened to a different type of music than me.’ I felt an immediate attraction. I could also see his heart that...