Mourners belt out blues for Koko Taylor

Friday also marked the beginning of the Chicago Blues Festival. The event's Web site featured photos of Taylor performing along a note that read, "A voice that will be missed; a presence that will never be gone."

Taylor grew up in Tennessee and moved to Chicago at age 18 with her soon-to-be-husband, the late Robert "Pops" Taylor, in search of work. He later was her manager.

Taylor's daughter, Joyce "Cookie" Threatt, remembered her mother as a best friend.

"My mother has a new manager now," Threatt told the crowd. "There's a new song she has to sing."

While Taylor didn't have widespread mainstream success, her career spanned more than five decades and she was beloved by blues aficionados. Her work included the best-selling song "Wang Dang Doodle" and tunes such as "What Kind of Man is This" and "I Got What It Takes." She earned seven Grammy nominations and won in 1984.

Taylor last performed on May 7 in Memphis, Tenn., at the Blues Music Awards. She died June 3 at age 80 shortly after having surgery because of gastrointestinal bleeding.

"Blues is my life," Taylor once said. "It's a true feeling that comes from the heart, not something that just comes out of my mouth. Blues is what I love, and blues is what I always do.