他出生于伦敦霍本的西奥博尔德路 （Theobalds Road）15号[2]，母亲是英格兰人爱丽丝·黑尔·马丁（Alice Hare Martin，1856–1953）[3]，父亲是塞拉利昂克里奥尔人丹尼尔·彼得·休斯·泰勒（Daniel Peter Hughes Taylor），一名医生和政治家。他的父母没有结婚，丹尼尔在不知道爱丽丝怀孕的情况下回到了非洲[4]，爱丽丝以诗人塞缪尔·泰勒·柯勒律治的名字命名了她的儿子[5]。他名字中的连接符可能是源自出版商的印刷错误[6]。
1896年左右，爱德华·埃尔加向三合唱团音乐节推荐了他，他的《A小调叙事曲》（Ballade in A minor）在那里首演。1898年，他的海华沙三部曲第一部《海华沙的婚宴》（Hiawatha's Wedding Feast）由老师查尔斯·维利尔斯·斯坦福指挥、首演，大获成功，柯勒律治-泰勒因此在美国进行了三次巡回演出[9]。在美国，他对父亲的种族传统越来越感兴趣，曾作为最年轻的代表参加1900年在伦敦举行的第一次泛非会议（First Pan-African Conference），由此与保罗·劳伦斯·邓巴和W·E·B·杜波依斯结识[9]。
不过，虽然他的音乐十分流行，但由于版权低价卖给了出版商，柯勒律治-泰勒只得到15基尼报酬[11][12][13]。他37岁就死于肺炎，这可能要归咎于他的财务压力[14]。他被安葬在萨里郡瓦靈頓的班顿山公墓（Bandon Hill Cemetery）[15]。他的妻子杰西和他的儿女活得都比他久。
有作品号
Piano Quintet in G minor, Op. 1 – 1893
Nonet in F minor for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, violin, viola, cello, contrabass and piano, Op. 2 – 1894
Suite for Violin and Organ (or piano), Op. 3 (Suite de Piêces)- 1893
Ballade in D minor, Op. 4 – 1895
Five Fantasiestücke, Op. 5 – 1896
Little Songs for Little Folks, Op. 6 – 1898
Zara's Earrings, Op. 7 – 1895
Symphony in A minor, Op. 8 – 1896
Two Romantic Pieces, Op. 9 – 1896
Quintet in F sharp minor for clarinet and strings, Op. 10 – 1895
Southern Love Songs, Op. 12 – 1896
String Quartet in D minor, Op. 13 – 1896 (lost)
Legend (Concertstück), Op. 14
Land of the Sun, Op. 15 – 1897
Three Hiawatha Sketches for violin and piano, Op. 16 – 1897
African Romances (P. L. Dunbar) Op. 17 – 1897
Morning and Evening Service in F, Op. 18 – 1899
Two Moorish Tone-Pictures, Op. 19 – 1897
Gypsy Suite, Op. 20 – 1898
Part Songs, Op. 21 – 1898
Four Characteristic Waltzes, Op. 22 – 1899
Valse-Caprice, Op. 23 – 1898
In Memoriam, three rhapsodies for low voice and piano, Op. 24 – 1898
Dream Lovers, Operatic Romance, Op. 25 – 1898
The Gitanos, cantata-operetta, Op. 26 – 1898
Violin Sonata in D minor, Op. 28 – ?1898 (pub. 1917)
Three Songs, Op. 29 – 1898
The Song of Hiawatha, Op. 30 ("Overture to The Song of Hiawatha", 1899; "Hiawatha's Wedding Feast", 1898; "The Death of Minnehaha", 1899; "Hiawatha's Departure", 1900)
Three Humoresques, Op. 31 – 1898
Ballade in A minor, Op. 33 – 1898
African Suite, Op. 35 – 1899
Six Songs, Op. 37
Three Silhouettes, Op. 38 – 1904
Romance in G, Op. 39 – 1900
Solemn Prelude, Op. 40 – 1899
Scenes From An Everyday Romance, Op. 41 – 1900
The Soul's Expression, four sonnets, Op. 42 – 1900
Kay, Charles. The Marriage of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor and Jessie Walmisley. Black Music Research Journal. 2001, 21 (2): 159–178. JSTOR 3181601. doi:10.2307/3181601.
Coleridge-Taylor, J. F. A Memory Sketch, or Personal Reminiscences of My Husband: Genius and Musician: S. Coleridge Taylor 1875-1912. London: John Crowther. 1943. Bobby & Co., London (n.d)
Coleridge-Taylor, J. F. Genius and Musician: S. Coleridge Taylor 1875-1912; A Memory Sketch or Personal Reminiscences of My Husband. London: John Crowther. 1943., personal printing
Elford, Charles. Black Mahler: The Samuel Coleridge-Taylor Story. London: Grosvenor House Publishing Ltd. 2008. ISBN 978-1-906210-78-6.
Green, Jeffrey. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor, a Musical Life. London: Pickering & Chatto. 2011. ISBN 978-1848931619.
Reid, Charles. Malcolm Sargent: a biography. London: Hamish Hamilton Ltd. 1968. ISBN 0-241-91316-0.
Sayers, W C Berwick. Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – Musician. His Life and Letters. London: Augener. 1927.
