Chip Taylor, Hall of Fame songwriter and actor Jon Voight
Chip Taylor, the songwriter behind classics like Juice Newton’s “Angel of the Morning” and The Troggs’ “Wild Thing,” died Monday in hospice care. His friend, singer Billy Vera, shared the news of his death Tuesday on Instagram. Taylor was 86 years old.
His children, Kelly and Kris, confirmed his death on Facebook. No cause was given.
“Hello everyone. We are sad to inform you that Chip passed away last night,” the brothers wrote Tuesday. “His last days were peaceful. Chip loved what an incredible blessing it was to connect with people through music and he truly appreciated this community. He considered them all friends.”
They continued: “He will be greatly missed.”
Taylor wrote some of the most beloved songs of his generation, and the 1966 rock anthem “Wild Thing” became a number one hit in the U.S. Jimi Hendrix himself covered it live during the Monterey Pop Festival that same year, before setting his guitar on fire.
Taylor could easily have spent his life as the overshadowed younger brother of Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight or the forgotten uncle of his also decorated niece Angelina Jolie, but instead he curated a six-decade singer-songwriter career and recorded dozens of albums.
However, the prolific musician was arguably just as smart behind the scenes. As a producer at April Blackwood Music in 1976, he signed both Vera and singer-songwriter James Taylor, who would go on to win six Grammy Awards and land in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Chip Taylor himself was nominated for a Grammy in 2011, but lost to The Black Keys.
Born James Wesley Voight on March 21, 1940, in Yonkers, New York, he would later change his name when record label executives said “Voight” would be too difficult to pronounce. Taylor attended the University of Hartford in Connecticut, but dropped out after a few months.
He briefly tried to follow in his father’s footsteps as a professional golfer, but he missed that shot and immediately threw himself into music, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Taylor began playing in a rockabilly band in Yonkers before landing in April Blackwood.
Among his prolific output as a songwriter are “I Can’t Let Go” by Linda Ronstadt, “I Can Make It With You” by The Pozo-Seco Singers and “Welcome Home” by Dusty Springfield. However, Taylor seemed to appreciate her first big hit, “Wild Thing,” more.
“I thought the Troggs record was very funky,” he once recalled during an interview with SpectroPop. “It was like the demo, except they played it on an electric guitar. The feeling was exactly how it should have been. For me, it was the beginning of punk.”
Theo Wargo via Getty Images
Her next song, “Angel of the Morning,” was first recorded by Evie Sands in 1967 and covered by Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts in 1968. Newton recorded her version in 1981, went platinum, and reportedly saw the hit become the first country song to be played on MTV.
A song about premarital sex, the pop-country ballad was famous in the 1999 film “Girl, Interrupted,” starring Jolie in the second lead role and winning her an Oscar. By then, Taylor had already established himself as a genius, but he also had a serious gambling addiction.
He was eventually banned from several casinos for counting cards, and told “News Sunday Morning” in 2008 that he won “a lot of money” and could have lived off his winnings. Despite his vice, Taylor worked in rarefied air as an artist and left a lasting legacy.
Not only did he have his songs covered by iconic artists like Frank Sinatra, Waylon Jennings and The Fleetwoods, but he was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016 and brought his grandchildren on stage at the ceremony to sing “Wild Thing” together.
Chip Taylor is survived by his children, siblings and grandchildren.