Chip Taylor, the songwriter behind such classics as Juice Newton’s “Angel of the Morning” and “Wild Thing” by The Troggs, died Monday in hospice care. His friend, singer Billy Vera, shared the news of his passing Tuesday on Instagram. Taylor was 86 years old.
His children, Kelly and Kris, confirmed his death on Facebook. A cause was not given.
“Hi all – we are sad to tell you that Chip passed away last night,” the siblings wrote Tuesday. “His last days were peaceful. Chip loved the amazing blessing it was to connect with people through music and truly appreciated this community. He considered you all friends.”
They continued, “We will miss him greatly.”
Taylor wrote some of the most beloved songs of his generation, with the 1966 rock anthem “Wild Thing” becoming a No. 1 hit in the U.S. Jimi Hendrix himself covered it live during the Monterey Pop Festival later that year — before famously setting his guitar on fire.
Taylor could have easily spent his life as the overshadowed younger brother of Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight or forgotten uncle of his similarly decorated niece Angelina Jolie, but curated a six-decade singer-songwriter career and recorded dozens of albums instead.
The prolific musician was arguably just as savvy behind the scenes, however. As a producer at April Blackwood Music in 1976, he signed both Vera and singer-songwriter James Taylor — who would win six Grammys 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 hard to pronounce. Taylor attended the University of Hartford in Connecticut, but dropped out within months.
He briefly tried to follow in his father’s footsteps as a professional golfer, but whiffed on that shot and immediately threw himself into music, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Taylor began playing in a rockabilly band in Yonkers before landing at April Blackwood.
Among his prolific output as a songwriter were “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. Taylor nonetheless appeared to cherish his first big hit, “Wild Thing,” the most.
“I think the Troggs’ record was a right funky record,” he once recalled during an interview with SpectroPop. “It was like the demo, except they played it with an electric guitar. The feeling was exactly the way it should have been. To me, it was the start of punk.”
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His follow-up, “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, going platinum and reportedly seeing the hit become the first country song to play on MTV.
A song about premarital sex, the pop-country ballad was famously used in the 1999 film “Girl, Interrupted,” which starred Jolie in the second lead and won her the Oscar. Taylor had long established himself as a genius by then, but also had a serious gambling addiction.
He was eventually banned from multiple casinos for card counting, telling “CBS Sunday Morning” in 2008 that he made “a lot of money” and could have lived on his earnings. Despite his vice, Taylor worked in rarified air as an artist and left behind an enduring legacy.
He not only had iconic artists such as Frank Sinatra, Waylon Jennings and The Fleetwoods cover his songs, but was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016 — and took his grandchildren onstage at the ceremony to sing “Wild Thing” together.
Chip Taylor is survived by his children, siblings and grandchildren.
