Chip Taylor, the prolific songwriter behind hits “Wild Thing” and “Angel of the Morning,” died on Monday, March 23, at the age of 86. His death was confirmed by his record label, Train Wreck. A cause of death was not given.
A Songwriters Hall of Fame inductee, Taylor, born James Wesley Voight, was the brother of actor Jon Voight and geologist Barry Voight. He was the uncle to actress Angelina Jolie and actor James Haven.
Taylor penned his first song at age 12, according to a profile by The Guardian in 2023, and by the time he was 16 he led Wes Voight and the Town Three. Following a tour with Neil Sedaka and a name change to Chip Taylor, he began releasing recordings with Warner Bros. Records. In 1962, he had his first chart single, “Here I Am.”
Throughout his career, Taylor released numerous albums and singles, and carved out a reputation as one of the most successful songwriters of his time. His first big hit arrived in the form of “Wild Thing,” which was first recorded in 1965 by Jordan Christopher and the Wild Ones, and later became a smash hit in 1966 by the Troggs. A live rendition by Jimi Hendrix at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, where the musician set his guitar on fire, cemented the song as part of rock mythology. “Wild Thing” would continue to be covered by the likes of the Runaways, the Muppets, and X.
“A lot of people don’t realize what a beautiful thing space is in a song. ‘Wild Thing’ still gives me the chills; when I strike the chords and you know the spirit of it. It’s a nice feeling,” Taylor told The Guardian of the song.
“Angel of the Morning,” which was first recorded by Sands in 1967, has also become known as one of Taylor’s most memorable hits. The track was covered by Merrilee Rush and the Turnabouts, reaching Number Seven on the Hot 100 in 1968. Then, 13 years later, Juice Newton’s version would sell more than a million copies and carry it to Number Four. Shaggy would go on to interpolate the 1967 song in “Angel,” the 2001 track reached Number One in 12 countries including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
“’Angel of the Morning’ is just such a spirited song and wrote itself very quickly,” Taylor told The Guardian. “I think it was inspired by a war movie that I’d seen on television the night before, where two lovers on different sides of the war were spending any time they could together. People thought it was just a roll in the hay but I didn’t mean it like that at all. This was the most powerful love of two people who may never see each other again — they would love each other forever and beyond time. It was a very serious song.”
Taylor collaborated with a wide variety of musicians and songwriters during his career. His vast repertoire includes “He Sits at Your Table” recorded by Willie Nelson, “I Can’t Let Go” (co-written by Al Gorgoni and originally recorded by Evie Sands, it was later popularized by the Hollies in 1966 and again by Linda Ronstadt in 1980), and the wildly infectious “Any Way That You Want Me” — a track that has been covered by a lengthy list of artists, the most successful being the Troggs.
“I just try to let my spirit go some place, and then I try to catch up to it,” said Taylor when discussing songwriting during a Speaking Freely television interview. “I just wanted to write stuff that made me feel something.”
