Chip Taylor, the songwriter behind such classics as Juice Newton’s “Angel of the Morning” and “Wild Factor” by The Troggs, died Monday in hospice care. His buddy, singer Billy Vera, shared the information of his passing Tuesday on Instagram. Taylor was 86 years outdated.
His youngsters, Kelly and Kris, confirmed his demise on Fb. A trigger was not given.
“Hello all – we’re unhappy to let you know that Chip handed away final night time,” the siblings wrote Tuesday. “His final days had been peaceable. Chip beloved the superb blessing it was to attach with individuals by means of music and actually appreciated this group. He thought of you all associates.”
They continued, “We are going to miss him enormously.”
Taylor wrote a number of the most beloved songs of his technology, with the 1966 rock anthem “Wild Factor” turning into a No. 1 hit within the U.S. Jimi Hendrix himself coated it stay through the Monterey Pop Pageant later that 12 months — earlier than famously setting his guitar on hearth.
Taylor might have simply spent his life because the overshadowed youthful brother of Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight or forgotten uncle of his equally embellished niece Angelina Jolie, however curated a six-decade singer-songwriter profession and recorded dozens of albums as a substitute.
The prolific musician was arguably simply as savvy behind the scenes, nonetheless. As a producer at April Blackwood Music in 1976, he signed each Vera and singer-songwriter James Taylor — who would win six Grammys and land within the Rock and Roll Corridor of Fame.
Chip Taylor himself was nominated for a Grammy in 2011, however misplaced to The Black Keys.
Born James Wesley Voight on March 21, 1940, in Yonkers, New York, he would later change his identify when report label executives mentioned “Voight” could be too arduous to pronounce. Taylor attended the College of Hartford in Connecticut, however dropped out inside months.
He briefly tried to comply with in his father’s footsteps as knowledgeable golfer, however whiffed on that shot and instantly threw himself into music, in line with The Hollywood Reporter. Taylor started enjoying in a rockabilly band in Yonkers earlier than touchdown at April Blackwood.
Amongst his prolific output as a songwriter had been “I Can’t Let Go” by Linda Ronstadt, “I Can Make It With You” by The Pozo-Seco Singers and “Welcome House” by Dusty Springfield. Taylor nonetheless appeared to cherish his first large hit, “Wild Factor,” essentially the most.
“I feel the Troggs’ report was a proper funky report,” he as soon as recalled throughout an interview with SpectroPop. “It was just like the demo, besides they performed it with an electrical guitar. The sensation was precisely the way in which it ought to have been. To me, it was the beginning of punk.”
Theo Wargo through Getty Photographs
His follow-up, “Angel of the Morning,” was first recorded by Evie Sands in 1967 and coated by Merrilee Rush & The Turnabouts in 1968. Newton recorded her model in 1981, going platinum and reportedly seeing the hit change into the primary nation track to play on MTV.
A track about premarital intercourse, the pop-country ballad was famously used within the 1999 movie “Woman, Interrupted,” which starred Jolie within the second lead and gained her the Oscar. Taylor had lengthy established himself as a genius by then, but additionally had a critical playing habit.
He was ultimately banned from a number of casinos for card counting, telling “CBS Sunday Morning” in 2008 that he made “some huge cash” and will have lived on his earnings. Regardless of his vice, Taylor labored in rarified air as an artist and left behind a permanent legacy.
He not solely had iconic artists reminiscent of Frank Sinatra, Waylon Jennings and The Fleetwoods cowl his songs, however was inducted into the Songwriters Corridor of Fame in 2016 — and took his grandchildren onstage on the ceremony to sing “Wild Factor” collectively.
Chip Taylor is survived by his youngsters, siblings and grandchildren.