Chip Taylor
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| Chip Taylor | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | James Wesley Voight |
| Born | January 1, 1944 |
| Origin | Yonkers, New York, U.S. |
| Genres | Country |
| Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
| Years active | 1971–present |
| Labels | Buddah, Warner Bros., CBS, Capitol, Train Wreck |
| Associated acts | Carrie Rodriguez, Kendel Carson |
Chip Taylor (born January 1, 1944 in Yonkers, New York) is the stage name used by American songwriter James Wesley Voight, who is noted for writing and composing the songs "Angel of the Morning" and "Wild Thing." Taylor's brothers are the actor Jonathan "Jon" Voight and the geologist Barry Voight. He is the uncle of actress Angelina Jolie and actor James Haven.
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[edit] Family background
The Voight brothers--Barry, Jonathan, and James Wesley--could all trace their background roots to Germany and Slovakia.[citation needed]
[edit] Early career
Taylor attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York. After an unsuccessful attempt to become a professional golfer, Taylor entered the music business. He wrote and composed pop and rock songs, both alone and with other songwriters including Al Gorgoni (as the duo Just Us), Billy Vera, Ted Daryll, and Jerry Ragovoy.
[edit] As "tune tailor"
Taylor's best known songs are "Wild Thing," which, though originally recorded in 1965 by Jordan Christopher & The Wild Ones, became best known as both a 1966 hit single for The Troggs and a 1967 live performance by Jimi Hendrix[citation needed], and "Angel of the Morning," a hit first for Merrilee Rush in 1968, and then becoming an even bigger hit in 1981 for country-pop singer Juice Newton, whose version, when released as a single, sold more than a million copies in the United States alone. Other Taylor compositions that made entries onto the pop and country charts include "He Sits at Your Table" (Willie Nelson), "I Can't Let Go", "The Baby" (The Hollies), "Worry" (Johnny Tillotson), "Make Me Belong to You"(Barbara Lewis), "I Can Make It With You" (The Pozo Seco Singers, Jackie DeShannon), "Any Way That You Want Me" (The Troggs, Evie Sands, Juice Newton), "Step Out of Your Mind", "Country Girl City Man" (Billy Vera and Judy Clay), "I'll Hold Out My Hand", "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" (Janis Joplin) and "Lonely Is As Lonely Does" (The Fleetwoods). Country hits written and composed by Taylor include "Sweet Dream Woman" (Waylon Jennings), "A Little Bit Later On Down the Line" (Bobby Bare) and "Son of a Rotten Gambler" (Emmylou Harris, the Hollies, Anne Murray).
In 2009, Ace Records released a compilation CD of some of Taylor's compositions as recorded by other artists (Wild Thing: The Songs of Chip Taylor)
[edit] On his own
Taylor released recordings on Warner Brothers, Columbia, and Capitol records, and his most popular recording is his Last Chance, released through Warner Brothers. In the mid-1970s, Taylor gave up the music business for a career as a professional gambler specializing in blackjack and horseracing handicapping. But the year 1980 saw Taylor making a screen acting appearance in the film Melvin and Howard.
[edit] Performing career
Taylor restarted his performing and recording career in 1993. At a South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas in 2001, Chip met singer and violinist Carrie Rodriguez with whom he performed and recorded Americana music for several years. The duo recorded Let's Leave This Town in 2002. They released The Trouble With Humans the following year and the critically acclaimed Red Dog Tracks in 2005. Each has since released successful solo albums. Taylor's double-CD Unglorious Hallelujah/Red Red Rose, his first solo album in 5 years, was quickly hailed as "a future classic" by Sonic Magazine, whose reviewer declared: "This is the best we've heard from Chip Taylor so far." Rodriguez's solo album Seven Angels on a Bicycle was released in August 2006. In late 2006 and early 2007, Rodriguez toured on her own but continued to perform with Taylor from time to time.
Taylor has also performed with alt-country singer-songwriter Robbie Fulks, playing bass for Fulks's January 2004 date at Double Door in Chicago. Taylor has been doing a series of shows with guitarist John Platania and the young singer/fiddler Kendel Carson, and he produced both their 2007 albums. In addition, the reggae rap star Shaggy utilized "Angel of the Morning" as the basis for his massive selling hit "Angel" in 2001. The song also used the bass line of the Steve Miller song "The Joker". Both Taylor and Miller received co-writing credit for the song, which became Taylor's second #1 hit on the Billboard pop charts, some 35 years after "Wild Thing". "Angel of the Morning" has sold over 13 million copies worldwide.
[edit] Train Wreck Records
In 2007, Taylor launched his own independent label, Train Wreck Records.[1]
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
| Year | Album | US Country | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Gorgoni, Martin & Taylor | — | Buddah |
| 1971 | Gasoline | — | Buddah |
| 1973 | Chip Taylor's Last Chance | — | Warner Bros. |
| 1974 | Some of Us | — | |
| 1975 | This Side of the Big River | 36 | |
| 1976 | Somebody Shoot Out the Jukebox | — | CBS |
| 1979 | Saint Sebastian | — | Capitol |
| 1996 | Hit Man | — | |
| 1997 | Chip Taylor's Last Chance | — | |
| 1997 | Living Room Tapes | — | |
| 1999 | Seven Days In May... A Love Story | — | |
| 2000 | London Sessions Bootleg | — | |
| 2001 | Black & Blue America | — | |
| 2002 | Let's Leave This Town | — | Lone Star |
| 2003 | The Trouble With Humans | — | Lone Star |
| 2005 | Red Dog Tracks | — | |
| 2006 | Unglorious Hallelujah | — | Back Porch Music |
| 2007 | Live from the Ruhr Triennale | — | MRI |
| 2008 | New Songs of Freedom | — | Megaforce |
| 2008 | Songs From a Dutch Tour | — | Train Wreck |
| 2009 | Yonkers NY | — | Train Wreck |
[edit] Compilations
| Year | Album | Label |
|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Angels & Gamblers: Best of 1971-1979 | Raven Records |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Chart Positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Country | CAN Country | |||
| 1975 | "Me As I Am" | 80 | — | Some of Us |
| "Early Sunday Morning" | 28 | 41 | ||
| "Big River" | 61 | — | This Side of the Big River | |
| 1976 | "Circle of Tears" | 92 | — | |
| 1977 | "Hello Atlanta" (with Ghost Train) | 93 | — | Somebody Shoot Out the Jukebox |
