“Wild Thing” Writer Chip Taylor’s Unheralded Country Career (RIP)

Acclaimed songwriter and performer Chip Taylor died on Monday, March 23rd. And as can be expected and probably warranted, the remembrances all started off with the bullet point that he was the writer behind the rambunctious song “Wild Thing” first popularized by the Troggs in 1966, sent to the stratosphere by Jimi Hendrix performing it at Monterey Pop the following year—and if you were a kid of the ’80s, made into a hair metal version by comedian Sam Kinision.

The other top line bullet point is how Chip Taylor wrote the comparatively eloquent and reserved “Angel of the Morning” that first became a hit for Elvie Sands in 1967, and went on to be recorded by dozens of artists over the decades. Born in Yonkers, New York and raised in the NYC area, you wouldn’t immediately associate Chip Taylor with country. But place aside his “Wild Thing” credit for a second, and Chip Taylor’s career all of a sudden comes in to sharp focus as a country one.

Many performers recorded “Angel of the Morning.” But it was country pop performer Juice Newton whose 1981 version of the song was the most successful, both in the United States and internationally, going #4 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Willie Nelson, Linda Ronstadt, and Johnny Cash also recorded the song. But that’s just where the Chip Taylor country tie-ins start. In fact when it comes to Chip Taylor the performer and solo artist, it’s more apt to call him country than anything else.

Growing up in White Plains, New York, Chip Taylor first tried to follow in the footsteps of his father Elmer Voight and become a professional golfer. But when he washed out of that profession, he found work as a songwriter and was employed by a music publisher in New York City. It was during this time that he wrote “Wild Thing.”

It’s the guitar upstrum of the song that lent to its genius, but it was kind of a mistake by Taylor, at least according to conventional wisdom at the time. Chip didn’t know that the upstrum was a no no in many circles. That’s how he accidentally wrote the first garage rock/punk/metal/grunge song.

While still a teenager and playing guitar in a band called the Town & Country Brothers, legendary country guitar player and producer Chet Atkins caught wind of Chip Taylor, and the genius he was sowing up in NYC. This started a relationship where Atkins would keep a close eye on Chip Taylor’s song catalog and match selections with country stars, resulting in numerous cuts on country records from Willie Nelson and others.

The success of Chip Taylor as a songwriter allowed him to launch his own solo career, even if it would be overshadowed by the success of his songs recorded by others. In 1972, Taylor released the album Gasoline for the Buddah record label. A sort of folk rock album with country inflections, it hinted at the country influences inherent in Chip Taylor’s sound. Then in 1973, Taylor would sign to Warner Bros. Records and released three albums: Last Chance (1973), Some of Us (1974), and This Side of the Big River (1975).

Not only do these three albums really encapsulate the heart of Chip Taylor as a solo artist, they also happen to be super country. And they’re not just country records, they’re actually pretty dang good, even if the country community at the time didn’t really embrace them, except for Chip’s single “Early Sunday Morning” which hit #28 on the country charts. In an alternative universe, Chip Taylor could have been a country star, not just the guy who wrote “Wild Thing.”

But a solo career was not in the cards for Chip Taylor. And with mailbox money steadily coming in from his royalties via “Wild Thing” and “Angel in the Morning,” Chip decided to become a professional gambler in Atlantic City, spending nearly two decades starting in the early ’80s gambling his life away on Blackjack and horse bets. Apparently, he wasn’t half bad at it, even if it gave into a crippling addiction. Taylor’s wayward path was apparently put back on the straight and narrow after the death of his mother Barbara, and he started the “Church of the Train Wreck” for gambling addicts.

To help kick the gambling habit, Chip Taylor also got back into music. It was a chance meeting of Austin, TX-based fiddle phenom and songwriter Carrie Rodriguez at SXSW that set both of them on a successful path via a long-standing collaboration. Starting with the 2002 album Let’s Leave This Town released on Chip’s newly-formed Train Wreck Records, they became a hot commodity in the alt-country universe. The partnership would result in five more studio albums and a live EP, and launch the Carrie Rodriguez solo career.

The collaboration would also launch a Chip Taylor solo career 2.0 where he released numerous solo albums himself, often referencing his gold pro dad in Elmer Voight in titles and cover art. Incidentally, Taylor was also the uncle of Angelina Jolie, and his brother was actor Jon Voight.

“We lost an American songwriting giant,” Carrie Rodriguez said after Chip’s passing. “Chip Taylor taught me so much about the magic and the mystery of a good song. He encouraged me to use my voice in addition to the violin which changed my musical trajectory forever. He was an incredible mentor and a friend.”

It’s almost a shame that “Wild Thing” is what Chip Taylor is best known for when his career had such a lush and diverse lineage that included so many tie-ins to country music. But it was due to many of his country contributions that he was named to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016.

Chip Taylor’s wife passed away in June of 2025, and he’d been battling throat Cancer since 2023. He passed away in hospice care on March 23rd two days after his 86th birthday.

RIP Wild Thing, and thanks for the music.

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