‘Wild Thing,’ ‘Angel of the Morning’ Songwriter Chip Taylor Dies

YONKERS, N.Y. (THECOUNT) — Chip Taylor, the Grammy-nominated songwriter behind two of the most enduring songs in rock and pop history, died Monday in hospice care. He was 86.

Taylor was 86.

Born James Wesley Voight on March 21, 1940, in Yonkers, New York — just two days before his death — Taylor adopted his stage name early in his career to carve out an identity separate from his famous family. He was the younger brother of Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight and the uncle of actress Angelina Jolie and actor James Haven. His other brother, Barry Voight, is a geologist credited with developing a formula to predict volcanic eruptions.

No cause of death has been officially disclosed. Taylor had been treated for throat cancer in 2023, which he later chronicled on his 2024 album Behind the Sky. His death was first announced on social media by longtime friend and collaborator Billy Vera, a Grammy-winning singer, who wrote: “With great sadness I announce the passing of my old friend and songwriting mentor, Chip Taylor last night in hospice.” Taylor’s record label, Train Wreck Records, confirmed the news the following day, saying his catalog “left an indelible mark on many generations of musicians and fans.”

Taylor’s two most famous compositions have earned a permanent place in the American musical canon. He wrote “Wild Thing” — made famous by the British rock band the Troggs — in a matter of minutes at the request of a producer working on a project for a New York group called Jordan Christopher and the Wild Ones. Their version flopped. The Troggs took it to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the summer of 1966, where it stayed for two weeks. The song went on to be covered by Jimi Hendrix at the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival and later became iconic in a different context when the version by the group X was used as reliever Ricky Vaughn’s walkout music — portrayed by Charlie Sheen — in the 1989 baseball film Major League. In a 2006 interview, Taylor reflected on the Troggs recording: “I think The Troggs’ record was a right funky record. You couldn’t beat that. The feeling was exactly the way it should have been. To me, that was the start of punk.”

Taylor also wrote “Angel of the Morning” in 1967. The song was first recorded by Evie Sands that year, then became a Top 10 hit for Merrilee Rush, reaching No. 4 on the Hot 100 in 1968. More than a decade later, Juice Newton took the song to No. 4 on the Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1981, introducing it to an entirely new generation. The song later reached yet another audience when it was interpolated into Shaggy’s 2001 hit “Angel.”

Beyond those two signature songs, Taylor’s catalog was staggering in both breadth and quality. Over a six-decade career he wrote for Johnny Cash, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin — including “Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)” — Willie Nelson, Tom Petty, Linda Ronstadt, Tina Turner, Dusty Springfield and Frank Sinatra, among many others. He was equally at home in rock, country, soul and Americana, a versatility that made him one of Nashville and New York’s most sought-after craftsmen across multiple decades.

Taylor’s personal life was as distinctive as his professional one. His father, Elmer Voight, was a competitive golfer who played in the U.S. Open in both 1928 and 1929 and later served as the club pro at Sunningdale Country Club in Scarsdale, New York. Taylor briefly followed that path, attending the University of Hartford in Connecticut on a golf scholarship before leaving school to pursue music full time. After finding success as a songwriter in the 1960s and early 1970s, he made the startling decision to step away from the music industry entirely — spending roughly 14 years as a professional gambler before returning to performing and recording in 1993.

His comeback produced some of the most critically admired work of his career. A collaboration with singer and violinist Carrie Rodriguez in the early 2000s yielded a string of praised Americana recordings, and Taylor continued releasing albums regularly through the final years of his life. In 2007 he launched Train Wreck Records, his own independent label. He was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016, with brother Jon Voight on hand for the ceremony. His 2011 album Yonkers, NY earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Recording Package.

Taylor is survived by his daughters, Kristian and Kelly, and five grandchildren. His wife, Joan Carol Frey, his middle school sweetheart, died in June 2025. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations to the Metropolitan Golf Association Caddie Scholarship Fund — a charity dear to both Taylor and his father.

DEVELOPING::