Chip Taylor, the famend songwriter exceptional regarded for penning the undying hits “Wild Thing” and “Angel of the Morning,” has died on the age of 86. Born James Wesley Voight in 1940 in Yonkers, New York, Taylor’s profession spanned over six decades, all through which he left an indelible mark on American tune. His passing became introduced with the aid of using his report label, Train Wreck Records, on March 23, 2026. The reason of dying has now no longer been publicly disclosed.
Taylor earned full-size approval for writing songs that captured uncooked emotion and resonated deeply with listeners. “Wild Thing,” in the beginning recorded with the aid of using Jordan Christopher and the Wild Ones earlier than The Troggs made it a chart-topping hit in 1966, have become an anthem of its era. The track’s repute grew even extra after Jimi Hendrix’s mythical overall performance on the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, in which he famously set his guitar ablaze.
Another standout composition from Taylor became “Angel of the Morning,” first recorded in 1967 and made famous with the aid of using Merrilee Rush in 1968. Juice Newton later revived the track with a country-pop rendition in 1981, in addition cementing its vicinity in tune history. The track’s heartfelt lyrics approximately love and longing have related with audiences worldwide, even inspiring a pattern in Shaggy’s 2001 hit “Angel.”
Throughout his good sized profession, Taylor wrote for an excellent array of artists which includes Janis Joplin, Aretha Franklin, Willie Nelson, and Frank Sinatra. Besides songwriting, he launched extra than thirty albums as a performer. His songwriting fashion became mentioned for its simplicity and emotional depth, regularly that specialize in giving area in the tune to specific feeling.
Taylor’s lifestyles became marked with the aid of using numerous reports past tune; he hung out as a expert gambler earlier than returning to songwriting withinside the mid-1990s. In popularity of his contributions to tune, he became inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016, an occasion attended with the aid of using his brother, actor Jon Voight. Taylor is survived with the aid of using his kids Kristian and Kelly, 5 grandchildren, and brothers Jon and Barry Voight. His spouse Joan handed away in June 2025. In lieu of flowers, his own circle of relatives has requested for donations to be made to the Metropolitan Golf Association Caddie Scholarship Fund, reflecting a non-public own circle of relatives connection to golf.
