Chip Taylor
b. James Wesley Voight, 1940, Yonkers, New York, USA. The younger brother of actor Jon Voight, Taylor began his recording career during the late '50s with several rockabilly-styled recordings. He subsequently formed Just Us with songwriting partner Al Gorgoni and produced material for local act the Flying Machine, which featured James Taylor and guitarist Danny Kortchmar. However Taylor became better-known as the composer of Wild Thing, a risque pop song popularized by the Troggs and, later, Jimi Hendrix. Other credits included Anyway That You Want Me, a follow-up hit for the former group, I Can't Let Go (the Hollies), Angel Of The Morning ( Merilee Rush/ Juice Newton) and Storybook Children ( Billy Vera/ Judy Clay), many of which he shared with either Gorgoni, Trade Martin, or both. During the late '60s the trio began recording as Gorgoni, Martin And Taylor, but in 1971 the last named embarked on a solo career with GASOLINE. CHIP TAYLOR'S LAST CHANCE was the subject of effusive critical acclaim, but poor sales, although the artist's unerring grasp of country styles was maintained on SOME OF US. Waylon Jennings, Bobby Bare and Tammy Wynette were among those recording his songs, although a fourth collection, THIS SIDE OF THE BIG RIVER, was less strong. Taylor's last solo release SAINT SEBASTIAN maintained the high quality of his recorded output. The continued popularity of his best-known work is a testament to his importance as a singer/songwriter.