Chip Taylor, 1940 – 2026

Chip Taylor, who wrote such wildly diverse hits as "Angel of the Morning" and "Wild Thing," died on March 23. He was 86. Born James Wesley Voight, Taylor was the brother of actor Jon Voight, and uncle of Angelina Jolie. He performed with his sometime songwriting partner Al Gorgoni in the group Just Us. Besides the above-named successes, Taylor wrote such pop songs as "I Can't Let Go," "Worry," "Any Way That You Want Me," and "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)." He continued to record and perform into the early 2020s. Taylor told interviewers Norman Druker and Mick Patrick, “My hardcore turn towards music was when my dad and mom babysat me at a musical, My Wild Irish Rose. I think I was about seven or eight. They didn't have a babysitter, I didn't want to go to the show, but when I went I was just mesmerised by the music, and I remember going back in the car that night, I didn't want to talk, I just wanted to keep the physical feeling I felt when I heard the music sitting in the fourth row. So I felt, that night, that something changed in me. I remember thinking to myself, ‘I want to do this for the rest of my life.’"