Chip Taylor

Chip Taylor studied at University of Hartford and Archbishop Stepinac High School. The recorded working language is English. Subjects and genres recorded for the work are country music and pop music. Places of work recorded in the authority are Austin. Works named in the authority record are Wild Thing and Angel of the Morning.

• Name — Chip Taylor • Birth Name — James Wesley Voight • Born — 21 March 1940 • Birthplace — Yonkers, New York, U.S. • Died — 23 March 2026 • Place of death — New York, U.S. • Genre — * Country • pop • Occupation — * Songwriter • singer • Years Active — 1960s–2026 • Label — * Buddah • Warner Bros. • CBS • Capitol • Train Wreck

Taylor was born in Yonkers, New York, on March 21, 1940. He was the brother of actor Jon Voight and geologist Barry Voight and the uncle of actress Angelina Jolie and actor James Haven. Taylor and his brothers attended Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, New York. In 1961, Taylor attended the University of Hartford in Hartford, Connecticut, for one year. After an unsuccessful attempt to become a professional golfer like his father, Elmer Voight, Taylor entered the music business.

In 1967, Taylor, along with Al Gorgoni, formed Rainy Day Records, which was distributed by Jubilee Records. The label released the single "Night Owl" by the Flying Machine, a group that included James Taylor.

In 2007, Taylor launched his own independent label, Train Wreck Records.

By Taylor's own accounts, from 1980 through 1995, he was very successful at, but unhappily addicted to, gambling professionally on blackjack in New Jersey casinos and on horse races. He returned to music, starting by singing to his dying mother, Barbara Voight. Taylor has said that the gambling addiction was hard on both himself and his family. He has written that, after having an epiphany, he changed his attitude and created the "Church of the Train Wreck" self-help program for himself and others. Taylor continued to live in New York City. He was married to Joan Carole Frey from 1964, and they had children and grandchildren. Joan and Chip were temporarily divorced for several years, starting in the 1990s. She died in June 2025. Taylor received treatment for throat cancer in 2023. He died from cancer at a hospital in New York on March 23, 2026, two days after his 86th birthday.

• Year — Album — US Country — Label • 1971 — Gotta Get Back to Cisco [as Gorgoni, Martin & Taylor] — — — Buddah • 1972 — Gorgoni, Martin & Taylor [as Gorgoni, Martin & Taylor] — — — Buddah • 1972 — Gasoline — — — Buddah • 1973 — Chip Taylor's Last Chance — — — Warner Bros. • 1974 — Some of Us — — • 1975 — This Side of the Big River — 36 • 1976 — Somebody Shoot Out the Jukebox [with Ghost Train] — — — CBS • 1979 — Saint Sebastian — — — Capitol • 1996 — Hit Man — — — Gadfly • 1997 — Living Room Tapes — — — Gadfly • 1999 — Seven Days in May... A Love Story — — • 2000 — London Sessions Bootleg — — • 2001 — Black & Blue America — — • 2002 — Let's Leave This Town — — — Lone Star • 2003 — The Trouble with Humans — — — Lone Star • 2005 — Red Dog Tracks — — — Back Porch Records • 2006 — Unglorious Hallelujah — — — Back Porch Records • 2007 — Live from the Ruhr Triennale — — — MRI • 2008 — New Songs of Freedom — — — Megaforce • 2008 — Songs from a Dutch Tour — — — Train Wreck • 2009 — Yonkers NY — — — Train Wreck • 2012 — Fuck All the Perfect People — — — Train Wreck • 2013 — Block Out the Sirens of This Lonely World — — — Train Wreck • 2014 — The Little Prayers Trilogy — — — Train Wreck • 2016 — Little Brothers — — — Train Wreck • 2017 — Rock and Roll Joe — — — Train Wreck • 2018 — Fix Your Words — — — Train Wreck • 2018 — Time Waits for No Little Girls Uncovered — — — Train Wreck • 2019 — Whiskey Salesman — — — Train Wreck • 2020 — In Sympathy of a Heartbreak — — — Train Wreck • 2023 — The Cradle of All Living Things — — — Train Wreck • 2024 — Behind the Sky — Train Wreck • 2025 — The Truth and Other Things — Train Wreck

• Year — Album — Label • 2008 — Angels & Gamblers: Best of 1971–1979 — Raven Records • 2010 — James Wesley Days Best of 99–10 — Rootsy / Train Wreck

• Year — Single — Chart positions — Album • U.S. Country — CAN Country • 1958 — "Midnight Blues/Another Guy's Line" — DeLuxe 6176 • 1958 — "I Want a Lover/Little Joan" — DeLuxe 6180 • 1959 — "I'm Movin' In/Everything's the Same" — King 5211 • 1959 — "I'm Ready to Go Steady/The Wind and the Cold Black Night" — King 5231 • 1962 — "Here I Am/I Love You but I Know" • 1967 — "You Should Be from Monterey/I'll Never Be Alone" — Rainy Day 45-8002 • 1973 — "101 in Cashbox" — Chip Taylor's Last Chance • 1975 — "Me As I Am" — 80 — — — Some of Us • "Early Sunday Morning" — 28 — 41 • "Big River" — 61 — — — This Side of the Big River • 1976 — "Circle of Tears" — 92 — — • 1977 — "Hello Atlanta" (with Ghost Train) — 93 — — — Somebody Shoot Out the Jukebox

• Year — Video • 2008 — "New Song Of Freedom" • 2009 — "Charcoal Sky" • 2011 — "Fuck All The Perfect People" • 2014 — "Little Prayers" • "Queen of the World" • 2015 — "Refugee Children" • 2016 — "Who's Gonna Build That Wall" • 2017 — "Whisper Amen" • "Senorita Falling Down"

• Illustration — Chip Taylor, 1973 Taylor's first releases were on the King label and their subsidiary DeLuxe. In 1958, he and the Town Three released two 45s on DeLuxe, numbers 6176 "Midnight Blues" and 6180 "I Want a Lover". In 1959, he recorded for King as Wes Voight on 5211 "I'm Movin' In", and his final recording as Wes Voight on King 5231 "I'm Ready to Go Steady" and "The Wind and the Cold Black Night". The two King 45s were released in both mono and stereo, making them some of the first stereo singles available. Taylor released recordings on Warner Bros., Columbia, and Capitol. His first chart single was his recording (as Chip Taylor) of "Here I Am" in 1962 on Warner Bros. Records. He also had a top 40 hit in Australia in 1963 with "Sandy Sandy" with the Town and Country Brothers, a later iteration of Wes Voight and the Town Three, with Ted Daryll (who wrote the song) and Greg Richards, writers of "She Cried" by Jay and the Americans.

Taylor restarted his performing and recording career in 1993. At the 2001 South by Southwest Music Conference in Austin, Texas, he met singer and violinist Carrie Rodriguez, with whom he performed and recorded Americana music for several years. The duo recorded Let's Leave This Town in 2002. They released The Trouble With Humans the following year and the critically acclaimed Red Dog Tracks in 2005. Each subsequently released successful solo albums. Taylor's double-CD Unglorious Hallelujah/Red Red Rose, his first solo album in five years, was hailed as "a future classic" by Sonic Magazine, whose reviewer declared: "This is the best we've heard from Chip Taylor so far." Rodriguez's solo album, Seven Angels on a Bicycle, was released in August 2006. In late 2006 and early 2007, Rodriguez toured on her own but continued to perform with Taylor from time to time. Taylor performed a series of shows with guitarist John Platania and the young singer/fiddler Kendel Carson, and he produced both their 2007 albums. During the 21st century through 2020, Taylor continued to perform with his band The New Ukrainians (John Platania on electric guitar, Björn Petterson on bass, and a revolving cast of other musicians). Each concert almost always included both "Wild Thing" and "Angel in the Morning". Taylor's album Yonkers, NY was a 2011 nominee for a Grammy Award for best recording package, but lost to Brothers by the Black Keys. In 2012, Paal Flaata released an album of only Chip Taylor songs, Wait by the Fire – Songs of Chip Taylor. Taylor's performance of his song "On the Radio" was featured in Episode 8 of Season 2 of the Netflix TV series Sex Education.