VA - Wild Thing: The Songs Of Chip Taylor

Often overlooked as a singer-songwriter, Chip Taylor’s renown rests quite comfortably on his two most famous songs, “Wild Thing” and “Angel of the Morning”. Originally a country performer before the lure of professional golf distracted his attention, he returned to songwriting after an injury curtailed his career on the green. His country roots lent an earthiness to his tunes which attracted the attention of highly respected singers from various idioms of popular music including Aretha Franklin, The Hollies, Peggy Lee, and Waylon Jennings, all of whom exercised good taste throughout their artistic peaks (Spiritualized’s early take on “Anyway That You Want Me” is beautiful, but would not have worked here). Taylor's reputation helped him establish his solo career in the '70s, although he never rose above cult status. Seek out Angels & Gamblers, a collection of his solo work that complements this comp nicely, to get a better understanding of this highly underrated songwriter.