Angelina Jolie’s legendary songwriter uncle has taken his final bow.
Chip Taylor, hitmaker of the 1966 rock classic “Wild Thing,” died Monday at age 86 in hospice care, according to Taylor’s friend, Grammy-winning producer Billy Vera.
He died a few days after celebrating his birthday.
“Rest in Peace: Chip Taylor, my friend and songwriting mentor,” Bella wrote on Instagram.
Born James Wesley Voight in Yonkers, New York in 1940, the music icon was the younger brother of actor Jon Voight and uncle of Hollywood superstar Jolie and her younger brother James Haven, but he single-handedly built a towering legacy.
Taylor’s first big break came with “Wild Thing.” The song is a raw, raunchy anthem that reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 by The Troggs in 1966 and sparked the garage rock explosion.
In 2023, Taylor revealed that the hit song came in an instant. After receiving a call from The Troggs’ producer asking for new music, he hung up, picked up his guitar and made money almost instantly.
“I hung up the phone and started playing the guitar and ‘Wild Thing’ just popped out of my head,” he told The Independent.
“Well, oh my, my window was facing Broadway and all these pretty girls were walking by. So I was looking at them and writing in that spirit. It was a real New York moment…”
In addition to “Wild Thing,” Taylor wrote a series of unforgettable hits, including “Angel of the Morning,” famously recorded by Merrilee Rush, and songs performed by legends such as Willie Nelson, Janis Joplin, Cliff Richard, and The Hollies.
Tributes have poured in for the prolific songwriter, with musician Alan Jones remembering him as a master storyteller and hit-making machine.
“He played at the Twickenham Exchange a few years ago, accompanied by long-time Van Morrison guitarist John Platiana,” Jones recalled.
“It was memorable not only for the many great songs, but also for Taylor’s vast repertoire of extraordinary and hilarious anecdotes, which formed a large part of the unforgettable set.
“Not only could this man write songs, he could certainly tell stories.”
Taylor’s catalog spans several decades and includes standouts such as “I Can’t Let Go,” recorded by artists such as Evie Sands and Linda Ronstadt, and his collaboration with Nelson, “He Sits At Your Table.”
He wasn’t just a genius behind the scenes either. Taylor released his own albums in the 1970s, then founded his own independent label, Train Wreck Records, in 2007.
His 2009 album Yonkers NY, released on Train Wreck, was an acclaimed Americana country record that was also a deeply personal look back at his childhood growing up in Yonkers.
Speaking about his hometown in 2009, he told the New York Times: “If you’re from Yonkers, you have some kind of pride in Yonkers, and you don’t care if anyone understands it or not.”
In recognition of his decades-long influence, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016.
Off stage, Taylor was known for his love of blackjack, and gamers said he played with near-professional technique.
He is survived by his children and grandchildren; His wife, Joan Carroll Frey, whom he married in 1964, passed away in June 2025.
