Every once in a while I stumble across a mention of an artist I’ve heard of but have not yet mentally catalogued adequately. What if I’m put on the spot about the works of this artist and do not have a clear point of view? It could be embarrassing! So I click a link on the InterWeb and arrive at a bio or interview that tells me more about this artist than I would have ever thought worth knowing. Maybe you’ve done this too.
Recently I stumbled across the Wikipedia page for songwriter/musician Chip Taylor. The name was familiar, and as soon as I saw he was the writer of The Troggs’ “Wild Thing” some synapses started firing. He also wrote “Angel of the Morning”, which has the same chord progression. Yeah, right! I thought to myself, as if I’d been sitting at a bar with fellow rock nerds. Efficient guy, that Chip Taylor!
As a service to Townspeople who might find themselves similarly stumped for talking points on Chip Taylor, I will run through a few facts and observations that you might find handy the next time his name crops up at a gathering of rock nerds. If we find this helpful, it might be worth posting occasional pieces on other, slightly obscure artists whom you do not want to be stumped by should their name come up at a party.
There was a New Yorker profile on Taylor in the last month or two with all of this info. The writer must have researched it on wikipedia as well.
One other fact that I seem to recall is that he wrote “Wild Thing” while a student here in central Connnecticut at the University of Hartford.
Thanks for pointing out my incredibly shoddy research, Al. I think that’s important to note and key to just this sort of fact-finding mission.
Yeah, I got my copy of next month’s Mojo in the mail today, too. Gonna write about the White Album next?
Don’t overlook the analysis I provided, Great One.
My friend Bob’s brother actually played drums on one of his albums.
Diskojoe wrote:
See how this works? Yet another thing to keep in mind next time you’re at a cool party or record store and Taylor’s name comes up. Now you’re equipped with a “friend of a friend’s brother” story!