‘Wild Thing’ songwriter Chip Taylor is dead at 86

Yonkers songwriter Chip Taylor is dead at 86.

Taylor, who was born James Wesley Voight, is famous for penning the Troggs’ 1966 rock classic “Wild Thing” as well as “Angel of the Morning,” which Juice Newton turned into a smash hit 1981 single.

His death was announced by fellow songwriter Billy Vera on Instagram.

“RIP: Chip Taylor, my friend and songwriting mentor, last night in hospice,” he wrote Tuesday.

Taylor co-wrote the 1968 song “Storybook Children” with Vera, who recorded the tune with Judy Clay. Vera didn’t give a cause of death, but Taylor told the Guardian in 2023 he’d received chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments for throat cancer.

Taylor was the younger brother of Academy Award winning actor Jon Voight and uncle of actress and director Angelina Jolie.

Artists including Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield and Frank Sinatra have recorded his music, according to the Songwriters Hall of Fame. Taylor was inducted into that fraternity in 2016.

He also co-wrote “Try (Just a Little Harder),” which was the first track on Janis Joplin’s debut solo album “I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!”

Taylor’s Hall of Fame bio describes him as a failed professional golfer and successful gambler, who made money playing blackjack and was involved in horse racing.

As a singer, he recorded the 1966 Lee Hazlewood song “I Can’t Grow Peaches on a Cherry Tree” with Al Gorgoni as half of the duo Just Us.

Taylor began his career as Wes Voight while teaming up with King Records in the 1950s. He used his better-known stage name to work with Warner Bros., Columbia and Capitol.

In 2011, he recorded the 13-track children’s album “Golden Kids Rules” with his three granddaughters.

Taylor told the Guardian in a 2023 video call from his Manhattan apartment that his biggest hit still strikes the right chord with him.

“‘Wild Thing’ still gives me the chills, when I strike the chords and you know the spirit of it,” he said. “It’s a nice feeling.”

That song, first recorded by the Wild Ones in 1965, has been covered by artists including Jimi Hendrix, the Runaways and the Creatures. It was also used as the main character’s theme song in the 1989 Charlie Sheen baseball movie “Major League.”

Taylor’s obituary said that he’s survived by his children Kelly, Kristian, Jon and Barry as well as five grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Joan.