Angelina Jolie’s legendary songwriter uncle has taken his final bow.
Chip Taylor — the hitmaker behind the 1966 rock classic “Wild Thing” — died in hospice care at 86 years old on Monday, according to Taylor’s pal and Grammy-winning producer Billy Vera.
He died just days after celebrating his birthday.
Chip Taylor performs at the Songwriters Hall of Fame 47th Annual Induction on June 9, 2016 in New York City. Larry Busacca
Taylor and his brother Jon Voight at the Songwriters Hall of Fame event. Gary Gershoff
“RIP: Chip Taylor, my friend and songwriting mentor,” Vera wrote on Instagram.
The music icon, born James Wesley Voight in Yonkers, New York, in 1940, was the brother of actor Jon Voight and uncle to Hollywood superstar Jolie and her brother James Haven, but he carved out a towering legacy on his own.
Taylor’s first big break came with “Wild Thing” — a raw, raunchy anthem that shot to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for The Troggs in 1966 and helped ignite the garage-rock explosion.
Taylor smoking a cigarette, circa 1970. Michael Ochs Archives
Taylor’s niece Angelina Jolie at the 20th Rome Film Festival, October 18, 2025. Getty Images
In 2023, Taylor revealed the hit came together in a flash. After getting a call from The Troggs’ producer asking for new material, he hung up, grabbed his guitar — and struck gold almost instantly.
“I hung up and started banging on the guitar and ‘Wild Thing’ just flew out of me,” he told The Independent.
“Well, ahhh, my window opened on to the broadway with all those pretty girls walking by. So, I was looking at them and writing in that spirit. It was a real New York moment…”
Carrie Rodriguez and Taylor in Chicago, November 27, 2003. Getty Images
Beyond “Wild Thing,” Taylor penned a string of unforgettable hits, including “Angel of the Morning,” famously recorded by Merrilee Rush, and songs performed by legends like Willie Nelson, Janis Joplin, Cliff Richard and The Hollies.
Tributes have poured in for the prolific songwriter, with musician Allan Jones remembering Taylor as both a master storyteller and a hit-making machine.
“He played Twickenham Exchange a few years ago, accompanied by John Platiana, for many years Van Morrison’s guitarist,” Jones recalled.
Taylor visits the SiriusXM Studios on March 13, 2018 in New York City. Getty Images
“It was memorable not only for a lot of great songs, but Taylor’s vast repertoire of extraordinary and hilarious anecdotes, which took up a generous portion of an unforgettable set.
“The man could certainly tell a story as well as he could write a song.”
Taylor’s catalog stretched across decades, with standout tracks like “I Can’t Let Go,” recorded by artists including Evie Sands and Linda Ronstadt, and collaborations such as “He Sits at Your Table” with Nelson.
Taylor speaks onstage at the Songwriters Hall of Fame event in 2016. Larry Busacca
He wasn’t just a behind-the-scenes genius either. Taylor released his own albums in the 1970s and later founded his independent label, Train Wreck Records, in 2007.
His 2009 album “Yonkers NY”, released through Train Wreck, was an acclaimed Americana-country record that doubled as a deeply personal look back at his boyhood growing up in Yonkers.
Speaking about his hometown in 2009, he told The New York Times: “[If] you’re from Yonkers, you have a certain pride in Yonkers. And you don’t care if anybody gets it or not.”
In recognition of his decades-long impact, he was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2016.
Offstage, Taylor was known for his love of blackjack, a game friends say he played with near-professional skill.
He is survived by his children and grandchildren. His wife, Joan Carole Frey, whom he married in 1964, died in June 2025.