Little known fact : Chip Taylor, writer of the rock classics 'Wild Thing' and 'Angel Of The Morning' was Warner Brothers first country signing.
Taylor released three country albums on Warner Brothers, the last being 'This Side of the Big River' is being prepped for reissue.Prior to signing with Warner, Taylor was best known as a rock writer. His best known hits were 'Wild Thing', a global hit for The Troggs and later a standard of the Cold Chisel setlist. The other, 'Angel of the Morning' was first another global hit for Merrilee Rush in 1968 and again for Juice Newton in 1981.
Taylor had Warner's first ever country chart hit. The song was 'Me As I Am' from his 1974 album 'Some Of Us'.
However, the trouble for Taylor with Warner was that the label didn't have a Nashville division at the time of his albums, so publicity was a little difficult to achieve.
'This Side of the River' came during tension with the label. Taylor was unsure if the album would be recorded because Warner wanted to drop him, but as legend has it, the recording went ahead.
Of the album, Taylor says "This Side Of The Big River brings back very special memories for a couple of reasons. First, the subject matter: Johnny Cash, The Vietnam War, Joan - the wonderful mom of my kids, her grandma Nana, Charlie ("the neighborhood hero"), my great friend, John Tucker - a fan who came to all my shows at a bar called J.P's on the Upper East Side. Second, it brought a life change. This is the album that took me away from the race tracks and the casinos. With unbelievable support from Warner Brothers Holland, the first single release went to No. 2 on the national charts and the album became successful. And there I was playing for those wonderful fans. A few months later, Warner Brothers U.S. dropped me and the race tracks and casinos got me back."
'This Side of the Big River' will be released by Collector's Choice Music on February 20.
