Chip Taylor & Carrie Rodriguez Biography
When veteran singer-songwriter Chip Taylor first saw Carrie Rodriguez play at the South by Southwest music festival in Austin,
Texas, in 2001, he was not only wowed by the brilliance he heard in her fiddle playing, but he also sensed a magical presence.
He invited her to join him on some subsequent shows in Texas and then on a tour of Europe. During that tour, he invited Rodriguez
-- who had never sung lead before -- to step up to the microphone and sing. A longtime fan of the classic country duet sound,
Taylor was inspired by the enthusiastic crowd response and teamed with Rodriguez for 2002's Let's Leave This Town.
The pair issued The Trouble With Humans the following year.
In 2003, Taylor and Rodriguez saw guitar phenomenon Bill Frisell perform. What took Taylor by surprise was the extent to which a gentle, country-soul feel had crept into his styling. Following the show, he purchased as many of Frisell's albums as possible. Frisell accepted the invitation to record 2005's Red Dog Tracks with the duo.
As a songwriter, Taylor hit the charts with the rock 'n' roll canon, "Wild Thing," which became a No. 1 hit for the Troggs in 1966. Another one of his tunes, "Angel of the Morning," was a hit for Merilee Rush, Juice Newton and most recently, Shaggy. In addition to talents as a gambler (he was a professional for years), Taylor was an integral part of the bustling New York pop songwriting scene in its 1960s heyday at the Brill Building.
Born James Wesley Voight (the younger brother of actor Jon Voight), Taylor's passion for music began early after hearing country songs on the AM radio station in Wheeling, W.Va. He decided to pursue music full time after landing a deal with King Records. But once he started experiencing success in the publishing of his songs, Taylor followed another muse to score hits for such notables as the Hollies, Barbara Lewis, the American Breed and Billy Vera, among many others. Jimi Hendrix made "Wild Thing" one of the showpieces of his live shows, while Janis Joplin made Taylor's "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" one of her signature songs.
Throughout the 1970s, Taylor navigated the Nashville country music network and found his songs covered by Waylon Jennings, Anne Murray, Emmylou Harris and Bobby Bare. Still, he felt out of sync with the insular community and, by the early 1980s, he set aside his musical endeavors and honed his knack for the mathematical intricacies of gambling. His prowess at blackjack eventually led to him being banned from all the major casinos in Atlantic City and several others in Las Vegas and Europe. He switched his focus to horse racing, and with his partner, Ernie Dahlman, he became such an accomplished handicapper that the Long Island Track betting parlor frequently gave them their own room fitted with a private teller and televised race replay system.
In 1995, everything changed when his mother became seriously ill. Instead of going to the racetrack, he spent the time with his mother and played her songs. The experience rekindled his passion for music, and he gave up gambling and returned to recording and performing.
As an instrumentalist, Rodriguez had already recorded with Patty Griffin and performed live with Lyle Lovett before pairing with Taylor. Raised in a musical family in Austin, she is the daughter of noted Texas singer-songwriter David Rodriguez and a mother who was a classical and opera buff. She took up the violin at age 5 and played in orchestra and chamber groups throughout high school, eventually winning a scholarship to the prestigious Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
Despite her classical leanings, she got a taste of traditional fiddling after appearing with her father and sitting in with the likes of Don Walser in Austin-area clubs. She found Oberlin's concentration on the classics too narrow for her adventurous musical vision, so she transferred to Boston's Berklee College of Music and studied with one of her violin heroes, Matt Glaser. She performed live with the Darlings and appeared as a special guest of Lovett at the famed Orpheum Theatre in Boston. Following graduation, she recorded a track on Griffin's 1000 Kisses and performed with a country group in Texas and other bands in Europe. While overseas, she developed her own style of playing that combines traditional styles of fiddling with more contemporary influences.
In 2003, Taylor and Rodriguez saw guitar phenomenon Bill Frisell perform. What took Taylor by surprise was the extent to which a gentle, country-soul feel had crept into his styling. Following the show, he purchased as many of Frisell's albums as possible. Frisell accepted the invitation to record 2005's Red Dog Tracks with the duo.
As a songwriter, Taylor hit the charts with the rock 'n' roll canon, "Wild Thing," which became a No. 1 hit for the Troggs in 1966. Another one of his tunes, "Angel of the Morning," was a hit for Merilee Rush, Juice Newton and most recently, Shaggy. In addition to talents as a gambler (he was a professional for years), Taylor was an integral part of the bustling New York pop songwriting scene in its 1960s heyday at the Brill Building.
Born James Wesley Voight (the younger brother of actor Jon Voight), Taylor's passion for music began early after hearing country songs on the AM radio station in Wheeling, W.Va. He decided to pursue music full time after landing a deal with King Records. But once he started experiencing success in the publishing of his songs, Taylor followed another muse to score hits for such notables as the Hollies, Barbara Lewis, the American Breed and Billy Vera, among many others. Jimi Hendrix made "Wild Thing" one of the showpieces of his live shows, while Janis Joplin made Taylor's "Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)" one of her signature songs.
Throughout the 1970s, Taylor navigated the Nashville country music network and found his songs covered by Waylon Jennings, Anne Murray, Emmylou Harris and Bobby Bare. Still, he felt out of sync with the insular community and, by the early 1980s, he set aside his musical endeavors and honed his knack for the mathematical intricacies of gambling. His prowess at blackjack eventually led to him being banned from all the major casinos in Atlantic City and several others in Las Vegas and Europe. He switched his focus to horse racing, and with his partner, Ernie Dahlman, he became such an accomplished handicapper that the Long Island Track betting parlor frequently gave them their own room fitted with a private teller and televised race replay system.
In 1995, everything changed when his mother became seriously ill. Instead of going to the racetrack, he spent the time with his mother and played her songs. The experience rekindled his passion for music, and he gave up gambling and returned to recording and performing.
As an instrumentalist, Rodriguez had already recorded with Patty Griffin and performed live with Lyle Lovett before pairing with Taylor. Raised in a musical family in Austin, she is the daughter of noted Texas singer-songwriter David Rodriguez and a mother who was a classical and opera buff. She took up the violin at age 5 and played in orchestra and chamber groups throughout high school, eventually winning a scholarship to the prestigious Oberlin Conservatory of Music.
Despite her classical leanings, she got a taste of traditional fiddling after appearing with her father and sitting in with the likes of Don Walser in Austin-area clubs. She found Oberlin's concentration on the classics too narrow for her adventurous musical vision, so she transferred to Boston's Berklee College of Music and studied with one of her violin heroes, Matt Glaser. She performed live with the Darlings and appeared as a special guest of Lovett at the famed Orpheum Theatre in Boston. Following graduation, she recorded a track on Griffin's 1000 Kisses and performed with a country group in Texas and other bands in Europe. While overseas, she developed her own style of playing that combines traditional styles of fiddling with more contemporary influences.
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