It was circa 1974 when I got a phone call from
Austin Texas. It was my friend Arlo Watson telling me she had discovered a great recording by a
singer/songwriter named Chip Taylor. She said she would mail me a copy. Chip and I have talked on the phone over the years but never had the opportunity
to actually meet each other.
Now it's 2000. The phone rings again. This time it's my friend Neil MacGonigill
calling from Calgary Alberta. He tells me he's presenting "The Chip Taylor Songwriters Summit"
and he would like me to be on the bill. Off To Calgary!!! This was going to be a great gig!!!
Besides Chip and myself the show included Ann Loree who wrote the hit song "Insensitive" which
was recorded by Jann Arden as well as LeAnn Rimes. The evening following our gig Ann received
a BMI award for more than a Million radio plays of "Insensitive" in the (U.S.A.) Also on the
bill was Chip's longtime friend and noted guitar player John Platania (Van Morrison, Randy Neuman,
Bonnie Raitt, Judy Collins, Don McLean). In the picture to the right, I'm flanked by John on the left
and Chip on the right.
We hit the stage at Club Kaos on a Monday night in Calgary and the joint was
jammed to the rafters. We performed two sets, taking turns to do a song, then passing it on
to the next person. The feeling and the reaction in that club that evening was electric.
The show went GREAT!!! The sound was GREAT!!! The audience was GREAT!!! It's nights like
this that make it all worthwhile. Thanks Neil for putting us all in the same building.
I'll never forget that night.
It wasn't long before I had the album in my hands and immediately agreed that this guy really
had something special. The album was "Chip Taylor's Last Chance" which was released in 1973 and
is still a personal favorite of mine. I loved that record and for years I always included a Chip
Taylor song in my live performances. When it came time to record my debut self titled album in
1982, I made a decision to include a song or two by writers that I respected. Needless to say
track one was Chip Taylor's "The Real Thing".
In 1986 I was about to record another project so we contacted Chip to ask what he had in the way
of tunes. He sent me a tape of two songs one being "Clean Your Own Tables" which I was already
familiar with from the Last Chance album. The other song was a ballad titled "Stealin' Each Other
Blind", Chip thought it may not be my style but it was one of his personal favorites. To tell
the truth I wasn't exactly knocked out by the song when I first heard it but thought with Chip's
track record as a songwriter, ("Wild Thing"/ "Angel Of The Morning"/"Son Of A Rotten Gambler"),
maybe I should have a closer listen. After learning the tune and singing it for a few days I
decided I'd better record it. When it was finished I passed it to Greg Sherritt who at the time
was the program director of JR country radio in Vancouver B.C. Canada. I'll be damned if it
didn't become one of the top one hundred played songs of the year.
