Chip Taylor's 1975 Country Album "This Side of the Big River" Reissued

Press release
Source: conqueroo / Cary Baker

Chip Taylor, best known for penning hits like “Wild Thing” and “Angel of the Morning” as well as his more recent critically acclaimed duo albums with Carrie Rodriguez, had a nearly secret recording career in the 1970s. Signed to Warner Bros. as a solo artist, Chip recorded three country albums, the last of which – This Side of the Big River – is about to be reissued on Collectors’ Choice Music on February 20.

The trouble with Chip Taylor recording country albums — other than that he was a New York native known for rock and pop hits — was that Warner Bros. Records didn’t have a Nashville division at the time. Taylor was Warner Nashville’s first artist. A song from his 1974 album Some of Us titled “Me As I Am” was the label’s first charting country record. Still, the albums themselves did little, and Taylor feared he’d be dropped after his two-album contract expired. Ah, but it pays to have fans at the label. A promotion man who’d been asked to stop promoting the Taylor album had promoted it on his own time at night, catapulting the song onto the charts. Finally the head of the Nashville division said, “How the hell can we drop Chip Taylor? He’s our first country hit artist.” So he got to record a third album: This Side of the River.

White Plains, N.Y. is not known as a country hotbed, but that’s where Taylor retreated to record the album. He enlisted Nashville steel player Pete Drake along with fiddler Buddy Spicher. The Jordanaires, fresh from several Elvis sessions, sang backups. Multi-instrumentalist Sandy Bull added oud to a couple of songs. Three of the basic tracks (“Big River,” “John Tucker” and “You’re Alright Charlie” – the latter a tribute to his friend and business associated Charlie Knoblock) – were lifted from a radio appearance in New Hampshire.

In addition to “You’re Alright, Charlie,” there were other songs about real-life characters. “John Tucker” is about a guy who used to frequent bars at which Taylor performed, always carrying a suitcase. There were many songs about his wife, from whom he had separated prior to recording, including “Sleepy Eyes,” “Circle the Tears” and “Holding Me Together.”

This Side of the River also housed some of Taylor’s earliest political efforts, a side of his songwriting that characterized his most recent album, Unglorious Hallelujah, just last year. “Same Ol’ Story” referred to the final throes of the Vietnam War. For some reason, the song took off in Holland where it charted at a peak position of No. 2. Taylor toured the country, playing many sold -out shows. Alas, this was not enough for Warner Bros. to commission a fourth album and he was dropped. Johnny Cash, whose mid-‘50s hit “Big River” was the album’s sole cover song, wrote a letter to DJs asking them to give Chip a listen. But the decision was final.

Taylor dropped out of sight shortly thereafter and became a professional gambler. His gambling escapades were noted in a New York Times Magazine cover story.  However, he re-emerged in the ‘90s, recording both alone and with Carrie Rodriguez on his own Trainwreck label.

Taylor recently commented on the album: “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.”

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