“I Can’t Let Go” by Evie Sands

What do Linda Ronstadt, Jimi Hendrix, The Troggs, The Ventures, The Hollies, Juice Newton, Jon Voight and Angelina Jolie have in common? Chip Taylor. His most notable songs “Wild Thing” and “Angel of the Morning” were covered by those musicians, and Voight and Jolie are family members.

In 1965, Taylor teamed up with singer Evie Sands. She had recently charted with her regional hit “Take Me For a Little While,” but still hadn’t found national acclaim. She recorded Taylor’s “I Can’t Let Go,” which again found modest success, but was then overshadowed by the Hollies version which made it to #2 on the UK charts. This trend would continue for Sands after she was the first to record Taylor’s “Angel of the Morning,” only to see Merrilee Rush’s version become a top ten hit with a Grammy Award nomination. 

In 1969, Sands finely found chart success and national acclaim with another Taylor song. The single “Any Way That You Want Me” made it to #53, although the album, while considered a masterpiece today, was overshadowed by other artists of the era.
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Evie Sands is an extremely talented singer whose career was marred by label bankruptcies, mismanagement, and poor timing. She never received the world wide acclaim and credit she deserves but I hope one day she will.