Chip Mergott has been a performing songwriter for most of his adult life. In the mid-70s he was a member of the popular Central Jersey soft rock group "Bittersweet," who went on to have several hits on RCA Records as "Baillie and the Boys," and by 1978 he was signed as a solo artist to London Records (and as a writer to their publishing branch, Burlington Music). He was also "discovered" around this time by Bonnie Raitt, who has described him as "one of my favorite songwriters."
"Bridges," the album he recorded for London Records in 1978/79 was produced by David Spinozza, who also produced James Taylor's "Walking Man," among others. The stellar cast of musicians included the late Richard Tee, Rick Marotta, Michael Brecker, Elliot Randall, Hugh McCracken, John Tropea, and Spinozza himself. Among the rare few that have heard it are those who consider "Bridges" to be one of the great "lost" singer-songwriter albums from the genre's golden era.
London folded their New York Pop Music Division in 1979 and after years of legal wrangling, Chip finally released the album to radio in 1985 (long before the current trend toward independent labels) and although it received considerable national airplay, it was never distributed to the public (Notebook Records is planning to have it remastered for compact disc in the near future). The title track, "Don't Burn the Bridges," co-written by Chip with Alan LeBoeuf, was scheduled for inclusion, then dropped.
In 1987 Chip released an E.P. on vinyl with the band "The Stingers" called "Roomful of Noise," an album he now consideres an ill-conceived attempt at becoming a "rocker," a role he was not well-suited for. In 1989, "My Home isn't in this World" was Notebook Records' first CD release. Including guest vocalists "Glad," it also received significant airplay around the country but was not available commercially until its recent inclusion on the Notebook Records website (www.notebookrecords.com), where audio samples are available. It was a "concept" album with a spiritual theme that reflects Chip's own Christian beliefs.
In the 1990s, Chip hosted a radio show for 5 years dedicated to the art of songwriting, "Rhythm and News," on WDVR-FM. During that decade, he met and married folksinger and songwriter Annie Bauerlein (and produced her debut CD "Mugsy is Fine." He also had songs published in Nashville and recorded his first Contemporary Christian/Gospel CD.
Chip has also recorded a series of solo guitar arrangements including "Hymns for Acoustic Guitar," an all-acoustic guitar instrumental collection of classic old hymns, and "Silent Night," a collection of Christmas Carols. In 2004, Chip released "In a Quiet Moment.," This recording is a testimony: personal reflections on a spiritual journey and meditations on the Christian faith that are central to the album's theme. The main body of the CD begins and ends with two different renditions of "Jesus Loves Me," (the only non-original song), and includes four bonus tracks. One of the bonus tracks, "There is a River," was taken directly from Psalm 46, and has been performed by Chip at the National Day of Prayer. He teaches guitar and songwriting in the Delaware Valley region and accompanies Annie in a variety of folk venues through the Northeast.
