Chips Moman

Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman (born June 12, 1937 in La Grange , Georgia ; † June 13, 2016 ibid) was an American music producer , composer and guitarist who shaped the development of the Memphis sound and thus the soul music of the 1960s and 1970s and put some accents in country music .

Life

Member of rockabilly bands

Thomas Wayne - This Time

His parents, Mildred Magnolia Deberry and Abraham Lincoln Moman, worked in textile factories. Moman learned to play the guitar as early as 1940, in 1951 he moved to an aunt in Memphis and worked there as a house painter. With the local Sun Records he accompanied Warren Smith on tour in 1956 , in 1957 he played guitar in the accompaniment group of Dorsey Burnette , but did not yet take part in recordings. Then he trained as a sound engineer Stan Ross at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles. In 1958 he appeared in the accompanying group of Thomas Wayne , for whom Moman wrote his first song This Time , which was recorded in March 1958 for the small label Fernwood Records (# 106), but did not hit the charts in this original version. The cover version of Troy Shondell, published in September 1961, became a hit and climbed to number 6 on the pop charts. In 1959 he was briefly a member of the Bluecaps (backing band of Gene Vincent ), which he left when they were playing in Memphis. There he met Jim Stewart from Stax Records and suggested that instead of country he should prefer the more popular Rhythm & Blues in the repertoire of the young record label.

Stax Records

Charles Heinz - Destiny

In August 1959 Moman played the guitar as a studio musician on the first single in the Satellite Records catalog, as Stax was still operating at that time. At the same time he appears as co-author of the A-side of the Veltones single Fool in Love (Satellite # 100). Also on the second single in the catalog, Prove Your Love / Destiny (# 101), published in August 1960 by Charles Heinz , Moman plays in the studio band and is registered as the sole composer of the B-side.

In 1960, Moman found an empty cinema for Stax Records on East McLemore Avenue, which he largely helped convert into a recording studio . He was now a fully integrated member of the Stax staff, and Jim Stewart made Moman believe that he had a 25% stake in Stax Records. His functions at Stax began with working as a studio guitarist, he composed songs and worked his way up from sound engineer to producer. He became the record company's most important producer. In August 1960 he was in charge of the recording of Gee Whiz (Look at His Eyes) by Carla Thomas in the new recording studio . In January 1961 the piece was published under Atlantic # 2086 and climbed to number five on the R&B charts and number 10 on the pop charts with record sales of 500,000 copies. In September 1960 he produced an even more successful hit for the label, namely the instrumental title Last Night by the Mar-Keys . After its release in June 1961, it climbed to number two on the R&B charts and number three on the pop hit parade and was sold over a million times. In the spring of 1961, the Carla Thomas album Gee Whiz was produced around the title track and became the first album in the Stax catalog. The Mar-Keys recorded the album named after their hit Last Night in September 1961 , produced by Moman and released in October 1961 as Atlantic # 8055. In November 1961 he produced William Bell's country soul ballad You Don't Miss Your Water , which sold 200,000 copies but only reached 95th place on the pop charts. He played guitar with the Triumphs, the first group with white and black musicians in the still segregated Memphis, whose B-side Raw Dough he composed and produced in November 1961.

Own recording studios

The reason why Moman left Stax Records at the end of 1961 is controversial in the specialist literature, because everyone involved expressed completely different views on this. He was probably arguing about the mistake of being a partner in Stax Records, which, however, belonged 100% to Jim Stewart and Estelle Axton . His lawyer and music business connoisseur Seymour Rosenberg achieved a settlement payment of US $ 3,000 for missing producer royalties to Moman, who, however, did not immediately find a new job.

In early 1963, Moman and the farmer Donald H. Crews founded the American Sound Studio on Thomas Street in Northern Memphis with financial support from Seymour Rosenberg . Don Crews, who acted as office manager and administrator, had connections with the music world: he knew guitarist Reggie Young and had gone to school with country singer Narvel Felts . Rosenberg had been managing Charlie Rich and Isaac Hayes since 1961 before his Stax stint, but sold his stake in Chips Moman in 1964. First, very spartan with a mono tape recorder and two Ampex - mixing consoles equipped, they tried to establish itself in the abundant equipped with record companies and recording studios city.

The founding phase of the new recording studios has not been clarified in terms of music history. One of the first interpreters of the new recording studio was probably Isaac Hayes , who did not work for Stax Records. He made his first single here in late 1962 with Tommy Cogbill on bass guitar. Laura, We're on the Last Go-Round , produced by Moman, was released in 1963 by Youngstown without any resonance. Written here in September 1962 for Jimmy Evans , who started at Sun Records in 1955, under the production direction of Moman That Mexican Limbo / You Put Those Tears in My Eyes (Zone # 1062), released in October 1962.

Gentrys - Keep on Dancing

The Ovations , which are under contract with the Memphis label Goldwax Records , were produced by Moman Dance Party / It's Wonderful to Be in Love , with a 31st place the first chart note for the small label and the recording studio in May 1965. They were accompanied by the later core the studio tape of the recording studio. From the Bill Black Combo came Bobby Wood (piano / organ), joined by Tommy Cogbill (bass) and Gene Chrisman (drums). In 1965 two other members of the Bill Black Combo completed the studio band with guitarist Reggie Young (Gibson 330) and Bobby Emmons .

White Memphis students contributed to the first hit for American Recording Studios. First, the Gentrys recorded the unsuccessful single Sometimes (I Cry) in December 1964 , before the fast-paced garage Rock Keep on Dancing with the distinctive Farfisa organ break was created here in June 1965 . One take was enough, but with a playing time of 1½ minutes the track was too short for the producer Moman. “We faded it out too early until the last drum beat and therefore added another recording loop,” Moman recalled, recalling the record, which was of poor quality by the standards of the time. The dance record with only three chords was released in September 1965 and reached number four on the pop charts and million seller status .

Sandy Posey was employed as a telephone operator at American Studios, and she demonstrated her singing ambitions as a background singer with Tommy Roe and Joe Tex . This led to the first recordings in March 1965 as Sandy Carmel and Kiss Me Goodnight , produced by Bill Justis . When Moman heard her demo recording of Born a Woman , he saw an enormous hit potential here. Due to technical studio problems, Moman produced the country pop title on March 15, 1966 at Columbia Studios in Nashville, the backing band consisted of Scotty Moore (lead guitar), Tommy Cogbill (guitar), Mike Leech (bass), Larry Butler (piano ) and Ronnie Capone (drums). With a rank of 12, the record only met with moderate response in the pop hit parade. Moman's idea to present her voice in overdubbing also became her hallmark for other singles such as Single Girl . In total, Moman produced 15 titles for Posey.

Box tops - The Letter

Wayne Carson Thompson had Moman produce the solo title My Little Noise Maker written by Thompson in December 1966 . Shortly afterwards he wrote the song The Letter , which the white group Box Tops had produced by Dan Penn because Moman was not available. The song, which is only 1:58 minutes long, is characteristic of blue-eyed soul , as it was especially created at American Studios. The line of text "Give me a ticket for an airplane" was based on the idea of ​​Thompson's father, and Wayne completed the text about a young man longing for his girlfriend who is also not afraid of the plane distance to her. Thompson played guitar during the recording. Dan Penn built in airplane sounds , violins, and a Hammond B3 organ riff. Released in June 1967, one of the shortest titles in pop music history was the first to reach first rank in the pop hit parade for American Studios, which it held for four weeks. With four million copies it was also the best-selling hit from the recording studio.

James Carr, soul singer with Goldwax Records , recorded his first album You Got My Mind Messed Up here in March 1966 , the title track of which was released as a single and reached number seven on the R&B charts. The Dark End of the Street , composed by Moman with Dan Penn, was released in February 1967 and reached number ten on the R&B charts. In 1967, producer Jerry Wexler brought an as yet unsuccessful Aretha Franklin to FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama , where Chips Moman played lead guitar for I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) in January 1967 and the B- Composed page Do Right Woman-Do Right Man . Wexler was not satisfied with the technical standard of American Studios and gave Moman an advance of $ 5,000 for better studio equipment. Moman was then given the opportunity to make better use of the still underutilized studios with recording jobs for Esther Phillips , Wilson Pickett , Solomon Burke , Don Covay , King Curtis , Arthur Conley , Dusty Springfield and Herbie Mann . However, Atlantic sent Arif Mardin and longtime sound engineer Tom Dowd as producer . Hooked on a Feeling , released in October 1968, became the second million seller for BJ Thomas , produced by Moman. Even Neil Diamond tried his comeback by shooting in Momans studios and took in 1969 Sweet Caroline , Holly Holy and Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show on with the core of the studio band.

Elvis returns to Memphis

Elvis Presley had only entered three recording studios in his long career, namely Sun Records , Hollywood Recorders in Los Angeles and the RCA Nashville studio. He hadn't had a top 10 hit since June 1965 and returned to Memphis to record after 14 years. Memphis Mafia member Marty Lacker had long advised Presley to go to American Sound Studios. This involved a complete change in style, because Presley sang titles of new composers with partly different content. In January 1969 these studios were booked for ten days. The studio musicians included Reggie Young (guitar / sitar / dobro), Elvis Presley (guitar / piano), Bobby Wood (piano), Ed Kollis (harmonica), John Hughey (steel guitar), Tommy Cogbill and Mike Leech (bass guitar) , Bobby Emmons (organ) and Gene Chrisman (drums). The brass section consisted of RF Taylor and Wayne Jackson (trumpet), Jackie Thomas, Ed Logan and Jack Hale (trombone) and Andrew Lowe (saxophone). A total of 32 tracks were recorded, which were distributed on the albums From Elvis in Memphis (June 1969) and Back in Memphis (November 1970).

The titles that brought Elvis Presley back to the top of the charts and ushered in an artistic new beginning should be highlighted. In the Ghetto was created on January 21, 1969 , on 23/24. January 1969 Suspicious Minds . The latter was not an original, because composer Mark James had the song produced by Chips Moman between May and September 1968, and he sold a total of twelve pieces. Moman, convinced that Presley was the missing ingredient in the hit, presented it with the original, and he was ready to cover it with a similar arrangement, most of the studio musicians and the same producer. The track started at the end of a nightly session at 4 a.m. and finished at 8 a.m. after eight takes . The choir was not added until the evening of January 24th, the violins (12 violins) were added on March 18th, and the wind sections and mixing followed on August 7th in the United Recording Studio in Las Vegas . It was Moman's idea on August 7th to fade out the song after 3:52 minutes of playing time and fade in another loop, which then led to a total length of 4:31 minutes. After it was released on August 26, 1969, the song became a million seller about the distrust that destroys a love. In the Ghetto, previously published in April 1969, about the hopelessness of young people in the ghetto up to their milieu-related death, achieved the status of million seller in June 1969. Both singles were sold at least 1.5 million times worldwide. Moman is one of the only three producers of Elvis Presley , along with Sam Phillips and Steve Sholes. He intervened intensively as a producer at Presley by giving him musical instructions inaudible, almost in a whisper, for the other participants.

More productions

With Elvis Presley, Chips Moman had managed to return a “relic” to hit status for the professional world, which had a positive effect on the studio's utilization. With her album Soulful in April 1969 , Dionne Warwick renounced her long-standing, successful composers and producers Burt Bacharach and Hal David for the first time in order to confide in Moman. He used the studio band to produce cover versions of famous pop and soul hits in rhythm and blues style. Joe Tex came to the studios on October 10, 1969 to record You're Right and When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again I Can't See You No More . Moman also produced Brenda Lee from April 2, 1970 (a total of 13 tracks in three sessions). Joe Tex's I Gotcha was one of the last hits out of the studios under the previous ownership structure in December 1971. Country star Ronnie Milsap made his first recordings at American Sound Studios in 1965 and had it produced there until mid-1971 until Moman left.

The studio tape

The studio band was called "827 Thomas Street Band" (The Memphis Boys) after the address of the recording studio and consisted of the session musicians Bobby Wood (piano), Bobby Emmons (piano / organ), Reggie Young (guitar), Tommy Cogbill and Mike Leech (bass) and Gene Chrisman (drums). The wind section also consisted of the Memphis Horns : Wayne Jackson (trumpet / flute), Bob Taylor (trumpet), Jack Hale and Jackie Thomas (trombone), Andrew Love (saxophone), Ed Logan (tenor and baritone saxophone), James Mitchell ( Baritone saxophone) and Charlie Chalmers (tenor saxophone). In addition to the regular band, Ed Kollis (harmonica), Johnny Christopher (rhythm guitar), Spooner Oldham (piano / organ), Hayward Bishop (drums) and Shane Keister (keyboards) played.

staff

Moman got ambitious people whom he hired as composers and studio musicians. First up was Wayne Carson Thompson, a former member of Tommy Burk & the Counts. He played guitar on recordings and wrote the great hits of the Box Tops. Dan Penn was also responsible for important compositions. In 1967, Lindon "Spooner" Oldham joined as a keyboard player, who also produced and composed. With Mark James, a composer joined the team, with whose help Elvis Presley's career received a new boost.

Processes

Moman and Crews owned the studios between 1964 and early 1970. Farmer Donald H. Crews left the studios after suing his partner Moman for $ 1.8 million in May 1970. Crews claimed that Moman had fraudulently and deceitfully collected the proceeds from box-tops records for himself, although only half was due to him; Moman responded with a counterclaim for $ 1.23 million in July 1970. Moman initially continued to run American Studios on his own, and Stan Kesler joined forces in 1971 , after which Tommy Cogbill and Presley confidante Marty Lacker were the owners until mid-1972. The last recordings took place on May 15, 1972 for Paul Davis, on June 3, 1972 Moman moved with the remaining studio crew to Atlanta.

Nashville

As early as 1975, Moman went to the country capital Nashville with the core of the Memphis Boys and produced country music . The studio band, which actually specializes in "Southern Soul", demonstrated great flexibility in country recordings. He opened his new Chip Moman's studio in the middle of the famous recording studios on Music Row . Here he composed the hit (Hey, Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song by BJ Thomas together with Larry Butler in 1975 , which sold a million times and received a Grammy Award for best country song . The title, published in January 1975, occupied the number one pop and country hit parade. From December 1976 he produced Waylon Jennings in Nashville , and on January 7, 1977 Moman composed Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love) here , which, after being released in April 1977, was number 1 in the C&W charts for six weeks Jennings' biggest hit became. Jennings recorded most of his tracks here during that phase, including the country hits Take It to the Limit (recorded in October 1981 / November 1982, released April 1983; rank 8). On October 3, 1984, the country stars Willie Nelson , Johnny Cash , Kris Kristofferson and Waylon Jennings met in the studio and played the track Highwayman , which was number 1 on the C&W charts in May 1985. The title City of New Orleans starring Willie Nelson, recorded on October 7, 1983 and published in August 1984, did just that.

Earl Scruggs , a sought-after guitar and banjo studio musician, recorded ten tracks here in January 1978. Willie Nelson first appeared on October 11, 1981, when he recorded a cover version of Always on My Mind (composer: Wayne Carson Thompson) (released March 1982, No. 1), which subsequently sold two million copies. He returned to Chips Moman's Studio on June 8, 1982, where he made ten recordings, including Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning (December 1984, No. 2); on November 9, 1982, Pancho and Lefty (April 1983, No. 1) was written for Merle Haggard & Willie Nelson . Nelson returned regularly to Moman's Studios through September 1984. Moman played his Gibson Super 400 guitar for most of the recordings . His busy studios in Nashville only produced country music, after ten years he closed them in late 1985 after producing Johnny Cash & Waylon Jennings with the titles Love Is the Way / American by Birth on December 5, 1985 .

Return to Memphis and retire

In 1985 Moman returned to Memphis to produce the recordings for the album Class of '55 with Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison , Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins . Starting in September 1985, ten tracks were created for an album that brought the most important commonality of the four artists to the fore: their first successes with Sun Records in 1955. From March 17, 1988, ten were created with Moman for Nelson in the Alarm Recording Studios in Memphis Title. In 1990 Moman produced the album Highwaymen II (released February 1990).

The American studio in Memphis, however, was reopened by William "Bill" Glore before 1982, he remained the owner until it was demolished in 1989. On November 9, 1982, Glore supervised the recording of Jimmy Evans' Pink Cadillac as a producer . The gambler Moman (hence his nickname "Chips") moved to his native Troup County (Georgia) in 1996 and largely withdrew from the music business.

statistics

Between 1965 and 1971 American Sound Studios brought a total of 125 singles into the charts. Guitarist Reggie Young played 155 tracks between 1967 and 1972, including the R&B charts. American had produced a total of 41 gold records through 1972. In addition to the aforementioned artists, Ivory Joe Hunter , John Prine , Tony Joe White not only recorded with Chips Moman, but also with producers like Jerry Wexler and Rick Hall. Moman wrote over 100 tracks, starting with This Time , which became a hit for Troy Shondell. BMI has registered a total of 99 titles for Moman, eight of which received a BMI award. He wrote Do Right Woman, Do Right Man (for Aretha Franklin; March 1967) and Waylon Jennings' Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love) , which received a BMI award. The Interviews from the Class of '55 Recording Sessions were awarded a Grammy in 1985 in the “Best Spoken Word Album” category.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Official statement of Troup County from June 11, 2010. ( Memento of the original from February 10, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 11 kB) 
2. ↑ Legendary record Producer Chips Moman dies at the age of 79. In: wmcactionnews5.com , June 14, 2016. Retrieved on August 22, 2018.
3. ^ Hugh Gregory, Soul Music AZ , 1991, p. 163.
4. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 155.
5. ↑ Billboard magazine of October 30, 1961, p. 4 ( digitized in the Google book search).
6. ↑ Billboard Magazine of May 22, 1971, American Recording Studios , p. 34 ( digitized in the Google book search).
7. ^ Rob Bowman, Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records , 1995, p. 35.
8. ^ Roben Jones: Memphis Boys: The Story of American Studios. 2010, p. 17 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
9. ^ Robert Gordon, It Came from Memphis , 2001, p. 99.
10. ^ Roben Jones: Memphis Boys: The Story of American Studios. 2010, p. 22 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
11. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 207.
12. ^ Roben Jones: Memphis Boys: The Story of American Studios. 2010, p. 79 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
13. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 236.
14. ↑ As well as February 28 and March 18, mix on August 7 and 8.
15. ↑ James wrote a total of five songs for Elvis Presley.
16. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, pp. 289 f.
17. ^ Roben Jones: Memphis Boys: The Story of American Studios. 2010, p. 15 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
18. ↑ James Dickerson, Goin 'Back to Memphis , 1995, p. 164.
19. ↑ Billboard magazine of July 25, 1970, p. 8 ( digitized version in the Google book search)
20. ^ Roben Jones: Memphis Boys: The Story of American Studios. 2010, p. 365 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
21. ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 409.
22. ^ Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top40 Country Hits , 2006, p. 245.
23. ↑ BMI entry for Chips Moman .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )
24. ↑ Only the second platinum country song.