Chips Moman
Encyclopedia
Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman (born 1936, La Grange, Georgia
, United States
) is an American
record producer
, guitarist, and songwriter. As a record producer, Moman is known for recording
Elvis Presley
, Bobby Womack
, Carla Thomas
, and Merrilee Rush
, as well as guiding the career of the Box Tops
in Memphis, Tennessee
during the 1960s. As a songwriter, he is responsible for standards associated with Aretha Franklin
, James Carr
, Waylon Jennings
, and B. J. Thomas
. He has been a session guitarist
for Franklin and other musicians.
, Tennessee
as a teenager
, Moman played in the road bands
of Johnny Burnette
and Gene Vincent
. Settling in Los Angeles
, California
, he played guitar
on sessions recorded at the Gold Star Studios
. Back in Memphis, he began an association with Satellite Records (later Stax Records
), producing their first hit single
, Carla Thomas's 1960 "Gee Whiz." He also produced the first single for the Stax subsidiary
label
Volt, "Burnt Biscuits" b/w "Raw Dough," by the Triumphs, whose members included future Al Green and drummer
Howard Grimes
. Leaving Stax in 1964 after a monetary dispute with label founder Jim Stewart
, he began operating his own Memphis recording studio
, American Sound Studio
.
There he, along with guitarist
s Reggie Young
and Bobby Womack
, bassist
Tommy Cogbill
, pianist
and organist
Bobby Emmons, and drummer
Gene Chrisman, recorded the Box Tops, Womack, Merrilee Rush
, Mark Lindsay
(Paul Revere and the Raiders), Sandy Posey
(notably "Single Girl
"), Joe Tex
, Wilson Pickett
, Herbie Mann
and Petula Clark
. Although Dusty Springfield
's 1969 Dusty in Memphis
album
was recorded at American Sound Studios, Moman did not produce the album (that credit went jointly to Tom Dowd
, Jerry Wexler
and Arif Mardin
). During this time, Moman had a record label American Group Records (AGP), distributed by Amy-Mala-Bell.
Moman produced Elvis Presley's 1969 album
, From Elvis in Memphis
which included the hit songs "In The Ghetto
". "Suspicious Minds
" and "Kentucky Rain
".
During this period Moman co-wrote "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
" (recorded by Aretha Franklin
) with fellow Memphis producer and songwriter Dan Penn
; and "The Dark End of the Street
", which became the best-known song of the soul
singer, James Carr
.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s Moman's studio experienced an unprecedented run of hits in the music industry, producing more than 120 charting singles by pop, soul, and country artists. On several occasions during this period, more than 20 of Billboard's Hot 100 songs were produced at American Sound.
Moman married fellow songwriter Toni Wine
in the early 1970s. He left Memphis in 1971 and briefly operated a studio in Atlanta
. He then moved to Nashville
, where he produced and co-wrote a hit for B. J. Thomas, "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song
" (1975). This effort earned Moman a Grammy Award
. He also co-wrote "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)
" for Waylon Jennings, and produced albums by Willie Nelson
, Gary Stewart
, Tammy Wynette
, Ronnie Milsap
and Petula Clark. After a brief return to Memphis in the mid 1980s, during which time his attempt to open a new studio floundered, he settled in LaGrange, Georgia
, where he operated another recording studio
.
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, guitarist, and songwriter. As a record producer, Moman is known for recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
, Bobby Womack
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40...
, Carla Thomas
Carla Thomas
Carla Thomas is an American singer, who is often referred to as the Queen of Memphis Soul. She is the daughter of Rufus Thomas.-Childhood:...
, and Merrilee Rush
Merrilee Rush
-Career:As a girl, Merrilee studied classical piano for 10 years. In 1960, Rush auditioned for a band, directed by her first husband, that played sock hops. Next, she was part of Merrilee and Her Men, doing covers of male pop hits. Then she joined a Seattle rhythm and blues group called Tiny Tony...
, as well as guiding the career of the Box Tops
Box Tops
The Box Tops were a Memphis rock group of the second half of the 1960s. They are best known for the hits "The Letter," "Neon Rainbow," "Soul Deep," "I Met Her in Church," and "Cry Like A Baby," and are considered a major blue-eyed soul group of the period...
in Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
during the 1960s. As a songwriter, he is responsible for standards associated with Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
, James Carr
James Carr (musician)
James Carr , was an American Rhythm & Blues and soul singer.Born to a Baptist preacher's family in Coahoma, Mississippi, Carr began singing in church and was performing in gospel groups and making tables on an assembly line in Memphis, Tennessee, when he began recording in the mid-'60s for Goldwax...
, Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. Jennings began playing at eight. He began performing at twelve, on KVOW radio. Jennings formed a band The Texas Longhorns. Jennings worked as a D.J on KVOW, KDAV and KLLL...
, and B. J. Thomas
B. J. Thomas
Billy Joe "B. J." Thomas is an American popular singer known for his chart-topping hits in the 1960s and 1970s—appearing on the pop, adult contemporary, country and Hot 100 charts.-Career:...
. He has been a session guitarist
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
for Franklin and other musicians.
Career
After moving to MemphisMemphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
as a teenager
Adolescence
Adolescence is a transitional stage of physical and mental human development generally occurring between puberty and legal adulthood , but largely characterized as beginning and ending with the teenage stage...
, Moman played in the road bands
Band (music)
In music, a musical ensemble or band is a group of musicians that works together to perform music. The following articles concern types of musical bands:* All-female band* Big band* Boy band* Christian band* Church band* Concert band* Cover band...
of Johnny Burnette
Johnny Burnette
John Joseph "Johnny" Burnette was an American rockabilly musician. Along with his older brother Dorsey Burnette, and also a friend named Paul Burlison, Burnette was a founding member of The Rock and Roll Trio. He was the father of 1980s rockabilly singer Rocky Burnette.-Early life:Johnny Burnette...
and Gene Vincent
Gene Vincent
Vincent Eugene Craddock , known as Gene Vincent, was an American musician who pioneered the styles of rock and roll and rockabilly. His 1956 top ten hit with his Blue Caps, "Be-Bop-A-Lula", is considered a significant early example of rockabilly...
. Settling in Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, he played guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
on sessions recorded at the Gold Star Studios
Gold Star Studios
Gold Star Studios was a major independent recording studio located in Los Angeles, California, United States. For more than thirty years, from 1950 to 1984, Gold Star was one of the most influential and successful commercial recording studios in the world....
. Back in Memphis, he began an association with Satellite Records (later Stax Records
Stax Records
Stax Records is an American record label, originally based in Memphis, Tennessee.Founded in 1957 as Satellite Records, the name Stax Records was adopted in 1961. The label was a major factor in the creation of the Southern soul and Memphis soul music styles, also releasing gospel, funk, jazz, and...
), producing their first hit single
Hit single
A hit single is a recorded song or instrumental released as a single that has become very popular. Although it is sometimes used to describe any widely-played or big-selling song, the term "hit" is usually reserved for a single that has appeared in an official music chart through repeated radio...
, Carla Thomas's 1960 "Gee Whiz." He also produced the first single for the Stax subsidiary
Subsidiary
A subsidiary company, subsidiary, or daughter company is a company that is completely or partly owned and wholly controlled by another company that owns more than half of the subsidiary's stock. The subsidiary can be a company, corporation, or limited liability company. In some cases it is a...
label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
Volt, "Burnt Biscuits" b/w "Raw Dough," by the Triumphs, whose members included future Al Green and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Howard Grimes
Howard Grimes
Howard Lee Grimes is an American drummer, best known as a member of the Hi Rhythm Section on records by Al Green, Ann Peebles and others in the 1970s....
. Leaving Stax in 1964 after a monetary dispute with label founder Jim Stewart
Jim Stewart
Jim Stewart may refer to:*Jim Stewart , former Welsh cricketer who played for Warwickshire*Jim Stewart , association football goalkeeper...
, he began operating his own Memphis recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
, American Sound Studio
American Sound Studio
American Sound Studio was a recording studio located at 827 Thomas Street in Memphis, Tennessee. More than one hundred hit songs were recorded there between its founding 1967 and its closing in 1972, The music for these hits was played by the house band "The Memphis Boys", also known as the "827...
.
There he, along with guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
s Reggie Young
Reggie Young
Reggie Young was lead guitarist in the American Sound Studios Band , and is a leading session musician. He played on various recordings with artists such as Elvis Presley, B.J. Thomas, John Prine, Dusty Springfield, J.J...
and Bobby Womack
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40...
, bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
Tommy Cogbill
Tommy Cogbill
Thomas Clark Cogbill, and known as Tommy Cogbill was an American bassist and record producer.Tommy Cogbill was born in Johnson Grove, Tennessee. He was a highly sought-after session and studio musician who appeared on many now-classic recordings of the 1960s and 1970s, especially those recorded in...
, pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and organist
Organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists...
Bobby Emmons, and drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Gene Chrisman, recorded the Box Tops, Womack, Merrilee Rush
Merrilee Rush
-Career:As a girl, Merrilee studied classical piano for 10 years. In 1960, Rush auditioned for a band, directed by her first husband, that played sock hops. Next, she was part of Merrilee and Her Men, doing covers of male pop hits. Then she joined a Seattle rhythm and blues group called Tiny Tony...
, Mark Lindsay
Mark Lindsay
Mark Lindsay is an American musician, best known as the singer for the group Paul Revere & the Raiders.-Biography:Lindsay was born in Eugene, Oregon and was the second of eight children...
(Paul Revere and the Raiders), Sandy Posey
Sandy Posey
Sandy Posey is an American popular singer, who enjoyed success in the 1960s with singles such as her 1966 recording of Martha Sharpe's composition, "Single Girl." She is often described as a country singer, although, like Skeeter Davis her output has varied...
(notably "Single Girl
Single Girl
Single Girl was the title of a song by Martha Sharpe that was an international hit for American singer Sandy Posey from late 1966 to early 1967.-Recording by Sandy Posey :...
"), Joe Tex
Joe Tex
Joseph Arrington, Jr. , better known as "Joe Tex", was an American Southern soul singer-songwriter, most popular during the 1960s and 1970s...
, Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett
Wilson Pickett was an American R&B/Soul singer and songwriter.A major figure in the development of American soul music, Pickett recorded over 50 songs which made the US R&B charts, and frequently crossed over to the US Billboard Hot 100...
, Herbie Mann
Herbie Mann
Herbert Jay Solomon , better known as Herbie Mann, was a Jewish American jazz flutist and important early practitioner of world music...
and Petula Clark
Petula Clark
Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...
. Although Dusty Springfield
Dusty Springfield
Mary Isobel Catherine Bernadette O'BrienSources use both Isabel and Isobel as the spelling of her second name. OBE , known professionally as Dusty Springfield and dubbed The White Queen of Soul, was a British pop singer whose career extended from the late 1950s to the 1990s...
's 1969 Dusty in Memphis
Dusty in Memphis
Dusty in Memphis is a landmark album by Dusty Springfield, released in 1969. It was produced by Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin and engineered by Tom Dowd. "So Much Love", "Son of a Preacher Man", "The Windmills Of Your Mind", "Breakfast in Bed", "Just One Smile", "I Don't Want to Hear It Anymore",...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
was recorded at American Sound Studios, Moman did not produce the album (that credit went jointly to Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd
Tom Dowd was an American recording engineer and producer for Atlantic Records. He was credited with innovating the multi-track recording method. Dowd worked on a virtual "who's who" of recordings that encompassed blues, jazz, pop, rock and soul records.- Early years :Born in Manhattan, Dowd grew...
, Jerry Wexler
Jerry Wexler
Gerald "Jerry" Wexler was a music journalist turned music producer, and was regarded as one of the major record industry players behind music from the 1950s through the 1980s...
and Arif Mardin
Arif Mardin
Arif Mardin was a Turkish-American music producer, who worked with hundreds of artists across many different styles of music, including jazz, rock, soul, disco, and country...
). During this time, Moman had a record label American Group Records (AGP), distributed by Amy-Mala-Bell.
Moman produced Elvis Presley's 1969 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
, From Elvis in Memphis
From Elvis in Memphis
From Elvis in Memphis is the thirty-fifth album by American rock and roll icon Elvis Presley, released on RCA Records LSP 4155, in June 1969. Recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis, between January 13–16 and 20–23, and February 17–22, 1969...
which included the hit songs "In The Ghetto
In the Ghetto
"In the Ghetto" is a song recorded by Elvis Presley and published by Elvis Presley Music in 1969. It was written by Mac Davis and made famous by Elvis Presley who had a major comeback hit with the song in 1969. It was released in 1969 as a 45 rpm single with "Any Day Now" as the flip side...
". "Suspicious Minds
Suspicious Minds
"Suspicious Minds" is a song written by American songwriter Mark James that, after the failure of his own recording, was handed to Elvis Presley by producer Chips Moman becoming one of his most notable hits and a number one in 1969, "Suspicious Minds" was widely regarded as the single that returned...
" and "Kentucky Rain
Kentucky Rain
"Kentucky Rain" was a 1970 hit song for Elvis Presley. Featuring then-unknown pianist Ronnie Milsap and written by Eddie Rabbitt and Dick Heard, the single peaked at number 16 on the pop charts....
".
During this period Moman co-wrote "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
Do Right Woman, Do Right Man
"Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" is a single by Aretha Franklin. It was released in March 1967. Rolling Stone listed it as number 476 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.-Production:...
" (recorded by Aretha Franklin
Aretha Franklin
Aretha Louise Franklin is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, gospel music, and rock. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All...
) with fellow Memphis producer and songwriter Dan Penn
Dan Penn
Dan Penn is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and sometime guitar player who co-wrote many soul hits of the 1960s including "Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" and "Out of Left Field" & "Cry Like A Baby"...
; and "The Dark End of the Street
The Dark End of the Street
"The Dark End of the Street" is a 1967 soul song written by Muscle Shoals songwriters Dan Penn and Chips Moman and first performed by James Carr...
", which became the best-known song of the soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singer, James Carr
James Carr (musician)
James Carr , was an American Rhythm & Blues and soul singer.Born to a Baptist preacher's family in Coahoma, Mississippi, Carr began singing in church and was performing in gospel groups and making tables on an assembly line in Memphis, Tennessee, when he began recording in the mid-'60s for Goldwax...
.
During the late 1960s and early 1970s Moman's studio experienced an unprecedented run of hits in the music industry, producing more than 120 charting singles by pop, soul, and country artists. On several occasions during this period, more than 20 of Billboard's Hot 100 songs were produced at American Sound.
Moman married fellow songwriter Toni Wine
Toni Wine
Toni Wine is an American pop music songwriter, who wrote songs for such artists as The Mindbenders , Tony Orlando and Dawn , Elvis Presley, and Checkmates Ltd. in the late 1960s and 1970s...
in the early 1970s. He left Memphis in 1971 and briefly operated a studio in Atlanta
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. He then moved to Nashville
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, where he produced and co-wrote a hit for B. J. Thomas, "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song
(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song
" Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song" is an American country and pop song made famous by B.J. Thomas.The song became Thomas' second number-one single on the Billboard Hot 100 in April 1975. In addition, it ascended to the top of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart three weeks after...
" (1975). This effort earned Moman a Grammy Award
Grammy Awards of 1976
The 18th Grammy Awards were held February 28, 1976, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1975.- Award winners :*Record of the Year...
. He also co-wrote "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)
Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)
"Luckenbach, Texas " is a popular song sung by Waylon Jennings released in April 1977, at the height of outlaw country on the hit album Ol' Waylon...
" for Waylon Jennings, and produced albums by Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, Gary Stewart
Gary Stewart (singer)
Gary Stewart was a country musician and songwriter known for his distinctive vibrato voice and his southern rock influenced, outlaw country sound...
, Tammy Wynette
Tammy Wynette
Virginia Wynette Pugh, known professionally as Tammy Wynette , was an American country music singer-songwriter and one of the genre's best-known artists and biggest-selling female vocalists....
, Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Milsap
Ronnie Lee Milsap is an American country music singer and pianist. He was one of country’s most popular and influential performers of the 1970s and 1980s...
and Petula Clark. After a brief return to Memphis in the mid 1980s, during which time his attempt to open a new studio floundered, he settled in LaGrange, Georgia
LaGrange, Georgia
LaGrange is a city in Troup County, Georgia, United States. It is named after the country estate near Paris of the Marquis de La Fayette, who visited the area in 1825. The population was 24,998 at the 2000 census...
, where he operated another recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
.