Let Us Now Praise Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman

[drjohncarpenter]

The jan-feb. 1969 session is one of the best recording sessions in Elvis' career; perhaps the best of all?.

colonel snow

Probably only to equal with March/April 1960 which also had fantastic output.

Don't forget June '58 and Sept '56!

American Sound 1969 is without argument his last great series of recording sessions, a success on every level.

But for specific session dates I'd probably rank this first:

July 11, 1955
I Forgot to Remember to Forget
Mystery Train
Tryin' to Get to You
- Sun Studio, Memphis

Followed closely by these, to round out a "top ten":

July 5-6, 1954
Harbor Lights
I Love You Because
That's All Right
Blue Moon of Kentucky
- Sun Studio, Memphis


January 10-11, 1956
I Got A Woman
Heartbreak Hotel
Money Honey
I'm Counting On You
I Was The One
- RCA Studios, Nashville


July 2, 1956
Hound Dog
Don't Be Cruel
Any Way You Want Me
- RCA Studios, New York


April 30, 1957
Jailhouse Rock
Treat Me Nice
Young and Beautiful
- Radio Recorders, West Hollywood


June 10-11, 1958
I Need Your Love Tonight
A Big Hunk O' Love
Ain't That Loving You Baby
(Now And Then There's) A Fool Such as I
I Got Stung
- RCA Studio B, Nashville


March 20-21, 1960
Make Me Know It
Soldier Boy
Stuck on You
Fame and Fortune
A Mess Of Blues
It Feels So Right
- RCA Studio B, Nashville


April 3-4, 1960
Fever
Like A Baby
It's Now or Never
The Girl Of My Best Friend
Dirty, Dirty Feeling
Thrill Of Your Love
I Gotta Know
Such A Night
Are You Lonesome To-night?
The Girl Next Door Went A'Walking
I Will Be Home Again
Reconsider Baby
- RCA Studio B, Nashville


January 22-23, 1969
Without Love (There Is Nothing)
I'll Hold You In My Heart (Till I Can Hold You In My Arms)
I'll Be There
Suspicious Minds
- American Sound Studio, Memphis


February 19-20, 1969
Kentucky Rain
Only The Strong Survive
- American Sound Studio, Memphis

[fn2drive]

Great list and hard to take exception. Perhaps i would add the Sun session that produced Blue Moon- it remains haunting and mysterious. I wouldnt delete any in your list however.

[Kylan]

Let us pray together. Pray together. Pray and we'll rejoice. The love of God is on our side....


I wonder if they had any room on his birth certificate for anything else besides all his names!

[Lover Doll]

Great stuff, thank you Doc.

[drjohncarpenter]

Many thanks for a wonderful topic, as always well-researched. I have never seen that picture of Elvis and the American houseband in such high quality. I will play those FTD's tonight, you have really whet my appetite! Elvis in 1969, an unbeatable force.

Thanks. I had been meaning to generate this topic for a few weeks, but life kept getting in the way. Yesterday, a window of opportunity presented itself, I grabbed the "Memphis American Trilogy," stretched out on the couch and began listening, reading, researching and writing. It had been a long while since I'd spent time with the Elvis of January-February 1969, and what a pleasure it was to catch up once again. For some reason I decided to play the second disc first on each album. It really flowed, and I must say the sequencing on the Follow That Dream sets is a pleasure. It is obvious a good deal of time and effort went into organizing the released masters, outtakes, unfinished masters and unissued instrumentals into something both educational and edifying.

Man, that house band was just so good, take after take. And I noticed anew how fluid arrangements could be in early takes. For example, pay close attention to how drummer Gene Chrisman's rhythmic patterns evolve during the session for "Kentucky Rain." The best work is, naturally, on the final takes, especially the one chosen for release.

Do let us know what you rediscover in your listening tonight.

[Joe Car]

Great, great thread Doc. It was always special to see Elvis elevate his "game" when around people who pushed him harder and were tops in their field as Chips certainly was. As a fan, the Memphis 69 sessions were phenomenal and produced not only fantastic music, but vocals from Elvis that were and are still breathtaking to listen to, even some 46 years after the fact.

[drjohncarpenter]

Thanks, Doc. Oh, my God! Elvis with Chips Moman, 2 giants! What a great and refreshing topic after Goldman's book, Kissin' Cousins and so on.

It's called redressing the balance. I am very pleased you noticed.

Excellent and informative article, thank you, John: I also devoured that book and found it illuminating.

The band picture is the best I've seen from those sessions, thank you.

How I wish all of the 1-13-1969 images from Dan Penn's boxy Polaroid camera, a Christmas gift from Chips just three weeks earlier, would be properly presented for publication.

It may have been this model:

1968 Polaroid 215.JPG

1968 Polaroid Model 215 camera

[Juan Luis]

How I wish this appreciation thread for Chips had not been built upon knocking another producer with selected quotes for contrast/comparison. Chips Moman (that's how he calls himself) shines on his own.

[fn2drive]

How I wish this appreciation thread for Chips had not been built upon knocking another producer with selected quotes for contrast/comparison. Chips Moman (that's how he calls himself) shines on his own.

In a world where everyone receives participation medals, stating the facts about the shortcomings of Felton Jarvis isnt knocking the man. Doc is merely laying out facts including the opinion of some world class musicians. He is correct to do so. If everyone was capable of equal contribution, there would be no Halls of Fame to recognize the best- we would let everyone in because they tried.

[drjohncarpenter]

Absolutely loved your post doc. The sessions are my favourites and love the FTDs CD releases, and it must be said the excellent FTD vinyl releases, a great way to listen to them too.

Thanks for putting the effort in doc - I know it takes time.

Indeed it did, but all the positive feedback makes it worth the effort. Check out the links at the bottom of the post, the two newspaper articles are quite revealing, and the blog is simply a wild ride, all three parts. You come away for these really "getting" how Chips Moman did his thing. And his stake in rock 'n' roll history is more than just the Elvis sessions, and more than American Sound's incredible legacy. He was involved in some recordings before and after we all take for granted today, as musician, arranger, composer, producer or sometimes all four.

[Matthew]

Yesterday on my commute to work I got through all the American Sound masters that I have loaded on my iPod Nano:

Long Black Limousine - Wearin' That Loved On Look - You'll Think Of Me - I'm Movin' On - A Little Bit Of Green - Gentle On My Mind - Don't Cry Daddy - Inherit the Wind - My Little Friend - In The Ghetto - Rubberneckin' - Without Love - I'll Hold You In My Heart - Suspicious Minds - Stranger In My Own Home Town - True Love Travels on a Gravel Road - And The Grass Won't pay No Mind - Power of my Love - After Loving You - Kentucky Rain - Only The Strong Survive - It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin' - Any Day Now

(Yes the commute can be this long!)

Anyway, the concluding notes of Any Day Now rang out as I was nearing the office. These are all masters running on my iPod from Complete Masters, so they run in sequence and on. I do not have In Person or On Stage loaded from the set and nothing from Change of Habit currently on there, so once these masters conclude it's on to June 1970 if I let it play on....

(sigh)

The opening notes of Twenty Days and Twenty Nights begin and something unexpected happened, I felt an emotional come-down from the musical high I had just experienced with my hour or so of just listening to one committed performance after another from those 1969 masters. I knew that what I was now hearing was a step-down and that I would mentally need to re-adjust my expectations, to ease off the gas so to speak, to align myself with vibe of the music now playing.

I didn't bother continuing through Nashville 1970 on the way home, even through I enjoy immensely a chunk of that music.

Those Memphis 1969 session where Elvis' last truly great sessions.

[drjohncarpenter]

Fabulous topic Doc from my favourite sessions…..and a true highlight from my trip last year to Memphis being at the ceremony for the Marker unveiling

Thank you. You will want to check out the article link about that ceremony. Very cool you attended. I have heard Chips is not in the best of health, another reason I wanted to get this topic up on FECC. He deserves these accolades right now.

[bajo]

Great stuff, as always, Doc! It's good to be reminded of the real "good times" in between!

[jurasic1968]

Doc, just one comment: thanks a lot for your list of Elvis greatest recording sessions. Maybe I am biased right now, but I think the one of April 3 and 4 1960 it's the greatest of all.

[Juan Luis]

Fabulous topic Doc from my favourite sessions…..and a true highlight from my trip last year to Memphis being at the ceremony for the Marker unveiling

Thank you. You will want to check out the article link about that ceremony. Very cool you attended. I have heard Chips is not in the best of health, another reason I wanted to get this topic up on FECC. He deserves these accolades right now.

Yes he does. BTW..I reported this early last month via an email from Marty Lacker I received. http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=87725&start=150#p1393536 Just a reminder. The same way you remind us when we have missed a significant one by yourself. Thanks.

[drjohncarpenter]

Fantastic stuff Doc,I never need an excuse to praise Chips,the band,the songs and of course Elvis for delivering these momentous recordings.
Well done Marty Lacker in having the courage of his convictions and persuading Elvis to record at American Studios.Would we have such a rich legacy had Marty not been able to do so ?


norrie

Thank you so much,

Indeed, it is crucial that Chips Moman himself confirms it was Marty Lacker who got the ball rolling on the American sessions. Sorry, George Klein.

[ICanHelp]

Just read this through. Excellent, excellent, excellent. thanks Doc.

[drjohncarpenter]

Thanks Doc...wonderful post and it is never a miss when someone takes the time to set the record straight.
These sessions belong to the best Elvis ever did and if only Chips himself or more producers like Chips had been present in Elvis' musical life.

Thank you. Elvis' legacy is far better served by this membership celebrating the good people who positively impacted his career, rather than propping up hateful individuals who tried to diminish his many accomplishments. But, hey, it's a big world.

[Juan Luis]

I am so glad Felton Jarvis was there when Chips Moman had that cancer scare that cause him to miss about half the sessions. Gladly, the big hits had been produced with Chips present. BTW..it's in the book "Memphis Boys" although betraying the bias against Felton and only having Cogbill and Spreen present. By looking at the session notes, and Spreen himself commenting. We know Felton was always there at every single session pre and post production. History cannot be changed by the simple sentiments or bias of some.

[Juan Luis]

Fantastic stuff Doc,I never need an excuse to praise Chips,the band,the songs and of course Elvis for delivering these momentous recordings.
Well done Marty Lacker in having the courage of his convictions and persuading Elvis to record at American Studios.

To get a friend to record with another friend and have good business while at it? I call that being smart. Marty would be managing the studio soon after that. Good for Marty, good for Chips, Lamar (Kentucky Rain) and even good for GK who "chipped" in as well.

[norrie]

Fantastic stuff Doc,I never need an excuse to praise Chips,the band,the songs and of course Elvis for delivering these momentous recordings.
Well done Marty Lacker in having the courage of his convictions and persuading Elvis to record at American Studios.

To get a friend to record with another friend and have good business while at it? I call that being smart. Marty would be managing the studio soon after that. Good for Marty, good for Chips, Lamar (Kentucky Rain) and even good for GK who "chipped" in as well.

Smart? You bet,after all look at the results.


norrie

[fn2drive]

I am so glad Felton Jarvis was there when Chips Moman had that cancer scare that cause him to miss about half the sessions. Gladly, the big hits had been produced with Chips present. BTW..it's in the book "Memphis Boys" although betraying the bias against Felton and only having Cogbill and Spreen present. By looking at the session notes, and Spreen himself commenting. We know Felton was always there at every single session pre and post production. History cannot be changed by the simple sentiments or bias of some.

As i noted earlier Felton filled in for Sam Phillips in 54. He also helped discover DNA a few years later. Felton was no ordinary A and R man.

[Juan Luis]

I am so glad Felton Jarvis was there when Chips Moman had that cancer scare that cause him to miss about half the sessions. Gladly, the big hits had been produced with Chips present. BTW..it's in the book "Memphis Boys" although betraying the bias against Felton and only having Cogbill and Spreen present. By looking at the session notes, and Spreen himself commenting. We know Felton was always there at every single session pre and post production. History cannot be changed by the simple sentiments or bias of some.

As i noted earlier Felton filled in for Sam Phillips in 54. He also helped discover DNA a few years later. Felton was no ordinary A and R man.

No need to be cynical. It's in the book brought forth by the OP. I read it. Did you?

[Juan Luis]

With this song here Elvis paid a small traditional tribute to Chips...

.. And originally by Luther Perkins (Johnny Cash guitarist) brother Thomas Wayne Perkins. Three years before in 1958. I enjoy it better. Grittier IMO...

[Dan_T]

Thank you, Juan, the first link made me smile because the instrumental break sounds out of tune, and, of course, who can forget Elvis laughing at his own out of tune Guitar playing on this "Medley"...did he do it on purpose ?