Elvis Presley and producer Chips Moman, American Sound Studio, Memphis, 1969
RIP to the great music producer, songwriter, and studio owner Chips Moman, who was an essential and crucial part of the thrilling warp-and-weft of the Memphis music scene in the 60s and 70s (and beyond), whose work at STAX resulted in hits for many of the artists (many of whom needed an injection of new energy into their careers – a Chips specialty). But the list goes on and on. He recorded and produced Dusty Springfield’s still-legendary album Dusty in Memphis. One of Moman’s gifts was to stroll into the career of an already-developed artist and help them revolutionize themselves, take risks, move into new and bold directions. I mean, come on, Dusty Springfield recorded this album at Moman’s American Sound:
Correction: Moman did not produce “Dusty in Memphis,” although it was recorded at his studio. The album was produced by Jerry Wexler, Arif Mardin, Tom Dowd.
Chips Moman is probably most famous for his work with Elvis Presley in a marathon 12-day session in 1969 (the only time they worked together). In 12 days at Chips’ American Sound Studio, Elvis recorded 36 tracks. Yes, you heard right. These tracks are intricate and beautiful, diverse and complex, with amazing orchestration and arrangements. A revolution, especially coming at the tail-end of a decade where his music output was chaotic, random, and dominated by the soundtracks.
Chips Moman ushered (pushed, really) Elvis into a modern sound. An adult male sound. A guy with responsibilities, a daughter, a marriage, a social conscience, an awareness of the world, and relatable human problems – of which “Suspicious Minds” is probably the best example.
Elvis’ songs up until “Suspicious Minds” often existed in a generic world of love and puppy-love and horndog-lust. It was his performances that made them unique. “Suspicious Minds,” though … it’s complicated, it’s dark, it’s grown up in other words and – perhaps inadvertently – tapped into the anxiety and paranoia of the late 60s, which ended up have real resonance in the early 70s, with Watergate and all the rest. Suspicion everywhere.
But all of the tracks still shiver with relevance and freshness, as well as a sense of the risks being taken. Or, maybe you need to know about what a huge risk Elvis was taking putting himself into a newcomer’s hands … how “not done” that was, how much the Colonel hated/feared/resented what was happening, how DIFFERENT Chips was than all the “Yes Men” around Elvis … Once you know all that, the tracks sound even more revolutionary. Elvis taking off the chains that bind.
And so it is no surprise that some of Elvis’ greatest hits – ever – were recorded during those 12 days. Now, “Hound Dog” and “Don’t Be Cruel” and “My Baby Left Me” and “Baby, Let’s Play House” are in the history books as some of the most important rock ‘n’ roll ever recorded, due to how they cracked apart the culture’s complacency, letting in a tsunami of the New. But when you turn on the radio today, you’re far more likely to hear “Suspicious Minds” than “Hound Dog.”
In the late 60s, Elvis was perceived as a has-been. People had affection for him still, but The Beatles had arrived, the Stones were rising, the world was changing, and Elvis was trapped in his movie contract, not touring, and his songs – many of them excellent – were buried on a mishmash of albums. He was no longer an “event”. He put out a gospel album that sold a bazillion copies, but he wasn’t at the forefront anymore. It drove him crazy, although publicly he was a good sport about it, and did end up covering quite a few Beatles songs.
The 1968 “comeback special” was an important signifier of what was to come, and, in that particular situation, producer Steve Binder played a similar role that Chips Moman was to play a year later: making Elvis really GET how much of a “has-been” he really was – or, at least, that that was the perception, and perception is reality. Steve Binder made Elvis go stand outside with him on Sunset Boulevard. People walked by and nobody mobbed Elvis. They didn’t even turn and look at him and it freaked Elvis OUT. As Dave Marsh said so beautifully in his book (which I talked about at length here), if there was one thing that Elvis wanted, more than anything else, from the very beginning, it was to be “an unignorable man.” After the Sunset Boulevard debacle, Elvis was like, “Oh hell to the NO” and proceeded to blow the roof off with his performance in that special.
Elvis Presley during what is now known as the “comeback special,” 1968.
Chips Moman barged into Elvis’ own complacency, already shattered by the comeback special, during the recording sessions at American Sound only a couple of months later. He wanted Elvis to move on into the modern world, with new tracks, new songwriters, a new sound, a sound that MOMAN would choose, not Elvis, not the Colonel, not movie people who were financially invested in Elvis doing “same ol’ same ol.” Moman was a producer, damned proud of it, and he was not about to be bossed around. HE was in charge of the sessions, not Elvis, not the Colonel, and definitely not Elvis’ entourage. This took some balls, Moman was up against an entire Elvis industry, a rigid monolith at that point, as well as the way Elvis normally worked. Elvis was so talented he took it easy. Even when “taking it easy” he was better than most. But when he was pushed? Like Sam Phillips did at Sun? Like Steve Binder did with the television special? Like Chips Moman did in 1969? He moved MOUNTAINS.
The list of songs Elvis recorded at American Sound, under the guidance of Chips Moman, is, frankly, astonishing. Those 12 days resulted in two full albums, the main one being From Elvis in Memphis (voted #190 on Rolling Stone’s list of 500 greatest albums of all time) with tracks to spare.
A short list of tracks on these albums:
“Long Black Limousine”
“Kentucky Rain”
“Power of My Love”
“True Love Travels on a Gravel Road”
“Any Day Now”
“Stranger In My Hometown”
“From a Jack to a King”
“You’ll Think Of Me”
“The Fair’s Moving On”
“Without Love (I Have Nothing)”
“Rubberneckin'”
“Suspicious Minds”
“In the Ghetto”
12 days. Remember that.
There have been reams of commentary about those sessions. How Chips worked. How he helped Elvis to focus. How he banished the “entourage” from the room. How he got push-back and how he then insisted: this was not the way HE worked, with all of Elvis’ friends on the periphery. And Elvis – interestingly enough – was not one of the ones who pushed back. Elvis was an Alpha Dog, all right? He was the #1 Guy in any room he walked into. The musicians at American Sound felt it, and all testify that that was the case. These guys played for everybody and even they were blown away by what Elvis brought, just by walking into a room. But what comes along with true Alpha Dog status (and not the more toxic wanna-be version, where throwing your weight around comes out of insecurity) is that you RECOGNIZE other true Alpha Dogs. And Elvis recognized Chips Moman as the Leader. It took about 20 minutes for Elvis to get it, to realize: “Oh. Okay. This guy is a little different. This guy is the Alpha in this particular situation. Sure, I’ll go Beta for him, and save the Alpha Dog stuff for my performances.” Elvis did just that, and – in collaboration with Chips Moman – ushered in yet ANOTHER revolution in Elvis’ revolutionary career.
A small sample of what happened in those twelve days:
Elvis, performing “Suspicious Minds” a year later, in Las Vegas
One of Elvis’ sexiest and dirtiest tracks. And that’s saying something.
I have written about this track before and how moving I find it, how essential this track is to understanding Elvis and what he “brought.” In Gillian Welch’s song “Elvis Presley Blues,” she writes that when Elvis went onstage his “soul was at stake.” That’s true in the grinding-sex songs, it’s true in the gospel, and it’s also true in the ballads, like this one. Stunning performance.
Magnificent. Coming a year after Martin Luther King’s assassination – in Memphis, an event which devastated Elvis – it still carries such depth, such eerie depth
A huge hit. Elvis rarely addressed politics or controversial issues in his music. Not because he didn’t have political convictions and opinions – he did – but because he didn’t see it as his role in the world. At a press conference before his Madison Square Garden performances, he was asked by a female journalist about his attitude towards “women’s lib” and Elvis replied, simply but firmly, “Honey, I’m an entertainer.” lol He was asked about the Vietnam War and his answer was the same. “I’m not going to talk about that.” He was asked about the controversial situation in the songwriter community, with songwriters pulling their songs out of the publishing companies – a development that hamstrung people like Elvis who didn’t write his own stuff. In answer to that question, Elvis lied smoothly, saying he hadn’t heard about it – when he most certainly had, and he was extremely concerned about it. But his answer was classic: “I don’t know anything about that. I’ve been in Hawaii workin’ on my suntan.” Oh, Elvis. THAT’S a rock star. But here in “In the Ghetto”: he addressed cyclical poverty and racism. Having someone like Elvis sing a song about such a topic was extremely radical – especially in 1969, when America was on fire. Having someone like Elvis sing a song about such a topic was radical then and it’s radical now. This was Chips Moman’s influence.
RIP to Chips Moman. Without him, we wouldn’t have so much, SO MUCH. His impact has been incalculable.
Right on. Great stuff, Sheila, thanks.
Such a giant, right?
… and thank you. I’m so busy today but had to take a second to pay tribute.
That “From Elvis in Memphis” album is just so good – I still listen to it start to finish because it’s so extraordinary.
The Dusty Springfield album too.
What IS it about Memphis?? :)
Yes and too often guys like Moman pass without enough recognition, because they weren’t the stars – but they *made* the stars, or knew how to polish an existing star to make him or her shine brighter.
Absolutely. Elvis needed a really strong hand at that point in his career – he could have back-slid into a nostalgia act. Chips Moman stuck to his guns and made history. Made SURE that Elvis would breeze on into the 70s as a modern performer.
Here’s a wonderful interview with Moman from 2012. The brief comment about meeting Phil Spector is pretty funny. No Elvis tidbits but lots of other great tidbits – and I love the bit about writing the song for Waylon and just walking it next door to him.
http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashvillecream/archives/2012/08/17/chips-moman-the-cream-interview
Great interview, thanks. He’s very…straightforward.
Sheila, you may enjoy this interview with Donna Godchaux, who was in the Grateful Dead in the 70s. It doesn’t mention Moman by name, but it does touch on those 1969 sessions (where she was a background vocalist). And this quote about Elvis is great:
”
I’m telling you, he was the most gorgeous human being I’ve ever seen, male or female – he was just unreal looking. Much better looking than any picture or any movie.”
http://www.al.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2016/02/donna_jean_godchaux_alabama_mu.html
Thank you!!
it is a source of continuing entertainment to me collecting quotes from random people who met Elvis, male and female, who raved about his looks. Why is it so funny/charming to me? It’s like he was a Pharaoh or something, and – aside from his artistry and star power – everyone was like, “Holy shit, he’s gorgeous.”
Jerry Reed. Carl Perkins. Like, people just couldn’t stand it.
It’s true! Everyone says that!
Her comments about Jerry Garcia aren’t germane to this thread but they got me a little choked up. Ha – with the Ronnie Tutt connection and Donna’s history singing back-up in the studio, too bad we never got to hear Jerry and Elvis play together.
What a shame about Chips Moman. I don’t suppose there will be anything in the British press about him so thanks, Sheila, for writing such a great tribute. I love From Elvis in Memphis, it’s my favourite Elvis album. His voice was so great then and I once read an interview with Moman where he said he wanted to compliment that voice with low cello notes to really bring out its richness, and I think he did just that.
Abigail –
I was just re-reading some stuff about those sessions and I had forgotten that Elvis had a cold – they had to stop recording for a bit because he developed laryngitis – but before then, the cold he had gave his already rich voice that rough clarity that is so distinctive, particularly on this album.
I mean, “Wearing that Loved On Look” … his voice in that …
I love the bit about Chips and the low cello notes!!
He was one of the greats – not just for his work with Elvis. His contribution to music was just extraordinary!!
Thank you for mentioning Chips Moman and From Elvis in Memphis. I was born and raised in Memphis (6 years old when Elvis died, 3 days of city wide mourning) and From Elvis in Memphis is still my favorite album of his. He never sounded better. Every single one of the songs is perfectly done and totally necessary.
I sometimes watch Youtube videos of Elvis’s live performances. Even now, his pure charisma and talent strikes the viewer almost physically. I cannot tear my eyes away. I simply cannot imagine what it must have been like to see him in person.
Tracey – it really is such an incredible album. You can’t even believe it. Song after song after song … and each one is so different. How could they have gotten all of that done in 12 days? Chips was so intense, so driven. He had a vision for Elvis, and it took some doing – but once Elvis was on board, forget it. He was in.
and yes. Elvis was “touched,” that’s for sure.
In re: live performances:
That performance of “Suspicious Minds” in Vegas is NUTS. It just goes on and on and on and on … and he is totally in charge of it. Or in charge of those crescendoes and those diminishings … and the band follows, and the back-up singers just keep their eyes on him, doing their parts on an endless loop, until it’s time to finish. And it’s just amazing to me – Elvis’ endurance, first of all – he is as drenched with sweat at the end as if he had just run a marathon. As well as the variety he found in each repetition. He doesn’t finish the song until he’s DONE with it.
Another almost lost art today – where so much stuff is pre-planned within an inch of its life.
and poor Ronnie Tutt. The man must have been like, “Oh my God, my arms are about to fall off, please let Elvis end this song soon.” Love Tutt.
a further thought, lol: He was the biggest thing to come out of the American South, and was certainly not known for taking any sort of political/social stance, so his doing “In the Ghetto” was a huge, HUGE deal. I’m glad you recognized this. Ok, so he wasn’t as “topical” as the Beatles or Stones…but this enormous star, the biggest entertainer EVER, doing a song about racial justice in 1968 (coming from the place and time he did) was pretty damn radical. Still is.
Yes! Huge. Like you say, especially at that chaotic and violent time.
And especially because it wasn’t expected of Elvis. He had never sung such a song before. And he never really did again – “Clean Up Your Own Backyard” kind of qualifies, but it’s not as explicit. And he did a lot of “Love your fellow man” type songs, but again, not as specific as “In the Ghetto.”
Thanks for taking time out to post Sheila…You’ve got the Elvis angle covered beautifully. I tried to do justice to the rest here
http://theroundplaceinthemiddle.com/?p=7238
…One of the saddest losses in one of the saddest years I can remember.
A giant!!
Lovely piece. hr was terrific, and that is a great album. Sad that they did not work together again — the Elvis machine “got” him, I guess.
You write so well about Elvis — are you doing (I hope!) a book?
Bob – It is sad they didn’t re-connect. At least it happened once!
and yes: I’m working (slowly) on a book. I thank you so much for the vote of confidence. :)
I got one of the last interviews with Chips Moman–he came to Nashville to be honored by the Country Music Hall of Fame, whose Michael Gray also interviewed him a couple of days after I did. Chips was a tough interview in some ways–laconic. But he knew that the secret to his art lay in his records, as he told me in 2012. The interview is here: http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashvillecream/archives/2012/08/17/chips-moman-the-cream-interview
If I’m not mistaken, Chips did not produce “Dusty in Memphis.” Tom Dowd, Arif Mardin and Jerry Wexler did.
Edd – It’s so funny (and great) but I came across your wonderful interview on the day Chips died (sorry I didn’t see it sooner) and put it into the comments section above. It was absolutely wonderful – and thank you for your personal recollection of what he was like an interview subject.
Thank you so much! (and thank you for the Dusty detail – I’ll make a correction.)
Hey, Sheila, I like what you have to say about Chips. He had the same kind of contrarian style that I saw in Alex Chilton and Jim Dickinson. –Edd
Two other people I love!
What the hell is in the water in Memphis that it creates such awesome talented people?? :)
RIP Chips Moman