Soul Series: Gamblin’ Man - Chips Moman Part II
- by Joe Nolan
“With his arms marked with self-inflicted tattoos and a cocky attitude shaped by years of survival on the road as a teenage vagabond, Chips was a social rebel with a penchant for playing cards and hustling pool…” - by James Dickerson, Goin’ Back to Memphis
Chips was hooked. Jim Stewart’s square appearance never got in his way when it came to communicating his passion for music. Moman saw Satellite as an opportunity to get back to the roots of the Southern music he had missed so much during his sojourn in the California sun.
It is also clear from the fall-out of Moman’s relationship with Stax (documented earlier in this series) that Moman harbored ambitions to be more than just a hired-gun producer. It is likely that Moman had partnership goals in mind from the beginning, and this wouldn’t be the first time that Stewart would enter into an ambiguous business relationship that would end in confusion and loss. No matter his original intentions, there is no doubt that his departure from Stax hurt Moman deeply. It is also true that Moman had always been a survivor. He didn’t stay down long.
Moman would eventually settle his lawsuit against Stax in 1965. He used his award to set up a competing studio in north Memphis. Just as Moman had spotted the unlikely theatre building for Stax, his new choice of digs was an eclectic one. Setting up shop in a poor, black neighborhood, Moman named his new project American Recording Studios. Moman had learned from his experience at Stax, in clubs and gambling joints, that these Memphis neighborhoods were brimming with talented musicians, singers and songwriters. Again, Moman found himself involved in bringing the music of those streets to a national, if not worldwide, audience: another gamble that would pay off.
Immediately, Moman began to assemble a top-notch studio team including: Mike Leech on bass, Bobby Emmons on organ, Bobby Wood on piano, and Reggie Young on guitar. American came right out of the gate with hits by artists like the Gentrys and Sandy Posey, but Moman struggled to keep the studio afloat. It was during this period that Moman would begin a relentless relationship with music that would result in the most creative work of his career and nearly ruin his health.
“’I wouldn’t turn anything down,’ says Chips. ‘There was a ten-year period in which I might have averaged three hours of sleep a night. I recorded one time for nine days without going home. I would fall unconscious behind the board and people would pick me up and shake me and say, ‘Can you do one more mix?’ - when they should have taken me straight to a hospital.’” - Chips Moman, from Goin’ Back to Memphis, by James Dickerson
Sources:
Peter Guralnick’s Sweet Soul Music, Harper and Row, 1986
James Dickerson’s Goin’ Back to Memphis, Simon and Schuster Macmillan, 1996
Michael Haralambos’ Right on: From Blues to Soul in Black America, Drake Publishers, 1975
Respect Yourself: The Stax Story, documentary film, produced by Tremolo Productions,
Concord Music Group and Thirteen/WNET New York, for PBS’ Great Performances, 2007
Wikipedia Entry on Chips Moman
Biography Research Guide for Chips Moman
Georgia Rhythm Interview With Chips Moman
ChipsMoman.com Archives
Joe Nolan is a poet, musician and freelance journalist in Nashville, TN. Nolan writes about visual art for the journal, Number, published by the University of Memphis. Find out more about his projects at www.joenolan.com.