Noteworthy Deaths

Producer of Presley's Memphis albums dies

In this Aug. 13, 2014, file photo, Lincoln "Chips" Moman, a producer, guitarist, and songwriter, appears at the unveiling of the American Studios historical marker in Memphis, Tenn. /The Commercial Appeal via AP, File)
In this Aug. 13, 2014, file photo, Lincoln "Chips" Moman, a producer, guitarist, and songwriter, appears at the unveiling of the American Studios historical marker in Memphis, Tenn. /The Commercial Appeal via AP, File)

NASHVILLE, Tenn.-- Lincoln "Chips" Moman, a Memphis producer, musician and songwriter who helped Elvis Presley engineer a musical comeback in the late '60s and then moved to Nashville to record Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and other top country performers, died Monday in LaGrange, Ga. He was 79.

Donny Turner, a family friend who spoke with his wife, Jane, said Moman died at a hospice facility after a lengthy struggle with lung disease.

A fixture for decades in the Southern music scene, Moman hitchhiked from Georgia to Memphis as a teenager and worked at the fledging Stax Records in the 1950s. He produced some of the first hits for the famous label, including "Last Night" by the Mar-Keys, "Gee Whiz" by Carla Thomas and "You Don't Miss Your Water" by William Bell.

He started his own studio, American Sound Studio, and formed the Memphis Boys studio band, which helped define the funky, down-to-earth Memphis sound of the 1960s. He helped produce hits from the Gentrys, B.J. Thomas and Neil Diamond. With Dan Penn, he co-wrote soul classics "Dark End of the Street," a hit for James Carr and "Do Right Woman," a hit for Aretha Franklin.

One of his most notable collaborations was with Presley.

The result was a prolific and productive session, with Presley re-establishing his mastery of soul, gospel, country and blues. The album From Elvis in Memphis, was released in 1969 and received some of the best reviews of his career. It was followed a year later by Back in Memphis.

Moman left Memphis in 1972 and tried to start again in Atlanta, but when that didn't work out, he moved to Nashville. He earned a Grammy in 1976 for co-writing the country song "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song," a hit for Thomas, and also wrote "Luckenbach, Texas," recorded first by Waylon Jennings.

He produced "Mamas, Don't Let Your Babies Grow up to Be Cowboys" for Nelson and Jennings, "Pancho and Lefty" for Nelson and Haggard, and persuaded Nelson to record a cover of "You Were Always on My Mind," which became one of Nelson's biggest hits.

He is survived by his wife, his daughter Monique and son Casey. Funeral arrangements were not yet set on Tuesday.

A Section on 06/15/2016

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