Country Music Hall of Fame Member Bonnie Brown Dies At 77

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Bonnie Brown

Bonnie Brown

Funeral services were held for Country Music Hall of Fame member Bonnie Brown on Saturday, July 23 at 10 a.m. at the Presbyterian Church in Dardanelle.

[Previous story below]

Bonnie Brown, who entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2015 as a member of The Browns, died Saturday (July 16) at age 77.

With her siblings Jim Ed Brown and Maxine Brown, she created a dulcet-singing harmony trio that achieved success on both country and pop hit parades. The Browns’ 1959 smash hit “The Three Bells” was the first true “Nashville Sound” single to “crossover” and become a No. 1 pop success. Bonnie, Jim Ed and Maxine also had simultaneous pop and country hits with the tender folk-flavored, ballad singles “Scarlet Ribbons” and “The Old Lamplighter.” Bonnie Brown sang with her siblings throughout most of the 1950s and 1960s, placing 20 titles on the country charts.

She was the youngest member of the trio, being four years younger than her brother and seven years younger than her sister. All of the singing Browns were raised in Arkansas. Jim Ed and Maxine came to local prominence as a duo, then achieve national success with the 1954 hit “Looking Back to See.” Bonnie Brown joined them the following year, just after she graduated from high school.

From the start, the trio’s sibling harmony blend was exquisite, with Jim Ed’s fluid baritone, Maxine’s resonant alto and Bonnie’s lilting soprano creating memorable audio overtones. They scored immediately on the country charts with “Here Today and Gone Tomorrow” (1955), “I Take the Chance” (1956) and “I Heard the Bluebirds Sing” (1957).

The Browns’ country successes continued with “Would You Care” (1958) and “Beyond the Shadow” (1959). All three Brown siblings were pitch-perfect harmony singers, but the pattern became Jim Ed singing lead with Bonnie and Maxine as his blending vocalists. They became stars at both The Louisiana Hayride and The Ozark Jubilee. In the early 1950s, The Browns toured with the then-emerging star Elvis Presley, who took a shine to both Bonnie and Maxine.

Bonnie Brown provided the group with much of its visual appeal. Her striking beauty remained with her throughout her subsequent life, onstage and off. The trio’s elegant harmony singing was nowhere better illustrated than on 1959’s “The Three Bells.” This charming, chiming story song was adapted by The Browns from a French pop hit. Produced by Chet Atkins, it was No. 1 on the country charts for 10 weeks and No. 1 on the pop charts for four weeks. Then as now, this was a stunning feat for a Nashville country record.

Bonnie and her siblings replicated that hit’s sound on the pop and country successes “Scarlet Ribbons” (1959) and “The Old Lamplighter” (1960). Then The Browns solidified their country stardom with “Send Me the Pillow You Dream On” (1961), “Then I’ll Stop Loving You” (1964), “Everybody’s Darlin’ Plus Mine” (1964), “I’d Be Just Fool Enough” (1966), “Coming Back to You” (1966) and other hits.

Bonnie Brown

Bonnie Brown

The Browns joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry in 1963.

Bonnie Brown withdrew from the group in 1967 to settle back home in Arkansas with her husband and raise their daughters. Jim Ed Brown went on to have a hugely successful solo career. Maxine Brown also made solo records. The trio reunited several times over the years, usually at the Opry. Bonnie and Maxine also appeared on Jim Ed’s final album, 2015’s In Style Again. Later that year, Jim Ed Brown was diagnosed with lung cancer. He died in June 2015, but was presented with his Hall of Fame honor at his bedside before he passed away. Bonnie and Maxine attended the group’s official Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Nashville that fall.

Bonnie Brown also had lung cancer. She died of the disease on Saturday afternoon, July 16, at Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock.

Dr. Gene “Brownie” Ring, her husband of more than 56 years, died in January. Bonnie Jean Brown is survived by their daughters Kelly and Robin, by several grandchildren and by her sister Maxine.

Bob Goldstone Remembered, Celebration Of Life Planned

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Bob Goldstone

Bob Goldstone

A gathering celebrating the life of Bob Goldstone, who died Sunday (July 3) following a cycling accident, will take place Saturday afternoon (July 9) at The Farm in Pegram, Tennessee.

The gathering, titled “Soundtrack of Bob’s Life,” will begin at 3 p.m. and conclude at 7 p.m. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Nashville organizations W.O. Smith School of Music and MusiCares.

An obituary written by his family and published on The Tennessean stated, “Bob was happiest on the farm spending time with his family, friends, dogs and goats, always listening to music, and playing along with his upright bass.” They also noted that he was an avid outdoorsman, skier, tennis player, golfer and beachcomber.

Following his death, this career retrospective was provided to MusicRow:

Born to Bud and Dorothy, Bob Goldstone was raised on Broadway musicals and always tried out for school plays singing “Tonight” or “Maria” from West Side Story. Raised in Denver, Bob’s music progressed from “Flying Purple People Eaters” and “Tom Dooley” to “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)” and “Only Love Can Break Your Heart” and held Lennon’s “In My Life” and Neil Young’s “One Of These Days” as some of the truest expressions about life ever put to music. Bob felt and loved music more than anyone.

Bob’s music career started in 1972 at Chuck E. Weiss’s family record store in Denver for $1.75 an hour. Before that, he drove an ice cream truck before he was terminated for playing “White Rabbit” over the loudspeaker. Seeking a hippie’s fortune, he moved to the Northwest to open three record stores called Budget Tapes & Records. Once he had three stores under his belt, he took a buyers position at the now defunct Lieberman Enterprises as branch buyer. Bob sold off his stores and moved to Los Angeles as National Account Executive for Lieberman’s New Business division. Once in L.A., Bob landed the West Coast Marketing gig with IRS Records.

Bob met Phil Walden in L.A. and soon moved to Nashville as V.P. of Sales and Marketing for Capricorn Records, breaking Widespread Panic, 311 & Cake. After 4 years with Capricorn and not wanting to move to Atlanta, Bob moved to Mercury Nashville as National Director of Field Marketing, working with Kim Richey, William Topley, Kathy Mattea & Neal Coty – the beta version of what was to become Lost Highway.

Next gig was General Manager of Eminent Records, releasing Emmylou Harris’ live Spyboy, the Mike Plume Band and Jon Randall. It was a short, one-off stint but working with Emmylou was a career high point.

Bob missed retail contact with customers and worked out an agreement with Tower Records as Regional Community Relations Director. This move afforded Tower opportunities for events, community gatherings and the creation of a memorabilia room at Tower Opry Mills. Bob booked the greatest talent and exposed the newest and youngest talent from the W.O. Smith School of Music, The Nashville School of the arts and Nashville’s own local artists.

The last chapter brought him together with David Macias and Deb Markland at Thirty Tigers as partner and VP of Sales, which he served well for the last thirteen years. He was intensely proud of his part in creating an environment where his loving nature and strong commitment to being of service to their clients was paramount. It was second nature to him.

Most important to him was his wonderful wife Tami and their lovely daughter Emma, who kept him in line and changing everyday. He was a happy and cool person.

LifeNotes: Thirty Tigers Executive Bob Goldstone Passes

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Bob Goldstone

Bob Goldstone

Bob Goldstone, an owner and VP of Sales at Thirty Tigers, died from injuries sustained in a cycling accident near his home in Pegram, Tennessee, on Sunday (July 3).

Goldstone held a number of positions in the music industry before joining Thirty Tigers. He had been community relations director for Tower Records and was vice president of sales and marketing at Emergent Music Marketing. He had also worked at record labels such as Eminent, Mercury, Capricorn and I.R.S. Records, all the while being a visible part of the Nashville music community.

On Tuesday afternoon, Thirty Tigers President Davis Macias issued the following statement:

“Bob was my friend first and foremost. A more loving and lovely man you could never find. Love is one of our core values, and Bob was the ultimate in that regard. He was our happy warrior, to be sure. He cared about the young people in this company so deeply. He was proud of them and was their fiercest advocate. He was their mentor and confidante. He had a hard job and did it very well. He cared so much, and there will never be another like him. Never, ever. I’m biased, I know, but I feel that Thirty Tigers is a special place, and if that is so, outsized credit goes to Bob Goldstone. He made this place cooler and was responsible for establishing so much of the culture we cherish.

He loved music. Lord, did he love music and felt it deeply. It’s not always like that in this business. He was as passionate about “the good stuff” as he was when I met him many years ago.

And above all, he was about his family. Tami and Emma were at the center of his life, and he loved them so much.

We loved him and will miss him more than you can imagine. – David Macias, President, Thirty Tigers. 

As news spread on social networks on Tuesday morning, a spokesperson at Thirty Tigers issued the following statement:

It is with the heaviest of hearts that we mourn the passing of Bob Goldstone. Bob died Sunday July 3rd after being seriously injured in a bicycling accident near his home in Pegram. Thirty Tigers’ Vice President of Sales and an owner, he was an integral part of the business and the spirit of Thirty Tigers. His passion for music was only surpassed by his love for his family and friends. We’ve lost the beating, loving heart of Thirty Tigers. We’ve lost a friend, a mentor, a respected colleague and someone that loved us all so much, as we loved him.

Our love and thoughts go out to Bob’s family, his wife Tami and his step-daughter Emma. Details for services are pending.

LifeNotes: Famed Rock ‘N’ Roll Guitarist Scotty Moore Passes

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Scotty Moore. Photo: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Scotty Moore. Photo: Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

Scotty Moore, regarded as the founding guitarist of rock ‘n’ roll, died on Tuesday at age 84.

A member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he was best known as the guitar player during Elvis Presley’s rise to fame in the 1950s. Moore was also a longtime Nashville recording studio engineer.

Born in Gadsden, Tennessee, Winfield Scott Moore III began playing guitar before he reached his teens. He initially modeled himself on country/jazz stylist Chet Atkins.

After service in the U.S. Navy 1948-1952, Scotty Moore formed The Starlite Wranglers in Memphis. Sun Records owner/producer teamed the group’s Moore and Wranglers bassist Bill Black (1926-1965) with his new signee Presley. Billed as The Blue Moon Boys, Moore and Black backed Presley on his breakthrough record “That’s All Right Mama” in 1954.

Moore also served as Presley’s first manager. Later augmented by drummer D.J. Fontana, The Blue Moon Boys backed the superstar on his earliest tours, TV appearances and films.

The distinctive guitar licks of Scotty Moore can be heard on such early Elvis Presley hits as “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Mystery Train,” “Blue Suede Shoes,” “Hound Dog,” “Good Rockin’ Tonight,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Hard Headed Woman,” “Baby Let’s Play House,” “Too Much” and “Milk Cow Blues Boogie.” In 1957-60, Moore appeared in the Presley movies Loving You, Jailhouse Rock, King Creole and G.I. Blues.

When Presley was drafted into the Army in 1958, Moore began working at Fernwood Records in Memphis. There, he produced the hit “Tragedy” for Thomas Wayne. Moore next became the production manager at Sun Records. After Presley resumed civilian life, Moore played on such RCA hits as “Good Luck Charm,” “Such a Night,” “Surrender,” “I Feel So Bad,” “Rock-a-Hula Baby,” “Devil in Disguise” and “Bossa Nova Baby.”

51EB2JC9A3LIn 1964, Scotty Moore released his first solo LP, The Guitar That Changed the World. In 1968, he joined Elvis Presley on the famed “comeback” NBC television special.

By then, Moore had relocated to Nashville. In 1964, he formed his Music City Recorders studio on 19th Ave. S. and launched Belle Meade Records. The studio is where he engineered the Ringo Starr LP Beaucoups of Blues.

He sold the studio in 1973 and began working as a freelance engineer, often at Monument Records. In 1976, he opened a tape-duplication business in the Monument building, which he bought. Over the years, he also continued to record as a guitarist. Among the artists he backed on disc were Sonny Burgess, Jerry Lee Lewis, Dale Hawkins, Alvin Lee, Mother Earth, Billy Swan, Ann-Margret, Charlie Rich, Ronnie McDowell and The Tractors. He produced records for Frank Frost, Tracy Nelson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Steve Ripley and others.

Scotty Moore engineered many TV shows for Opryland Productions in the 1980s. The stars he worked with included Dolly Parton, Carol Burnett, Bob Hope, Perry Como, Minnie Pearl, Johnny Cash, Ann-Margret and Jerry Lee Lewis. He also worked on several albums by Carl Perkins.

During the 1990s, he participated in several Elvis Presley tribute events, concerts, tours and TV specials. One of the most notable was the 1997 all-star CD All the King’s Men. Also in 1997, Scotty Moore was inducted into the Guitar Center’s Rockwalk in Hollywood, alongside Chet Atkins, James Burton, Duane Eddy and Hank Garland.

In 1999, Gibson Guitars unveiled its Scotty Moore model. The company gave him its Lifetime Achievement award in 2002.

Rock greats such as Keith Richards, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page and Bruce Springsteen have all cited Scotty Moore as an inspiration. Following his 2000 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Moore continued to perform and tour. He worked with Ronnie McDowell, Lee Rocker and The Mike Eldred Trio, among others.

He was named a Memphis Music Hero by that city’s chapter of The Recording Academy in 2004. In 2007, he was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville. He also announced his retirement from performing in that year.

He died at home in Nashville on Tuesday, June 28. No funeral arrangements have been announced.

Ralph Stanley Dies at 89

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Ralph Stanley

Ralph Stanley

Funeral arrangements for Ralph Stanley took place Tuesday, June 28, at Hills of Home Park. The service was open to the public.

Hills of Home Park is located on Carter Stanley Highway on Smith Ridge between Coeburn and McClure, Virginia. The park is the location for Stanley’s annual music festival.

In lieu of flowers, it was requested that donations be sent to the Shriners Hospital for Children and St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital.

[Previous story, posted June 23, 2016]:

Grand Ole Opry star Ralph Stanley—whose haunting voice became known to millions on the hugely successful album O Brother, Where Art Thou—has died at age 89.

Stanley was the last living figure of the founding generation of bluegrass music, since Bill Monroe, Carter Stanley, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs had all preceded him in death. He was also the Opry’s oldest member.

The mountain-music icon won a 2001 Grammy Award for his performance of “O Death.” That song’s acclaimed parent album, O Brother, Where Art Thou, also earned the Grammy for Album of the Year. Selling in excess of eight million copies, this was the soundtrack album for a George Clooney film of the same name. The Stanley Brothers’ classic version of “Angel Band” was on the album too.

Ralph Edmund Stanley was born in the mountains of southwestern Virginia, in the same region that also produced The Carter Family, a major influence on him. Ralph Stanley began playing banjo as a teenager. After serving in the Army, he joined older brother Carter Stanley (1925-1966) in forming The Stanley Brothers & The Clinch Mountain Boys in 1946.

For the first dozen years of its existence, the group climbed to regional fame in Bristol on WCYB’s Farm and Fun Time radio show. Deeply impressed by the sound of Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys, the Stanleys initially incorporated many of that group’s songs into their repertoire.

But they soon began introducing original songs. These were usually penned by Carter Stanley, although Ralph composed a number of banjo instrumentals.

The Stanley Brothers signed with Columbia Records in 1949. Furious that they were basing their sound on “his” music, Monroe left the label in protest and signed with Decca. The two acts later reconciled.

During their Columbia years, the Stanleys recorded many of their signature songs, including “The White Dove,” “Little Glass of Wine,” “The Angels Are Singing in Heaven Tonight” and “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow.”

They signed with Starday/King Records in the 1956, which is where the bulk of the Stanleys’ catalog resides. Stanley Brothers records from their affiliation with these labels included “Rank Stranger,” “Little Maggie,” “Gonna Paint the Town,” “Ridin’ That Midnight Train” and a bluegrass version of Hank Ballard’s r&b hit “Finger Poppin’ Time.”

During this period, the brothers became popular on the collegiate folk circuit. They performed at the Newport Folk Festival in 1959 and 1964.

In the early 1960s, The Stanley Brothers hosted their own TV show in central Florida. In 1965, they appeared in Fincastle, VA at what is now regarded as the first bluegrass festival.

Carter Stanley’s escalating alcoholism led to his death from complications of liver cirrhosis in late 1966 at age 41. He had been the team’s lead singer and chief songwriter. Grief-stricken Ralph was uncertain whether or not to proceed, but fans urged him to carry on with The Clinch Mountain Boys. The group trained such future bluegrass greats as Charlie Sizemore, Larry Sparks, Melvin Goins and Roy Lee Centers.

Kentucky teenagers Ricky Skaggs and Keith Whitley joined Stanley’s band in 1970 and recorded the acclaimed Cry From the Cross and Something Old, Something New albums with the master during their tenure in his group. In addition to Skaggs and Whitley, Stanley is cited as an influence by Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris and Jim Lauderdale, not to mention a galaxy of bluegrass artists.
RalphStanley
Beginning in 1971, Ralph Stanley recorded for more than 40 years for Rebel Records. He won an IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) award for 1998’s double CD on Rebel, Clinch Mountain Country. It featured him singing with George Jones, Bob Dylan, Hal Ketchum, Patty Loveless, Marty Stuart, Diamond Rio, Alison Krauss, John Anderson, Connie Smith, Junior Brown, Vern Gosdin and more.

His 2001 Rebel release, Clinch Mountain Sweethearts, found him collaborating with Dolly Parton, Pam Tillis, Gillian Welch, Maria Muldaur, Sara Evans, Joan Baez, Melba Montgomery, Lucinda Williams, Jeannie Seely, Gail Davies and others. This also won an IBMA award.

Ralph Stanley focused more and more on traditional Appalachian sounds as he aged, frequently performing a cappella gospel songs. Son Ralph Stanley II and grandson Nathan Stanley eventually became lead singers of The Clinch Mountain Boys.

Tennessee’s Lincoln University gave Ralph Stanley an honorary Doctorate degree in 1976. Thereafter, he was loftily dubbed “Dr. Ralph.” He was presented with a National Heritage Fellowship honor by the National Endowment for the Arts in 1984.

Stanley was invited to perform at the inaugurations of both Jimmy Carter (1977) and Bill Clinton (1993). In 1992, The Stanley Brothers were inducted into the Bluegrass Hall of Fame.

The Grand Ole Opry made Ralph Stanley a cast member in 2000. The Library of Congress named him a Living Legend in that same year. In 2002, he won another Grammy. This one was for an album recorded with Jim Lauderdale titled Lost in the Lonesome Pines.

Further honors were showered on him in subsequent years. He was given a National Medal of Arts honor in 2006, an Outstanding Virginian award in 2008, an honorary Doctorate of Music degree from Yale in 2014 and an election as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, also in 2014.

His final album was 2015’s Ralph Stanley and Friends. Co-produced by Lauderdale and Buddy Miller, it featured admirers Dierks Bentley, Del McCoury, Gillian Welch, Old Crow Medicine Show, Robert Plant and more.

Ralph Stanley died on June 23 of complications from skin cancer. He is survived by wife Jimmie Stanley and children Lisa Stanley Marshall, Tonya Armes Stanley and Ralph Stanley II. He’s also survived by grandchildren Nathan Stanley, Amber Meade Stanley, Evan Stout, Ashley Marshall, Alexis Marshall, Taylor Stanley and Ralph Stanley III, plus great-grandchild McKenzie Stanley.

LifeNotes: Longtime Waitress At Pancake Pantry, Mrs. Joyce Stubblefield, Passes

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Joyce Stubblefield

Mrs. Joyce Stubblefield

Mrs. Joyce Stubblefield, 78, of Goodlettsville, passed away peacefully on Thursday (June 23). She was born on December 19, 1937 to the late John and Lillian Satty.

She was a longtime waitress at the Pancake Pantry for 42 years and will be greatly missed by her longtime customers, many of which worked in the music industry.

Mrs. Stubblefield is survived by her husband of 57 years; one son, Donald Stubblefield, Jr; one daughter, LeAnne Stubblefield Brooks (Devin); numerous grandchildren; four brothers, John Satty, Billy Satty, Michael Satty, and Frank Satty; four sisters, Rose Fite, Janice Hoback, Sandra Felts, and Mary Lemons.

Any donations can be made to Alive Hospice in Madison.

There will be no services.

LifeNotes: Memphis Horns Star Wayne Jackson Passes

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Wayne Jackson. Photo: Waynejacksonmusic.com

Wayne Jackson. Photo: Waynejacksonmusic.com

Trumpeter Wayne Jackson, who won a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012 as one-half of the Memphis Horns, died on Tuesday night (June 21).

Jackson lived in Nashville and played on sessions in Music City during the 1980s. Along with fellow Memphis Horns player, saxophonist Andrew Love, Jackson performed on a reported 52 No. 1 songs, 83 million-selling albums, 116 Top 10 records and 15 Grammy-winning records.

Among the stars they recorded with were Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Neil Diamond, U2, Billy Joel, Peter Gabriel, Sam & Dave, Elvis Presley, Dusty Springfield, Otis Redding and Jack White. The trumpet star also toured with Jimmy Buffett, Rod Stewart, The Doobie Brothers and Joe Cocker.

Jackson and Love were inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville in 2008. Love died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease in 2012.

Wayne Jackson died in a Memphis hospital of congestive heart failure, according to his widow Amy Jackson. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

LifeNotes: Bill Ham, Founder Of Hamstein Music, Passes

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Bill Ham

Bill Ham

Bill Ham, a veteran manager, producer, songwriter and publisher, passed away in his sleep in Austin, Texas, on June 20. He was 79 years old.

Although he was best known as the longtime manager, producer and publisher of ZZ Top, Ham also made his mark in country music by managing Clint Black and publishing his songs through Hamstein Music. He was instrumental in Black’s signing to RCA Records in 1989, although the business partnership between the two men landed in court after a 1992 dispute about royalties and publishing rights.

Ham was born in 1937 in Waxahachie, Texas. He began his music career as a record promoter for Bud Dailey Distributing in Dallas before encountering a Houston-based group called Moving Sidewalks, which was opening a concert for the Doors in 1968. Ham formed Lone Wolf Management to manage them.

Soon after the band’s dissolution, Billy Gibbons, their front man, founded ZZ Top with Bill Ham continuing his role as manager. After some personnel changes, the band’s enduring line-up of Gibbons (guitar) bassist/vocalist Dusty Hill and drummer Frank Beard solidified and continues to this day.

Ham’s vision for what ZZ Top could become was an instrumental trigger to the band’s massive success. His role was critical in shaping their image as “that little ol’ band from Texas.” A 1970 contract with London Records ensued and he became the group’s producer in the studio as well as, on occasion, a songwriting partner.

Ham’s business relationship with ZZ Top ended in 2006. Upon hearing of his death, the members of ZZ Top issued the following statement: “We were saddened to hear of Bill Ham’s passing. His early vision and continuing encouragement were invaluable; his efforts and energy will always remain deeply appreciated.”

In addition to owning the music publishing rights to ZZ Top’s catalog, Ham created Hamstein Music. Since 1987, Hamstein has accrued over 100 Top 10 singles in country music, which include 60 No. 1 records, all penned by writers signed to Ham’s company.

These writers include Clint Black, Hayden Nicholas, Frankie Miller, members of Little Texas, Tom Shapiro, Chris Waters, Rick Giles, Chuck Jones, Tommy Barnes, Stephen Allan Davis, Billy Kirsch, Tony Martin, Reese Wilson, Lee Thomas Miller, Monty Criswell, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and others. In 2002, Ham sold Hamstein Music’s copyrights and publishing assets to Mosaic Media Group in a multi-million dollar transaction.

Ham’s latest venture had been a return to country music and the Nashville publishing business. He recently had launched Wolftracks Music Publishing Company and signed songwriters Presley Tucker and Spencer Bartoletti, professionally known as the group Reverie Lane. They are also signed to Lone Wolf Management.

LifeNotes: Rick Christian, Writer Of “I Don’t Need You,” Passes

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Rick Christian

Rick Christian

Rick Christian, a songwriter best known for Kenny Rogers’ “I Don’t Need You,” has died. He was 61. Christian died on May 3. His death was confirmed to MusicRow by his nephew, Tim Revell.

“I Don’t Need You” spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard country chart in 1981 and was a No. 3 pop hit. It was the lead single from Rogers’ album, Share Your Love, which was produced by Lionel Richie.

Christian issued his own version of “I Don’t Need You” for Mercury Records in 1978. Harry Nilsson also recorded it for a 1980 album, Flash Harry.

Christian released an album titled Sweet Young Thing on Columbia Records in 1983. He independently released an album titled Voodoo Country in 2006.

Christian lived in Nashville. There was no funeral service, per his wishes and those of the family. A memorial service is expected at a later date, Revell said.

LifeNotes: Chips Moman, Hit Producer And Songwriter, Passes

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Chips Moman

Chips Moman

Chips Moman, a songwriter and producer who made his mark in country music after a significant career in R&B, died Monday (June 13) in LaGrange, Georgia, after a long illness. He was 79.

Moman was born with the name Lincoln Wayne Moman in LaGrange, Georgia, on June 12, 1937. He received his nickname because of his skills as a poker player.

As a songwriter, his credits include 1977’s “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)” for Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson, co-written with Buddy Emmons.

With Emmons, Moman also wrote the two-week No. 1 single, “The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don’t Want to Get Over You,” recorded by Waylon Jennings. Prior to that, Moman and co-writer Larry Butler composed a two-week No. 1 country hit for B.J. Thomas titled “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song.” The recording won a 1975 Grammy for Best Country Song.

R&B staples from his catalog include “Dark End of the Street” and “Do Right Woman, Do Right Man,” co-written with Dan Penn.

As a country producer, he won ACM Awards for Willie Nelson’s single “Always on My Mind” and corresponding album, also titled Always on My Mind. Nelson and Merle Haggard enlisted him to produce “Pancho & Lefty.” In addition, he collected a 1985 ACM Award as producer of “Highwayman,” the iconic single recorded by Johnny Cash, Jennings, Kris Kristofferson and Nelson, known collectively as the Highwaymen. Moman also produced the first two albums for the Highwaymen.

He produced a collaborative 1986 album titled Class of ’55: Memphis Rock & Roll Homecoming that brought together Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins. Interviews from that session won a 1986 Grammy for Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording.

Elvis Presley fans know Moman as the producer of standards like “In the Ghetto,” “Suspicious Minds” and “Kentucky Rain.” Presley recorded those songs at American Sound Studio for the 1969 album, From Elvis in Memphis.

Moman had strong ties to Memphis by working at Stax Records and producing the label’s first hit single—Carla Thomas’ 1960 release, “Gee Whiz.” Within a few years, after leaving Stax, he opened American Sound Studio in Memphis, where Dusty Springfield recorded her enduring 1969 album, Dusty in Memphis. Moman was also an accomplished guitarist who played numerous sessions in Memphis and Muscle Shoals, Alabama.

Only making occasional appearances in the last few decades, Moman had lived in LaGrange since 1994. In 2012 he gave a public interview at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

Pictured (Back row, L-R): Museum Editor Michael Gray, Gene Chrisman, Bobby Emmons and Weldon Myrick; (Front row, L-R): Bobby Wood, Chips Moman and Reggie Young. Photo: Donn Jones

Chips Moman after a Country Music Hall of Fame program in 2012. Pictured (Back row, L-R): Museum Editor Michael Gray with musicians Gene Chrisman, Bobby Emmons and Weldon Myrick; (Front row, L-R): Musicians Bobby Wood, Chips Moman and Reggie Young. Photo: Donn Jones