Memphis Music Icon Chips Moman Dies at 79.
Former record producer, Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter, and Memphis music icon Lincoln “Chips” Moman has died. Chips was an integral part of the first years of Stax Records serving as the studio’s first A&R director, and signed and produced for artists like Carla Thomas to the Mar-Keys. After leaving Stax, Chips went on to form American Sound recordings. Here, he recorded songs for everyone from Elvis Presley to Joe Tex. Chips produced albums for Willie Nelson, Tammy Wynette and the debut album by the Highwaymen. Chips’s songwriting career includes “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love),” and the Grammy-winning B.J. Thomas hit “(Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song).” Despite being in poor health for most of the last decade, Chips remained active in the Memphis music scene, playing with the American Boys or making appearance as Elvis-related events. Lincoln “Chips” Moman was 79.
Led Zeppelin in Federal Court Over Copyright Lawsuit
Jimmy Page and Robert Plant are in federal court this week over allegations that Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” was ripped-off from the song “Taurus,” written by Randy California for his band Spirit. For context, “Taurus” appeared on Spirit’s debut album three years before the release of Zeppelin’s 4th untitled album. Now, it’s important to remember that when a song is written and when it’s recorded could have 3 days or 3 decades between. But the lawsuit goes beyond ‘Stairway to Heaven.” The Plantiff’s are out to prove that Led Zeppelin has a long history of ripping-off material, covering 16 songs over the course of the week-long trial. A lot is being done to keep the case within the walls of the courtroom, including the banning of pens as they could contain recording devices. The trial is set to go back as far in music history as the Renaissance to determine whether the chord progressions are distinctly similar to each other, or if they follow patterns that have been used and varied for centuries. It’s also worth mentioning that the judge referred to one of the most popular rock bands of all time as “the Led Zeppelin.”
ACL Single-Day Passes Go On Sale Tomorrow at 10 AM
All of the 3-day passes for both weekends have sold for this year’s Austin City Limits Festival. If you didn’t snag yours, ‘sokay, the day-by-day line-up and single-day passes go on sale tomorrow at 10 AM.
-Taylor Wallace
