Lacker first met Elvis at
Humes High when they were both
in school. In 1960, Elvis
invited him out to Hollywood
for the Kid Galahad shoot, and
Marty stayed to become on of
the infamous Memphis
Mafia gang. In 1964, Lacker
became foreman of the group,
Presley's personal secretary
and check writer. He lived for
a time at Graceland in a
garage apartment with wife and
daughter. In 1966, Lacker took
a position with Pepper Records.
Before long he was doing
production work with Chips
Moman at American Sound
Studios, where Red West,
Elvis's childhood friend was
doing session work. Lacker
later recalled ..." I was very
impressed. They were all white
guys, but to hear them play
you'd swear they were black."
Chips Moman founded American Sound Studios
in 1965, after finding himself devoid of any real controlling
interest in the Stax studio he had helped to create. He was
determined to never be cheated again. He gathered a dedicated
band of immense quality: Bobby Wood, John Hughey, Tommy
Cogbill, Mike Leech, Reggie Young, Gene Chrisman, Ed Kollis,
and Bobby Emmons. Collectively, they would place 125 records
on the charts over a span of five years. American Studios was
literally located in the Memphis ghetto. After King's
assassination, Memphis was a tense place to be, especially in
the black neighborhoods. So Moman kept dogs around and
occasionally put a guard on the roof armed with a shotgun to
watch over the parking lot. Lacker knew American's sound was
right for Elvis. It was more commercial than their rival, soul
oriented Stax. Chips' technique was also state of the art. He
would cut a rough vocal track with the rhythm section, setting
the structure and tone of the song. Later he would sweeten the
track by adding horns or strings. The artist would then be
called back in to lay down the main vocal tracks.
Whenever Lacker mentioned how great working with Chips would
be, Elvis would say, "Well, I'll think about it," or "One of
these days soon we'll try it." While Moman would gaud
Lacker asking, "When are you going to tell Elvis to let me
produce a record?" Finally Lacker got the opportunity while
sitting the Jungleroom seething, as he listened to Elvis
and Felton finalize the dates for Nashville. He began to
unconsciously shake his head back and forth (his head was big,
bald and round and as a result his nickname was Moon). He
fought back his frustration. Elvis snapped at him, "What the
hell's the matter with you?" Lacker got the opening he needed
to lay it on the line: What about Chips? His band is on fire,
turning out hits with big stars - hell, Dusty Springfield came
all the way from Britain to work with him just to get that
Memphis sound. Why don't you just try Chips and American?
"Well, maybe someday I will." replied Elvis. When everybody
got up to go in the dining room, I just sat there
cursing.. I didn't want to hear them talk about the
Nashville session...Well it wasn't two minutes before Felton
came out and said "Elvis wants to see you. He wants to talk to
you about cutting in Memphis." Well, I was out of that chair
in a flash.
Lacker only had
four days to set it up. Elvis was on a tight schedule. He
still had to shoot one last picture,
Change of Habit
with Mary Tyler Moore and was busy preparing a live act. Then
there was the problem of studio time. Elvis wanted to begin on
Monday, but Neil Diamond had been scheduled in that slot. And
Elvis worked at night, through the early hours of the
morning. Lacker called Chips at his home to let him know that
Elvis was willing to give American a go. He let him know the
constraints, emphasizing that it had to be a closed session,
no guests, no publicity. And he reminded him of the scheduling
conflict that would have to be resolved. Diamond was a pretty
big star himself. Chip's exact words were, "Fuck Neil Diamond.
Neil Diamond will just have to be postponed. Tell Elvis he's
on."
Colonel Parker had lost control of his number one asset during
an evening dinner at Graceland. His greatest fear was being
realized. Elvis had actually made a major decision without
seeking either his advice or permission. The question for
Parker became how to keep the situation from spinning totally
out of his sphere of influence. Jarvis was too close to Elvis
to be counted on to keep a real eye on things. Besides, he had
abdicating his position to Chips. He might be able to play a
part in post-production, but Chips' take charge, no bullshit
attitude ruled out any serious input in the studio. Parker
could only send Diskin and RCA vice-president Harry Jenkins to
the sessions to make sure everyone on the gravy train was
having his interests considered.
Fike was selling one song,
Kentucky Rain
by Eddie Rabbitt and Dick Heard, that he had a really good
feeling about. Elvis wasn't too impressed, but Fike was
persistent. It was a smart call and Fike would very pleased
with himself when
Kentucky Rain
was released in 1970, it stayed nine weeks in the top 100,
reaching #16.
Chips began to prepare for Elvis. He pulled songs from his own
library he knew Elvis could sink his teeth into. Some he had
cut with other artists, some hadn't worked out just right.
Suspicious Minds
was one. Chips had recorded it with the song's writer Mark
James in 1968 for Scepter, but the record never made the
charts. Chips thought he had a good chance with Elvis whose
voice and intensity were perfect for the song. When the time
came to cut the tracks, Chip used same arrangement as with
James (played by the same band), believing that only Elvis was
the missing ingredient to a hit record. He was right. It was
the last time Elvis would have a number one record on the Hot
100. Lacker briefed Chips on how Elvis was used to working, on
the right things to say and do. Chips wouldn't need to tell
Presley when he was off key or when he made a mistake. And
musically he should never meddle. Elvis knew what was right
for him, he had been doing this a long time. But Chips ignored
Lacker's advice. He wasn't about to curb his talent just to
spare Elvis's ego. The studio was his to control, the band his
to direct, and well, Chips figured that when somebody hired
him to do a job they were trusting him to go ahead and do it.
In 1994, Chips
remembered: Hindsight's has twenty-twenty vision -
but I didn't really think anything so special about getting
the chance to record Elvis - not when it happened. Oh, it was
okay, but to tell you the truth, we were so busy producing
records in Memphis back then (and a lot of ‘em were hits
‘cause we were hot at the time with Neil Diamond and a lot of
other stars) that we had to actually work a double shift and
cut Roy Hamilton during the day and Elvis at night in order to
do those albums. He [Elvis] only had so much open time on his
schedule. Now don't get me wrong. I had always liked Elvis. I
always loved his music, especially the early years of his
career, but I just went in to work on it like any other
project - no big deal. You see, most everybody in Memphis kind
of took Elvis for granted - didn't pay any attention to how
big a star he really was. Remember, he was a hometown boy.
He's bigger now in Memphis than he ever was in his best days
when he was alive.
The sessions began
as scheduled that Monday evening. To Chips and the band it was
business as usual. If anything, they were suspicious of all
the hype. They were also proud. Elvis was coming to them, to
get their help, their sound. They were used to working with
big stars and with big egos and Elvis was known to have one of
the biggest. But they were also used to producing good
material and Elvis hadn't been doing that for quite some time.
Presley was going to have to prove himself.
"What a funky,
funky place," Elvis muttered when he entered, possibly to calm
his nerves. He was trailed by his regular bunch of guys: Fike,
Lacker, Joe Eposito, Sonny and Red West, George Klein, and of
course Jarvis. Tom Diskin from Parker's office was there to
keep watch, so was Freddy Bienstock, representing H & R, and
RCA's Harry Jenkins. Three or four of the boys were well
trained to pull out cigarette lighters out whenever Elvis
stuck a thin cigar in his mouth. The band cringed.
Chips thought it an aggravation to have all those people
around. Elvis was used to playing with the guys, trying to say
something cute, keep them laughing. It could get pretty
hectic. But for whatever reason, Elvis needed his friends
around. They made him feel comfortable. That first night,
after a hesitant beginning (everyone needed to get comfortable
with one another and Elvis seemed to have opening night
jitters) it came as a relief to the musicians, that Elvis
meant business. He responded positively to Chips' direction,
and listened attentively even when Chips interrupted him in
mid song, admonishing Elvis to "try it again." It was the same
attentiveness and focus Presley had paid to Binder and the
68 TV Special
Chips only recorded three songs that evening
Long Black Limousine
by Bobby George and Vern Stovall, This Is the Story
by Arnold, Morrow and Martin, and Wearin' that Loved On
Look
by Dallas Frazier and Al Owens, which Lamar had brought in.
Even so, the session didn't break up till four the next
morning and everyone seemed satisfied. On the ride back to
Graceland, Elvis turned to the guys in the back and told them
what seemed obvious. "Man, that felt really great. I can't
tell you how good I feel... I really just want to see if I can
have a number one record one more time."
For the first three days, the sessions went according to plan.
Elvis wanted to record some songs that Chips really had no
interest in (Yesterday
for example) and he would back away until Elvis got them out
of his system. Then the cold which had been bothering Presley
for weeks came back with a vengeance. Elvis stayed at
Graceland for a few days to recuperate while Chips cut
background and laid down some rhythm tracks for a few new
songs. Chips had a song by Mac Davis that he knew would be a
hit, In the Ghetto
. Elvis liked Davis and his songs, A Little Less Conversation
but he wasn't sure about this one. It was a message ballad
about the cycle of poverty in the ghetto. It was not typical
of what Elvis recorded and it went against the Colonel's no
politics rule.
In a press conference in 1972, Elvis made this philosophy
clear when asked what he thought of war protesters and whether
he would refuse to be drafted: "Honey, I'd just soon to keep
my own personal views to myself. ‘Cause I'm just an
entertainer and I'd rather not say." George Klein really
didn't think it was a good song for Elvis and told him so, but
Chips was insistent. Elvis said he'd think about it. Klein,
whose radio connections were significant, immediately got on
the phone and secured The Grass Won't Pay No Mind
from Neil Diamond. Klein also had second thoughts about In
the Ghetto
when he told Elvis he thought the song would be a hit, Presley
grinned, "No shit, I'm cutting it tonight. "Back in the
studio, Elvis began work on Suspicious Minds
and In the Ghetto
It was obvious that these were going to be big records. Diskin
and Bienstock began to get antsy. They caught Chips alone in
the hall and started working on him, trying to get a piece of
the songs he owned.
Finally Chips
had had enough:
Gentlemen, I thought we were here
to cut some hit records. Now if that's not the case, let me
tell you what you can do. You can take your fucking tapes, and
you and your whole group can get the hell out of here. Don't
ask me for something that belongs to me. I'm not going to give
it to you.
Diskin was furious and sought out Elvis to plead his case. But
Presley had already made up his mind. He wasn't going to let
the home office or H & R or RCA for that matter, ruin his
session. He politely told Diskin to let him and Felton and
Chips handle things. Presley then did something which
surprised even Chips. He asked the producer how they could
eliminate the hassles, and Chips told him to just get everyone
out of there. And that was it.
Diskin grabbed the hotline to the Colonel's office and,
frustrated and perplexed, spelled out the circumstances. Elvis
was going his own way. He didn't want them around. They had
absolutely no control. Colonel Parker bristled. There was
nothing he could do except tell Diskin to leave immediately.
That would teach Elvis a lesson: "Come back here right now,
and let him fall on his ass."
Many critics and fans alike have often
claimed that if only Elvis had taken
more control of his career, had
trusted his own instincts, made the
movies and recorded the music he
really wanted, if he had just gotten
rid of the Colonel his career would
have been much better off. It's hard
to argue with the Colonel's success,
but it may be said with certainty that
in this instance, without being tied
by the Presley machine, Elvis rose to
and met every challenge. When Elvis
walked into American Sound Studio that
January evening, he hadn't had a top
five record since 1965. He would never
get as high on the charts again as he
did with Chips Moman.
Elvis himself believed that he had recorded some of his best
material. He did so with focus and effort, and by asserting a
kind of independence which was unusual for him. But it was an
independence tempered by a willingness to work with and be
guided by a producer he had never met, in a studio he knew by
name. Desperate for a number one hit Elvis took chances he
would never take again.
In fact seven of the 24 songs here are
from Finding The Way Home
offers you complete takes with
off-color banter, producer Chips
Moman's studio comments and Elvis
being challenged. The 21 songs on the
classic
From Elvis In Memphis
and From Memphis To Vegas/From
Vegas To Memphis (two LPs)
. Over the years, these songs have
been compiled as The Memphis Record
and acknowledged by music critics to
be a renaissance in performance and
quality material. Yet RCA has never
offered a comprehensive release of the
multiple takes showing how Elvis
struggled to sing these songs.
Chip Moman's musicians were talented
hit makers. Elvis had to prove to them
as much as to himself that he hadn't
lost it. Yet the songs, with their
unorthodox tempo changes and difficult
melodies, were a struggle to master.
The more takes he took, the harder he
tried. The band played on, hardly ever
fumbling a note or missing a beat. The
Jerry Butler song
Only The Strong Survive
is offered here with 13 false starts
and takes. Elvis had a hard time
figuring what to do during the
instrumental break that he ad-libbed
some obscenities.
Suspicious Minds
was another difficult song to sing.
The incomplete takes appear here for
the first time. The line "would I
still see suspicion in your eyes" has
Elvis stumbling. At one point, he
sings in frustration, "would I still
see, see see, **** you, rider". There
are seven takes here. Take 8 was the
master. Elvis did 20 takes of
In The Ghetto
only seven are including the almost
perfect take one. Clearly, everyone
knew how important this song was going
to be which explains the many
different backing variations and keys
that Elvis had to sing. Each take is a
joy to listen, whether complete or
not. The Roger Miller song From A
Jack To A King
was recorded to please his father. Of
the five takes four are
incomplete with only one complete
version and that is ended with this
Elvis comment, "It's all right, except
for the words".
It took Elvis six hours to get the
right take of Kentucky Rain
four takes and some false starts. The
sessions are evidence Elvis put in
maximum effort and was willing,
despite his reputation and fame, to
start from scratch with a new producer
and players and to subject himself to
Chips Moman's songs. It was a clean
break from his Hollywood sessions. In
his later years on stage, these songs
were never sung again. Perhaps, he
found them too difficult to attempt or
they were memories of another time and
another man. The songs on this bootleg
were taken from first generation
masters of the rough studio mono
mixes. They are undubbed mixes with
Elvis' vocals as they were recorded.
Sound quality is exceptional.
This is Marty Lacker and I read
with interest your story about
Elvis' Memphis American Studios
sessions and my role in getting
them done. I would appreciate you
correcting a mistake that is
commonly made as to what I said to
Chips when I called him to set the
sessions up.
I DID NOT TELL CHIPS HOW TO TALK
TO ELVIS NOR THE THINGS HE SHOULD
SAY TO HIM OR NOT SAY TO HIM
INCLUDING WHEN HE WAS OFF KEY.
It would be foolish of me and
defeating my purpose of wanting
Elvis to record with Chips for me
to do that. I was not about
to ask Chips to change the way he
did things, that would be stupid
of me because I wanted Chips to be
Chips and produce the way he
always did.
Secondly, if I had told Chips how
to talk to Elvis, his answer to me
would have been, "Go Fuck
Yourself." Chips was an
independent person and he was not
interested in changing for anyone.
Please make those changes because
it's important that Elvis' history
be truthful and like it was...
Thank you very much, Marty
