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Chip Young
Chip Young
Chip Young
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Chip Young (born Jerry Marvin Stembridge, May 19, 1938 – December 20, 2014) was an American session guitarist, and later record producer who worked primarily out of Nashville, Tennessee.

Biography

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Chip Young was born Jerry Marvin Stembridge in Atlanta, Georgia, and was famous for his thumb-style guitar picking. Young played on records by Eddy Arnold, Bobby Bare, J. J. Cale, Guy Clark, Skeeter Davis, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Kris Kristofferson, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Louvin, Charlie McCoy, Ronnie Milsap, Willie Nelson, the Oak Ridge Boys, Dolly Parton, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Charley Pride, Leon Russell, Earl Scruggs, Nancy Sinatra, Tanya Tucker, Tony Joe White, and many more.[1][2]

Young 'Un Sound

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In 1968, Young built his own recording studio, Young 'Un Sound, on the outskirts of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, about 35 miles southeast of Nashville.[3] In 1975, Young established a Nashville studio for Young 'Un Sound when he purchased the Monument Recording Studios. The Young 'Un Sound studios in Nashville were operational until 1988, then were purchased by Albert Jolson, Jr., to become Masterlink Studios.[4]

Discography

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Producer and engineer discography

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References

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Chip Young

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Chip Young is an American session guitarist and record producer known for his distinctive thumb-picking style that defined the sound of countless Nashville recordings, most iconically on Dolly Parton's "Jolene." Born Jerry Marvin Stembridge on May 19, 1938, in Atlanta, Georgia, he moved to Nashville in the early 1960s at the invitation of Jerry Reed and quickly rose to prominence as a first-call musician in the city's elite session scene. His thumb-picking technique, inspired by Chet Atkins, became a signature element on hundreds of hit records across country, pop, and rock genres during the 1960s through the 1980s. Young's career included extensive work with Elvis Presley, beginning in 1965 and continuing until Presley's death in 1977, during which he contributed guitar parts to tracks such as "Guitar Man" and "Way Down". He also produced Billy Swan's international hit "I Can Help" and recorded with artists such as Charley Pride on "Kiss an Angel Good Morning," Waylon Jennings, Jerry Lee Lewis, Kris Kristofferson, Reba McEntire, and Chet Atkins. Beyond performing, Young built and operated Young'un Sound studio in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and later acquired and renovated the former Monument Studios in Nashville to achieve the precise recording quality he sought. Recognized for his versatility, positive attitude, and dedication to serving the song, Young was inducted into the National Thumbpickers Hall of Fame in 2009 and featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's Nashville Cats series in 2010. He released the collaborative thumb-picking album Having Thumb Fun With My Friends, featuring prominent Nashville musicians. Young died on December 20, 2014, in Nashville at the age of 76 following triple bypass surgery.

Early life

Birth and early career

Chip Young was born Jerry Marvin Stembridge on May 19, 1938, in Atlanta, Georgia. He began his professional music career in his late teens, playing guitar alongside Jerry Reed and Joe South, and toured extensively with South. Young eventually signed with Lowery Music in Atlanta, where he worked on songwriting, engineering recordings, and publishing demos. In 1960, fellow Atlantan Felton Jarvis helped launch his engineering career, including work at Bill Lowery's NRC studio. Young was drafted into the Army in December 1961 while still based in Atlanta. After his military service, he relocated to Nashville to pursue further opportunities in the music industry.

Career

Session guitarist in Nashville

Chip Young relocated to Nashville in 1963 on the day of his Army discharge to tour as a backing guitarist for his friend Jerry Reed, quickly establishing himself as one of the city's most sought-after session players through his distinctive thumb-picking technique influenced by Chet Atkins. This fingerstyle approach, shared with Reed and emphasizing rhythmic bass lines played with the thumb alongside melodic fingerwork, became a signature element on countless Nashville recordings from the 1960s onward. Young emerged as a leading figure among Nashville's elite session guitarists, contributing to hits across the country music scene. He maintained a long-term association with Elvis Presley as the first-choice studio guitarist for Nashville sessions from 1966 to 1977, starting with the May 1966 sessions for the Grammy-winning album How Great Thou Art and continuing through various RCA Studio B dates, Los Angeles soundtrack work, and late sessions at Graceland's Jungle Room. His playing appeared on Presley tracks including "Guitar Man," a Jerry Reed composition that highlighted Young's rhythmic and melodic contributions. Young's thumb-picked guitar lines anchored several iconic country recordings, notably the distinctive introduction and accompaniment on Dolly Parton's 1973 hit "Jolene" and Charley Pride's 1971 single "Kiss an Angel Good Morning." He also performed on sessions for a wide range of artists including Jerry Reed, Eddy Arnold, Skeeter Davis, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Ronnie Milsap, and The Oak Ridge Boys. Young continued active session work into the 2000s, contributing guitar parts to projects by artists such as My Morning Jacket, Todd Snider, and Candi Staton.

Record producer and engineer

Chip Young achieved prominence as a record producer and engineer in Nashville, leveraging his extensive session experience to guide recordings across country, rock, and related genres. One of his signature achievements was co-producing Billy Swan's 1974 single "I Can Help," a track Swan composed in 20 minutes and captured in just two takes at Young's studio. Young shaped the song's sound by adding subliminal Fender Telecaster guitar lines and a distinctive descending lead solo, transforming it into a jaunty, organ-backed neo-rockabilly pop classic. The record topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts and sold over one million copies in the United States, with another million sold internationally. Young also produced full albums for several prominent artists, including Joe Ely's self-titled MCA debut in 1977 and the follow-up Honky Tonk Masquerade in 1978, along with Delbert McClinton's Victim of Life’s Circumstances in 1975. His production work extended to Jerry Reed, Larry Gatlin, Tom T. Hall, Reba McEntire, Johnny Rodriguez, and the Statler Brothers, among others. In his engineering capacity, Young contributed technical and musical overdubs when needed; notably, he recreated the original guitar solo as an overdub for Elvis Presley's cover of "I Can Help" on the 1975 album Today.

Studio owner

In 1968, Chip Young purchased an 1830 antebellum farm in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, where he built Young 'Un Sound, a 16-track recording studio housed in a two-room log outhouse measuring 15 by 20 feet. This modest facility on the outskirts of Nashville represented his entry into studio ownership, providing a dedicated space for his work as a producer and engineer outside the main Music Row hub. Young expanded his operations in 1978 by purchasing Monument Recording Studios in Nashville, which he renamed and operated as Young 'Un Sound until selling it in 1988; the facility later became known as Masterlink Studios. The move to Nashville's Music Row allowed for larger-scale recording capabilities while maintaining the Young 'Un Sound brand across both locations. Young 'Un Sound hosted sessions for major artists such as Teresa Brewer, Johnny Mathis, Jimmy Buffett, Jerry Reed, Joe Ely, and Delbert McClinton. These projects highlighted the studio's role in capturing a range of musical styles during its active years.

Notable contributions

Key guitar performances

Chip Young became widely recognized for his distinctive thumb-picking guitar style, which defined the sound of numerous classic country recordings during his prolific session career in Nashville. His contributions as a guitarist often featured intricate, melodic lines that complemented vocal performances and elevated the overall arrangement of songs. Among his most celebrated guitar performances is the iconic thumb-picked introduction and accompaniment on Dolly Parton's 1973 hit single "Jolene," where his playing creates the song's hypnotic and memorable groove. Young also provided guitar on Elvis Presley's "Guitar Man," contributing to the track's rhythmic drive with his signature technique. He played guitar on Charley Pride's 1971 number-one hit "Kiss an Angel Good Morning," adding texture to the song's upbeat arrangement. Young's guitar work appeared on Billy Swan's 1974 smash "I Can Help." His session credits include guitar performances on albums by Kris Kristofferson, such as Jesus Was a Capricorn (1972) and Breakaway (1974), as well as Reba McEntire's Feel the Fire (1980) and Unlimited (1982), The Oak Ridge Boys' Bobbie Sue (1982) and American Made (1983), and Willie Nelson's Island in the Sea (1987) and Just One Love (1995). He also contributed guitar to Gary Stewart's "Your Place or Mine" and Vern Gosdin's "Way Down Deep Inside My Soul." These performances highlight his versatility across various country subgenres and eras.

Major productions

Chip Young produced several influential albums and singles in the country, rock, and Americana genres during the 1970s and beyond, contributing to the sound of Nashville's vibrant recording scene. His most prominent production success came with Billy Swan's I Can Help (1974), an album and title single that topped the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs charts, marking a major crossover hit and establishing Swan as an artist of note. Young also produced Joe Ely's debut album Joe Ely (1977) and the follow-up Honky Tonk Masquerade (1978), both of which helped define Ely's distinctive blend of country, rock, and Tex-Mex influences and earned critical acclaim within the emerging outlaw country movement. ) In 1975, Young produced Delbert McClinton's Victim of Life’s Circumstances, an album that showcased McClinton's soulful country-rock style and included tracks that highlighted his songwriting and vocal abilities. Young's production portfolio extended to other artists, including Mickey Newbury, Gene Summers, Michael Martin Murphey, and Deryl Dodd, where he brought his engineering background and musical intuition to diverse projects across country and roots music.

Film and television credits

Recognition

Personal life and death

Chip Young was married to Diane Parker-Stembridge for 23 years at the time of his death. He had one daughter, Megan Lee Bare. Young died on December 20, 2014, in Nashville, Tennessee, at age 76, one month after undergoing triple bypass heart surgery at St. Thomas Hospital.
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