On this day (May 19) in 1938, Jerry Stembridge was born in Atlanta, Georgia. History remembers him better as Chip Young, the guitarist and producer whose distinctive thumb-style picking graced hundreds of hit songs from some of the biggest names in country music. For instance, he can be heard on songs like Dolly Parton’s “Jolene,” Charley Pride’s “Kiss an Angel Good Mornin’,” and Kris Kristofferson’s “Why Me.”
Young started his career in the late 1950s playing alongside Jerry Reed and singer/songwriter Joe South. After touring extensively with the duo for years, he signed a deal with Lowery Music in his hometown of Atlanta. There, he wrote songs and recorded demos. According to an obituary, Felton Jarvis helped launch his career as an engineer in 1960.
The next year, he joined the United States Army. He finished his service in 1963, moved to Nashville, and started touring with Reed once again. When they weren’t on the road, Young began taking session work as a guitarist. Soon, he was one of the most in-demand pickers in Music City, playing behind the likes of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, and Reed, among others.
Young was also a regular member of Elvis Presley’s studio band. His first sessions were for Elvis Presley’s Grammy-winning 1966 album How Great Thou Art. This album, like many of Presley’s remaining releases, was produced by Young’s former Lowery Music teammate, Felton Jarvis.
Chip Young Becomes a Producer
In 1968, Chip Young purchased a farm outside of Nashville and opened Young ‘Un Sound, one of the first 16-track studios in the Music City area. There, he oversaw sessions for artists like Joe Ely, Michael Martin Murphey, and Mickey Newbury. Notably, he produced and engineered Billy Swan’s 1974 album I Can Help. The LP’s title track topped the Hot Country Songs and Hot 100 charts in the United States. It was also an international smash, reaching No. 1 in multiple countries, including Norway, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, and New Zealand.
Bobby Bare Jr. summed up Chip Young’s impact on country music after he died in 2014. “Just try to imagine Dolly Parton’s ‘Jolene’ without Chip Young’s thumb,” he told Nashville Scene. “It’s impossible. Chip was one of the best, hardest-working session pickers/producers/engineers Nashville has ever seen,” he added. “He was even better at being a granddad, family man, and a Christian. His family will miss him dearly.”
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