From: Dik de Heer 
Date: Sun Dec 21, 2003 7:32am
Subject: Born To Be With You : Lightnin' Chance

LIGHTNIN' CHANCE

Born Floyd Taylor Chance, 21 December 1925, Como, Mississippi

After Bob Moore, Lightnin' Chance was probably Nashville's most 
famous and prolific bass player. A onetime Grand Ole Opry staff
musician, Chance played a stand-up acoustic bass, both on the
road and in the recording studio.

His specialty was providing a foundation for harmony while adding 
tonal colour. "I played with tone as much as possible", Chance said.
"Back then there were no electrified amplifiers [for basses], but you
could achieve varied effects, offering a greater variety of tones... It's
all in the wrist movement really."

Chance's father, Jody, a Dixieland banjoist, first gave him a four-string
Martin guitar. In school Chance played clarinet, saxophone, and bass
horn. While making touchdowns on the football field he earned the
nickname "Lightnin'".

During World War II, the U.S. Naval Conservatory provided Chance 
with advanced musical training while he served with the Fourth Fleet
Band, entertaining the troops in battle zones such as North Africa.
Discharged, Chance moved to Memphis, playing in Eddie Hill's band
(1947-51) and performing on WMPS radio and WMC-TV. Chance's
first recordings were in Sam Phillips's Memphis studio, which later
housed Sun Records.

In Nashville, Chance played on Hank Williams's last session (Sept.
23, 1952), which yielded three # 1 country hits of 1953: "Your Cheatin'
Heart", "Kaw-Liga" and "Take These Chains From My Heart". Other
million sellers boasting Chance's bass include Conway Twitty's "It's
Only Make Believe", Faron Young's "Hello Walls" and all the Cadence
hits by the Everly Brothers pre-"Let It Be Me".

Noting the Jordanaires' vocal chart relating to the tones of the diatonic
scale, Chance adapted it so studio instrumentalists who did not read
music might follow along. It became the Nashville Numbering System.

In 1952 Chance joined an Opry touring contingent that played New
York City's Astor Hotel. During the 1960s he opened the Nashvile
office for Chappell Music publishing and worked on Nashville's 
WLAC-TV. He later played Ralph Emery's early-morning WSM-TV
program (until 1988, when Chance retired).

Chance has played with almost every major Nashville recording 
artist, including Marty Robbins, Ray Price, Johnny Horton, Patsy
Cline, Sonny James, Willie Nelson, Ronnie Self, Melvin Endsley,
Onie Wheeler, Ric Cartey and Tom T. Hall.

(Adapted from Walt Trott's entry for Chance in The Encyclopedia
of Country Music, edited by Paul Kingsbury. New York : Oxford
University Press, 1998.)