Biography
Chance Martin, also known as Chance, Alamo Jones, the Voice in Black, and the Stoned Ranger, has worked as a songwriter, guitarist, lighting director, stage manager, radio show host, and in numerous other roles. He ranks among the most storied and legendary figures associated with South Nashville.
His professional path started in 1969 when he handled cue cards for Johnny Cash’s television program while simultaneously serving as the singer’s lighting director on the road. Over the program’s three-year span the pair grew inseparable, with Martin acting as Cash’s closest advisor and trusted fixer; in recognition of that bond the performer presented him with a D35 Martin guitar and bestowed the nickname “the Voice in Black.” Martin composed his debut song, “Loser Til You Win,” on that instrument and soon afterward committed himself fully to writing. He continued in lighting and stage-management capacities for Cash’s House of Cash publishing company. Whenever he remained in town he took on high-profile rock shows passing through Nashville; at other times he traveled, assisting artists who valued his street-smart resourcefulness, plainspoken insight, and knack for managing crises.
Throughout this period Martin kept his own songwriting private. In 1977 he ended his association with Cash and spent his savings on equipment to outfit a rehearsal and recording room above his parents’ garage, complete with soundproofing, professional-grade gear, a bar, and sleeping quarters. Later the same year he and several established Nashville session players began using the space, which he named “the Dead End.” For the next five years the Chance Band rehearsed and cut demos for what became the underground classic In Search. The album was tracked during clandestine nighttime sessions at Cowboy Jack Clement’s studio and at the Music Mill; every major label turned it down because its sound blended honky tonk and outlaw country with folk, hard rock, funk, and blues. Martin pressed a limited run of several hundred copies and issued the record himself in 1982. Once those copies sold out he withheld the masters, turning the album into a sought-after collector’s item. He resumed touring to make a living, handling production and technical duties for Alice Cooper, David Lee Roth, and additional artists through the end of the century.
In 2010 Martin joined Clement as co-host of the weekly Outlaw Radio Show on XM Sirius. He resumed recording in 2011 and issued the self-titled hard-country album Alamo Jones in 2012. Paradise of Bachelors Records persuaded him to let the label remaster and reissue In Search, which appeared in an expanded edition during July 2013.
His professional path started in 1969 when he handled cue cards for Johnny Cash’s television program while simultaneously serving as the singer’s lighting director on the road. Over the program’s three-year span the pair grew inseparable, with Martin acting as Cash’s closest advisor and trusted fixer; in recognition of that bond the performer presented him with a D35 Martin guitar and bestowed the nickname “the Voice in Black.” Martin composed his debut song, “Loser Til You Win,” on that instrument and soon afterward committed himself fully to writing. He continued in lighting and stage-management capacities for Cash’s House of Cash publishing company. Whenever he remained in town he took on high-profile rock shows passing through Nashville; at other times he traveled, assisting artists who valued his street-smart resourcefulness, plainspoken insight, and knack for managing crises.
Throughout this period Martin kept his own songwriting private. In 1977 he ended his association with Cash and spent his savings on equipment to outfit a rehearsal and recording room above his parents’ garage, complete with soundproofing, professional-grade gear, a bar, and sleeping quarters. Later the same year he and several established Nashville session players began using the space, which he named “the Dead End.” For the next five years the Chance Band rehearsed and cut demos for what became the underground classic In Search. The album was tracked during clandestine nighttime sessions at Cowboy Jack Clement’s studio and at the Music Mill; every major label turned it down because its sound blended honky tonk and outlaw country with folk, hard rock, funk, and blues. Martin pressed a limited run of several hundred copies and issued the record himself in 1982. Once those copies sold out he withheld the masters, turning the album into a sought-after collector’s item. He resumed touring to make a living, handling production and technical duties for Alice Cooper, David Lee Roth, and additional artists through the end of the century.
In 2010 Martin joined Clement as co-host of the weekly Outlaw Radio Show on XM Sirius. He resumed recording in 2011 and issued the self-titled hard-country album Alamo Jones in 2012. Paradise of Bachelors Records persuaded him to let the label remaster and reissue In Search, which appeared in an expanded edition during July 2013.
Albums