NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK NOMINATION SUN RECORD

NATIONAL

HISTORIC

LANDMARK NOMINATION

NFS

Form

10-900

USDI/NP

S

NRHP

Registration

Form

(Rev. 8-86)

OMB

No.

1024-0018

SUN

RECORD

COMPANY/MEMPHIS

RECORDING

SERVICE

Page

1

United

States

Department

of

the

Interior,

National

Park

Service

National

Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

1.

NAME

OF

PROPERTY

Historic

Name:

Sun

Record

Company,

Memphis

Recording

Service

Other

Name/Site

Number:

Sun

Records,

Sun

Studio

2.

LOCATION

Street

&

Number:

706

Union

Avenue

City/Town:

Memphis

State:

Tennessee

County:

Shelby

Code:

157

Not

for

publication:_

Vicinity:_

Zip

Code: 38103

3.

CLASSIFICATION

Ownership

of

Property

Private:

X

Public-Local:__

Public-State:__

Public-Federal:

Number

of

Resources

within

Property

Contributing

1

Category

of

Property

Building(s):

X

District:

_

Site:

_

Structure:

_

Object:

_

Noncontributing

_

buildings

_

sites

_

structures

_

objects

Total

Number

of

Contributing Resources

Previously

Listed

in

the

National

Register:_

Name

of

Property

Listing:

NFS

Form

10-900

USDI/NPS

NRHP

Registration

Form

(Rev. 8-86)

OMB

No.

1024-0018

SUN

RECORD COMPANY/MEMPHIS

RECORDING

SERVICE

Page

2

United

States

Department

of

the

Interior,

National

Park

Service_____________________________________National

Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

4.

STATE/FEDERAL AGENCY

CERTIFICATION

As

the

designated

authority

under

the

National

Historic

Preservation

Act

of

1966,

as

amended,

I

hereby

certify

that

this

__

nomination

__

request

for

determination

of

eligibility meets

the

documentation

standards

for

registering

properties

in

the

National

Register

of

Historic Places and

meets

the

procedural

and

professional

requirements

set

forth

in

36

CFR

Part

60.

In

my

opinion,

the

property

__

meets

__

does

not

meet

the

National

Register

Criteria.

Signature

of

Certifying

Official

Date

State

or

Federal

Agency

and

Bureau

In

my

opinion,

the

property

__

meets

__

does

not

meet

the

National

Register

criteria.

Signature

of

Commenting

or

Other

Official

Date

State

or

Federal

Agency

and

Bureau

5.

NATIONAL

PARK

SERVICE

CERTIFICATION

I

hereby

certify

that

this

property

is:

Entered

in

the

National

Register

Determined

eligible

for

the

National

Register

Determined

not

eligible

for

the

National

Register

Removed

from

the

National

Register

Other

(explain):

_________________

Signature

of

Keeper

Date

of

Action

NFS

Form

10-900

USDI/NPS

NRHP

Registration

Form

(Rev. 8-86)

SUN

RECORD COMPANY/MEMPHIS

RECORDING

SERVICE

United

States

Department

of

the

Interior,

National

Park

Service_______________________________

OMBNo.

1024-0018

Page

3

National

Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

6.

FUNCTION

OR

USE

Historic:

Commerce/Trade

Current:

Recreation

and

Culture

Sub:

Professional

Sub:

Museum

Music

Facility

7.

DESCRIPTION

Architectural

Classification:

No

Style

Materials:

Foundation:

Concrete

Walls:

Brick,

Stone

Roof:

Synthetics

Other:

NFS

Form

10-900

USDI/NPS

NRHP

Registration

Form

(Rev. 8-86)

OMB

No.

1024-0018

SUN

RECORD COMPANY/MEMPHIS

RECORDING

SERVICE

Page

4

United

States

Department

of

the

Interior,

National

Park

Service

National

Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

Describe

Present

and

Historic

Physical

Appearance.

The

building

at

706

Union

Avenue,

constructed

in

1908,

is

a

one-story

brick

row

building.

(Although

the

building

has

a

Union

Avenue

address,

it

actually

fronts

on

Marshall about

20

feet

west

of

the

intersection

with

Union).

In

1949,

the

interior

was

renovated

and

the

building

reopened

as

a

studio

for

music

recording

in

January

1950.

The

building

is

narrow

and

relatively

small

in

size,

approximately

18

feet

wide

by

57

feet

long.

The

front

facade

is

brick

in

variegated

shades

of

brown,

ranging

in

color

from cream

to

terra

cotta

to

dark

brown.

A

decorative band

of

stone

blocks

defines

the

top

section

of

the

front

wall

like

an

architrave.

There

is

another

row

of

these

blocks

at

the

top

of

the

wall,

which

is

a

shallow

parapet

with

stepped

ends.

Most

of

the

brick

was

laid

in

stretcher

bond.

Brickwork

details include

a

vertical

row

like

a

lintel

over

the

storefront

bay

and

a

row

of

headers

below

the

architrave

band.

The

storefront

is

the

building's

primary

fenestration,

with

a

central

door,

large

glass

windows

on

both

sides

of

the

door,

and

a

transom

above.

The

transom

windows have

been

covered

over

on

the

exterior

side,

but

are

visible

on

the

interior.

There

are

three

neon

signs

on

the

front

fa9ade

for

the

main

businesses

that

operated

here

in

the

1950s.

SUN,

in

yellow

and

orange,

is

affixed

to

the

brick

over

the

door.

Each storefront

window

has

signs

for

the

Memphis

Recording

Service.

"Memphis"

and

"Service"

are

written

in

red

neon,

"Recording"

is

written

in

blue.

The

Memphis

Recording

Service

signs

are

reproductions

of

the

one

original

sign.

When

Sun

Records

was

at

this

location,

the

building

did

not

display

a

sign

for

that

company.

This

small

row

building

at

706

Union

Avenue

is

adjacent

to

and

shares

a

party

wall

with

a

similar

two-story

building,

710

Union

Avenue,

on

the

corner

of

Union

and

Marshall

Avenues.

During

the

1950s,

the

two-story building

housed

a

restaurant

on

the

first floor and

a

rooming

house

on

the

second

floor;

the

music

recording

business

did

not

operate

at

this location.

The

two-story

corner

building

currently

serves

as

a

"visitor

center"

for

the

historic

recording

studio,

which

is

open

daily

to

the

public

for

tours.

The

interior

of

the

building

is

divided

into

three

sections.

The

front

door

opens

into

a

small

reception

area/office

of

about

200

square

feet.

This

room

has

an

irregular

shape

because

the

front

wall

follows

Marshall

Avenue,

which

runs

into

Union

Avenue

at

an

angle.

The

office

area

has

a

pressed

metal

entablature

and

ceiling

with

a

repeated

pattern

of

squares

with

textured

surfaces.

The

recording

studio

is

in

the

middle

of

the

building.

A

wall

with

a

single

door

and

a

long,

horizontal

window

separates

the

front

room

from

the studio

in

the

middle.

The

studio

is

approximately

18

feet

wide

by

30

feet

long.

The

control

room

for

the

recording

studio

is

at

the

rear

of

the

building.

Another

wall

with

a

single

door

and

a

long,

horizontal

window

separates

it

from

the

studio.

The

control

room

is

17

feet

10

inches

wide

by

13

feet

7

inches

long,

and

the

floor

in

this

room

is

elevated

about

two

feet

above

the studio

floor.

The

window

in

the

wall

between

the

studio

and

the

control

room

is

further

elevated

on

the

wall

than

the

window

in

the

reception area

because

of

the

raised

floor

height

in

the

control room.

Sam

Phillips,

owner

of

the

recording

studio,

built

the

window

at

this

height

"so

that

his

eyes

would

be

level

with

the

performer's

when

he

was

sitting

at

the

control

NFS

Form

10-900

USDI/NPS

NRHP

Registration

Form

(Rev. 8-86)

OMB

No.

1024-0018

SUN

RECORD COMPANY/MEMPHIS

RECORDING

SERVICE

Page

5

United

States

Department

of

the

Interior,

National

Park

Service

National

Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

room

console."

1

There

is

a

single

door

in

the

control

room's

rear

wall,

which

is

also

the

rear

wall

of

the

building.

It

opens

onto

a

parking

lot

behind

the

building.

During

the

1950s,

there

was

a

small

addition

at

the

rear

of

the

building

that

adjoined

the

control

room,

but

is

no

longer

extant.

The

studio

walls and ceiling

are

covered

in

acoustical

tiles

installed

for

soundproofing

in

1949.

Phillips

custom-designed

the

tile

installation

for

this

room

based

on

his

research

on

acoustical

design,

and

built

"the

latest

and

finest

sonocoustic

studios."

It

was

one

of

the

first

music

recording

studios

that

took

acoustics

into

consideration

in

its

design.

The

acoustical

tiles

on

the

ceiling and

on

the

front and

rear

walls

were installed

in

patterns

so

that

the

room

does

not

have

any

parallel

surfaces.

Beginning

at

the

front

wall

of

the

studio,

there

are

rows

of

tiles

that

angle

down

from

the

ceiling,

then

sharply

back

up

for four

rows

to

a

section

that

is

two rows

deep

and

lays

flat on

the

ceiling.

Four

more

rows

angle

down

and

sharply

back

up

to

another

section

laid

flat.

This

pattern

repeats

down

the

length

of

the

ceiling and

gives

the ceiling

a

kind

of

undulating

appearance.

In

section

it

is

similar

to

the

design

of

a

jerkin-head

roof,

and

in

appearance

somewhat

like

short,

adjacent

barrel

vaults

spanned

between

the

building's

side

walls.

Tiles on

the

front

and

rear

walls

also

project

out

at

intervals

rather

than

lay

flat

on

the

surface.

The

tile

was

installed

in

this

way

to

prevent

standing

waves

of

sound

in

the

studio.

The

neighborhood

around

706

Union

Avenue

contains

a

number

of

automobile-related

businesses

that

have

been

located

in

the area

for

many

years.

This

building

also

housed

an

auto-

1940,

the

Magic Throttle

Company,

before

Sam

Phillips

remodeled

it

for

his

recording

studio.

Marion

Keisker

was

Phillips's

only

assistant

and employee

when

he started

his

business

here.

She

provided

this

account

of

the

Memphis

Recording

Service's

first

days

at

706

Union

Avenue:

[Phillips]

would

talk

about

this

idea

he

had,

this

dream,

I

suppose,

to

have

a

facility

where

black

people

could

come

and

play

their

own

music,

a

place

where

they

would

feel

free

and relaxed

to

do

it.

One

day

we

were

riding

along,

and

he

saw that

spot

on

Union,

and

he

said,

'That's

the

spot

I

want.'

With

many

difficulties

we

got

the

place,

and

we

raised

the

money,

and

between

us

we

did

everything.

We

laid

all

the

tile,

we

painted

the

acoustic

boards,

I

put

in

the

bathroom,

Sam

put

in

*y

the

control

room—what

little equipment

he

had

always

had

to

be

the

best.

This

building

has

a

very

high

degree

of

integrity

with

minimal

changes

since

the

1950s

when

the

recording

studio

was

located

here.

It

is

especially

remarkable

that

the

acoustical

tiles

on

the

ceiling

and

walls

still

exist

because

of

their

critical

importance

in

the

sound

of

the

music

recorded

at

this

location.

The

building

has

been

operated

as

a

historic

site

under

private

ownership

since

1987,

and

tours

are

conducted

daily.

The

studio

is

still

used

occasionally

for

recording

and

contains

a

number

of

musical

instruments

and

1

Peter

Guralnick,

Last

Train

to

Memphis:

The

Rise

of

Elvis

Presley

(Boston, New

York,

London:

Little,

Brown

and

Company:

1994),

85.

Ibid.,

61.

NFS

Form

10-900

USDI/NPS

NRHP

Registration

Form

(Rev. 8-86)

SUN

RECORD COMPANY/MEMPHIS

RECORDING

SERVICE

United

States

Department

of

the

Interior,

National

Park

Service_______________________________

OMBNo.

1024-0018

Page

6

National

Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

8.

STATEMENT

OF

SIGNIFICANCE

Certifying

official

has

considered

the

significance

of

this

property

in

relation

to

other

properties:

Nationally:

JC.

Statewide:_

Locally:_

Applicable

National

Register

Criteria:

Criteria

Considerations

(Exceptions):

NHL

Criteria:

NHL

Exception:

NHL

Theme(s):

AJL

B

JL

C_

D_

A_

B_

C_

D_

E_

F

1

and

2

II.

Creating

Social

Institutions

and

Movements

2

Reform

Movements

III.

Expressing

Cultural

Values

2.

Visual

and

Performing

Arts

4.

Mass

Media

6.

Popular

and

Traditional

Culture

Areas

of

Significance:

Period(s)

of

Significance:

Significant

Dates:

Significant

Person(s):

Cultural

Affiliation:

Architect/Builder:

Historic

Contexts:

Performing

Arts,

Social

History

1949-1960

1950, 1952,

1954,

1955,

1956

Sam

Phillips

XXII. Music

D.

Popular

K.

Performers

O.

Recording

XXXI.

Social

and

Humanitarian

Movements

M.

Civil

Rights

Movement

NFS

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OMB

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RECORD COMPANY/MEMPHIS

RECORDING

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United

States

Department

of

the

Interior,

National

Park

Service

National

Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

State

Significance

of

Property,

and

Justify

Criteria,

Criteria

Considerations,

and

Areas

and

Periods

of

Significance Noted

Above.

Summary

In

a

small

studio

in

a

small

brick

building

at

706

Union

Avenue

in

Memphis,

Tennessee,

Sam

C.

Phillips

recorded

music

in

the

1950s

that

is

"one

of

the

true

touchstones

of

American

culture."

3

Phillips

fostered

an

atmosphere

in

his

studio

that

inspired

creativity

in

the

musicians

he

recorded,

and

he

had

an

exceptional

ear

for

a

new

kind

of

artist

and

a

new

kind

of

music.

The

evidence

of

Phillips'

intuitive

feel

for

talent

is

astonishing.

During

an

eight-year

period

he

discovered

and

recorded

B.B.

King,

Howlin'

Wolf,

Ike

Turner,

Rufus

Thomas,

Elvis

Presley,

Johnny

Cash,

Jerry

Lee

Lewis, Carl

Perkins,

Charlie

Rich,

Roy

Orbison,

and

many

others.

Some

of

the

artists

Phillips

recorded

would

redefine

the

musical

genres

in

-which

they

worked.

Many

of

them

made

for

Phillips

not

only

their

first

recordings

but

also

their

best.

4

In

1952,

two

years

after

he

opened

the

Memphis

Recording

Service,

Phillips

started

his

own

record

company.

Sun

Records

was

"the

first

great

rock

'n'

roll

record

label."

5

.

the

Sun

label

was

as

much

a

statement

of

social

philosophy,

a

declaration

of

independence

and

freedom,

as

it

was

a

commercial

enterprise.

For

seldom

in

the

history

of

the

so-called

"record

business"

has

greater

faith

in

the

possibilities

of

the

human

spirit

been

expressed.

. .

The

motivation

behind

the

music

was

self-expression,

that

and

an

implicit

belief

in

both

the

richness

of

the

African-American

tradition

and

the

possibilities

of

cultural

integration.

6

These

musical

ventures

made

Sam

Phillips

a

legend

in

his

own

time.

They

"ensured

that not

even

the

most

cursory

history

of

American

popular

music could

be

written without reference

to

Memphis

or

Sam

C.

Phillips."

7

Historical

and

Geographical Context

Memphis

sits

high

on

a

bluff

on

the

east

bank

of

the

Mississippi

River

at

the

southwest

edge

of

Tennessee.

It

is

the

gateway

to

the

Mississippi

Delta,

which

stretches

more

than

two

hundred

miles

down

to

Vicksburg

where

the

Yazoo

River

runs

into

the

Mississippi.

8

The

land

between

the Mississippi

and

the

Yazoo,

about

sixty

miles

across

at

the

widest

point,

was

"the

greatest

cotton

country

on

earth

...

It

produced higher

cotton

yields than

anywhere

else in

America

...

By

1859,

the

South

produced

two-thirds

of

the

world

total,

and

raw

cotton

had

become

the

3

Colin

Escott

with

Martin

Hawkins,

Good

Rochin

'

Tonight:

Sun

Records

and

the

Birth

of

Rock

'n

'

Roll

(New

York:

St.

Martin's

Press,

1991),

Preface.

4

Ibid.

5

Ibid.,

front

cover,

quoting

Rolling

Stone.

6

Ibid.,

Foreword

by

Peter

Guralnick.

7

Ibid.,

1.

8

This

is

not

the

geographical

(or

physical)

delta

of

the

Mississippi

River,

which

is

hundreds

of

miles

down

river

in

south

Louisiana.

NFS

Form

10-900

USDI/NPS

NRHP

Registration

Form

(Rev. 8-86)

OMB

No.

1024-0018

SUN

RECORD COMPANY/MEMPHIS

RECORDING

SERVICE

Page

8

United

States

Department

of

the

Interior,

National

Park

Service

National

Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

principal

export

commodity

of

the

United

States."

9

The

1860

census

documents

that

Mississippi

produced

1,202,507

bales

of

cotton

that

year.

Each

bale

weighed

four

hundred

pounds.

10

After

the

Civil

War,

most

former

slaves

became

sharecroppers.

In

Mississippi,

"the

result

was

an

appalling

paradox:

grinding

agrarian

poverty,

on

some

of

the

richest

soil

in

the

world."

11

Mississippi

was

notorious

for

being

the

worst

state

for

African

Americans

to

live

because

black

people

there

were

at

rock

bottom.

The

experiences

of

poor

blacks

in

the

late

nineteenth

and

early

twentieth

centuries

were

raw

material

for

a

new

kind

of

music,

and

Mississippi

became

the

"birthplace

of

the

blues."

Although

Nashville

has

been

the

capital

of

Tennessee

since

1826,

Memphis

has

long

been

the

unofficial

capital

city

of

this

region—the

capital

of

the

Mississippi

Delta—and

long

known

as

the

"home

of

the

blues."

Musical

Context

The

neighborhood

around

Beale

Street

in Memphis,

south

of

the central

business

district,

became

a

business

and

entertainment center

that

drew

African

Americans

from

throughout

the

South

after

the

Civil

War.

Later

it

became

a

regional

gathering

place

for

Delta

blues

musicians.

12

W.C.

Handy,

"Father

of

the

Blues,"

wrote

the

"Memphis

Blues"

at

Pee

Wee's

Saloon

on

Beale

Street

in

1909.

Handy

himself, however, said

that

most

of

his

blues were adaptations

of

songs

he

learned

as

a

child.

13

Before

World

War

II

most

black

music

was blues,

and

a

lot

of

those

were

country

blues

of

the

Mississippi

Delta, the

raw,

gut-wrenching

folk

music

of

rural

African

Americans.

Black

migration

out

of

the

rural

South

accelerated

during

the

First World

War

and

exploded

after

World

War

II

when

manual

cotton

picking

came

to

an

end.

Synthetic

materials

took

over

the

market

after

the

discovery

of

nylon

in

1939,

and

the

mechanical

cotton

picker,

able

to

do

the

work

of

fifty

people,

arrived

soon

after.

'The

main

musical

result

of

the

great migration

was

the

blues

came

to

town,

and

not

to

any old

town:

to

Memphis,

which

acted

as

the

local

focus

for

migration

from

the

Delta."

14

West

Tennessee's

African

American

musical

traditions

are

quite

different

from

the

country

music

at

the

Grand

Ole

Opry

in

Nashville

and

the

music

of

the

Appalachian

Mountains

in East

Tennessee,

with

roots

in

the

British

Isles.

Memphis

was

the

place

where

there

was

"a

meeting

of

the

musics,"

according

to

Sam

Phillips,

where

all

kinds

of

southern

music

could

be

heard

in

9

Sir

Peter

Hall,

Cities

in

Civilization

(New

York:

Fromm

International,

1998),

554.

10

John

Hebron

Moore,

The

Emergence

of

the

Cotton

Kingdom

in

the

Old

South-west,

Mississippi,

1790-1860

(Baton

Rouge

and

London: Louisiana

State

University

Press,

1988),

xii.

Hall,

Cities

in

Civilization,

555.

12

The

Beale

Street

Historic

District

was

designated

a

National

Historic

Landmark

in

1966.

13

Hall,

Cities

in

Civilization,

565.

14

Ibid.,

574.

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United

States

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of

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Interior,

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Service

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Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

the

1940s:

country,

country

and western,

bluegrass,

blues,

gospel

music,

and

rhythm

and

blues.

In

the

South:

There

-was

not

one

underclass

but

two,

one

black,

one

white,

living

lives

that

were

almost

equally

basic,

rigidly

segregated,

[and]

hostile

.

..

They

created

different

kinds

of

music,

each

reflecting

a

long

folk

tradition:

one

out

of

Africa,

developed

through

the

experience

of

slavery

and

sharecropping;

the

other

out

of

northern

England

and

southern

Scotland

and

northern

Ireland,

evolving

through

centuries

of

life

on

remote

Appalachian

hill

farms

. . .

The

Memphis

story

is

thus

the

quintessence

of

a

recurring

theme

. . .

the

outsiders,

coming

into

the

city

and

creating

something

strangely

new

and

different.

15

Before

World

War

II,

music

on

American

radio

stations

was

basically

controlled

by

ASCAP,

the

American

Society

of

Composers, Authors,

and

Producers,

which

licensed

songs

for

network

radio.

American

popular

music

at

that

time

originated

at

New

York

City's

Tin

Pan

Alley,

then

located

at

Twenty-eighth

Street.

The

major

record

labels,

the

Tin

Pan

Alley

songwriters,

the

major

radio

stations,

and

trade

publications

such

as

Variety

and

Billboard

all made

their

money

from

the

old kind

of

white

music

.

Tin

Pan

Alley

manufactured

songs,

almost

by

mass

production,

in

the

same way

that

Detroit

mass-manufactured

cars;

it was

big

business

. . .

it

specialized

in

sentimental

ballads

....

concentrated

on

'show

tunes'.

. .

and

nonsense

novelties

. . .

Throughout,

the

target

of

Tin

Pan

Alley

was

the

adult

white

family

audience:

'White

popular

music

was

one

hundred

percent

whitebread,

unenriched.

'

16

An

alternative

organization

for

publishing

music

started

in

1940,

Broadcast

Music,

Inc.

(BMI).

In

general,

it

represented

independent

radio

broadcasters

and

helped

to

open

up

the

market

for

other

kinds

of

music.

After

World

War

II,

growth

in

the

number

of

radio

stations

programming

something

besides

American

popular

music

also

led

to

growth

in

the

number

of

independent

record

companies.

The

new

"indy"

labels

targeted

markets

for

music

that

was

not

mainstream,

primarily

country,

country

and

western

(hillbilly),

and

black

"race"

music.

Some

of

the

top

hits

in

the

early

1950s,

the

best

that

American

popular

music

had

to offer,

included

"Lavender

Blue"

by

Dinah

Shore;

"Yellow

Rose

of

Texas"

by

Mitch

Miller;

Patty

Page's

"Doggie

in

the

Window;"

and

"Three

Coins

in

the

Fountain"

by

the

4

Aces.

Songs

like

these

were

not

music

to

the

ears

of

the

new

postwar

teenage

generation.

"Refugees

from

the

popular

music

stations"

17

began

to

turn

their

radio

dials

in

search

of

music

that

was

different

and

more

exciting—country

and

western

C&W)

and

rhythm

and

blues

R&B).

By

1951,

word

began

to

spread

that

white

kids

were

buying

"race"

records.

In

Memphis,

WDIA

started

out

in

1947

as

a

popular

and

country music

radio

station.

The

station

switched

formats

in

1948

and

began

programming

for

a

black

audience

after

the

success

of

a

show

called

"Black

America

Speaks,"

hosted

by

Memphis's

first

black

on-air

personality,

Nat

15

Ibid.,

553.

16

Ibid.,

587.

17

Mike

Jahn,

Rock,

From Elvis

Presley

to

the

Rolling

Stones

(New

York:

Quadrangle/The

New

York

Times

Book

Co.,

1973),

6.

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United

States

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of

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Interior,

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Service

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Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

Williams.

Blues

artists

got

exposure

on

WDIA

and

WLOK,

as

well

as

KWEM

across

the

river

in

West

Memphis, Arkansas.

These

stations

advertisements

for

radio,

etc.,

in

addition

to

musicians

in

his

studio.

In

the last

two decades,

music

historians

have

sought

out

Sam

Phillips

to

document

his

account

of

the

first

years

of

rock

'n'

roll.

He

was

out

of

the

public

eye

for

some

time,

but

Phillips

has

been

more

available

in

recent

years:

/

opened

the

Memphis

Recording

Service

-with

the

intention

of

recording

singers

and

musicians

from

Memphis

and

the

locality

who

I

felt

had

something

that

people should

be

able

to

hear.

I'm

talking

about

blues—both

the

country

style

and

the

rhythm

style—and

also

about

gospel

or

spiritual

music

and

about

white

country

music.

I

always

felt

that

people

who

played

this

type

of

music

had

not

been

given

the

opportunity

to

reach

an

audience

.

. .

My

aim

was

to

try

and

record

the

blues

and

other

music

I

liked

and

to

prove

whether

I

was right

or

wrong

about

this

music.

I

knew,

or

I

felt

I

knew,

that

there

was

a

bigger

audience

for

blues

than

just

the

black

Escott,

Good

Rockin'

Tonight,

5.

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United

States

Department

of

the

Interior,

National

Park

Service

National

Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

man

of

the

mid-South.

There

were

city

markets

to

be

reached,

and

I

knew

that

whites

listened

to

blues

surreptitiously.

19

Phillips

also

functioned

as

a

folklorist,

documenting

music

that

was

fading

into

the

past.

"With

the

jet

age

coming

on,

with

cotton-picking

machines

as

big

as

a

building

going

down

the

road,

with

society

changing,

I

knew

that

this

music

wasn't

going

to

be

available

in

a

pure

sense

forever."

20

Recording

the

Blues

Initially,

Sam

Phillips

recorded

artists

and

sold

or

leased

his

masters

to

various

record

companies.

His

first

deal,

with

4

Star/Gilt

Edge

Records,

was

a

song

by

a

blind pianist

from

south

Memphis.

Lost

John

Hunter's

"Boogie

for

Me

Baby"

was

"a

crude

boogie

blues

that

could

pick

up

some

southern

juke

coin,"

according

to

the

review

^Billboard,

a

record

business

trade

publication.

21

In

late

summer

1950,

Phillips

launched

his

own

record

company

with

partner

Dewey

Phillips

(the

hot

Memphis

radio

announcer, no

relation)

in

order

to

issue

and

promote

his

own

products.

They

called

their

label

Phillips,

but

it

only

lasted

a

few

weeks,

issuing three

hundred

copies

of

Joe

Hill

Louis's

"Boogie

in

the

Park"

in

August

1950.

Phillips

soon

began

working with Modern

Records

of

Los

Angeles,

owned

and

operated

by

the

Bihari

brothers.

Their

new

subsidiary,

RPM Records,

was

looking for

"new

music

with

a

down-

home

feel."

22

Jules

Bihari

sent

a

guitar

player

from

Indianola,

Mississippi,

to

Sam

Phillips

to

record.

Riley

King

was

already

popular

locally

and known

as

B.B.

King

(for Blues

Boy,

or

more

likely,

Black

Boy).

Phillips

recorded

King,

one

of

the

first

artists

on

the

new

RPM

label,

from

mid-1950

until

mid-1951.

Even

at

this

early

stage

in

his

career,

Sam

Phillips

used

recording

techniques

that

were

soon

recognized

as

hallmarks

of

his

records. He

put

up-tempo

boogies

on

the

front

sides

of

records,

slow

numbers

on

back

sides,

and

overamplified

on

faster

songs

to

get

a

primitive

fuzzy

sound.

One

of

King's

songs

had

the

guitar,

piano,

and

bass

playing

a

boogie

riff

in

unison,

creating

a

bottom-heavy

sound

that

challenged

"established

precepts

of

how

recordings

should

be

balanced."

23

These

early

recording

sessions

with

King

also

document

Phillips's

skill

as

a

record

producer.

King's

version

of

a

Tampa

Red

song

had

an

explosiveness

missing

from

the

original

record,

and

"it

was

that

blistering

energy

and

willingness

to

experiment

that

pointed

unerringly

into

the

future."

24

Sam

Phillips did

not

record

King after

June

1951

because

of

a

dispute

over

a

song

that

Phillips

recorded

and

leased

to

Chess

Records

in

Chicago,

rather

than

the

Biharis's

RPM

label.

Ibid.,

18-19.

20

Ibid.,

19.

21

Ibid.

22

Ibid.,

21.

23

Ibid.,

22.

Ibid.

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United

States

Department

of

the

Interior,

National

Park

Service

National

Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

"Rocket

'88',"

a

song

about

a

hot

Oldsmobile,

is

one

of

the

contenders for

the

title

"first

rock

'n'

roll

record."

It

featured

Jackie

Brenston, the

singer,

and

Ike

Turner,

the

bandleader,

on

piano.

"Rocket

'88'"

was

released

in

April

1951.

It

hit

number

1

on

Billboard's

R&B

chart

in

June

and

eventually

became

the

second

biggest

R&B

hit

of

the

year.

According

to

Sam

Phillips,

"Rocket

'88'"

was

the

record

that

really kicked

it

off

for

me

as

far

as

broadening

the

base

of

music

and

opening

up

wider

markets for our

local

music."

25

Phillips

resigned

from

WREC

in

June

1951

after "Rocket

'88'"

became

a

hit.

The

combination

of

his

regular

jobs

and

work

for

the

Memphis

Recording

Service

had

required

18-20

hour

work

days,

and Phillips

was

exhausted.

The

following

excerpt

is

from

the

Memphis

Commercial

Appeal,

which

ran

its

first

story

on

Sam

Phillips

after the

success

of

"Rocket

'88':"

He

has

agreements

with

two

recording

companies

to

locate

and

record

hillbilly

and

race

music.

Race

numbers

are

those

tailored

for

the

Negro

trade.

Sam

auditions

musicians

with

original

songs.

When

he

finds

something

he's

sure

will

sell,

he

gets

it

on

acetate

and

sends

it

to

one

of

the

companies.

He

doesn

't

charge

the

musicians

anything

. . .

Sam

may

branch

out

one

day,

so

he

says

if

anyone wants

to

bring

him

a

pop

song,

he'll

be

glad

to

look it

over.

26

Sam

Phillips first

recorded

Chester

Burnett

(The

Howlin'

Wolf)

in

the

spring

of

1951.

Born

near

Aberdeen, Mississippi,

Howlin'

Wolf

was

a

singer

who

gave

the

traditional

Delta

blues

another

dimension.

They

recorded

"Moanin'

at

Midnight"

and

"How

Many

More

Years"

in

August

1951,

and

Phillips leased

these

recordings

to

Chess

Records.

"Moanin"'

went

to

number

10

on

the

national

R&B

chart

and

"How

Many

More

Years"

reached

number

4.

"The

bizarre,

haunting

images

that

populated

Wolfs

songs,

the

quality

of

his

voice,

and

his

frightening

energy

were

marks

of

a

true

original.

His

music

ran

the

gamut,

from

purest

evil

to

heartbreaking

tenderness.

There

was

an

emotional

greatness to

Howlin'

Wolf,

a

greatness

that

Phillips

was

the

first

to

capture."

27

Phillips

did

not

record

the

Wolf

after

October

1952

because

he

left

Memphis

for

Chicago

where

he

eventually

became

"one

of

the

seminal

figures

in

postwar

blues."

28

In

Phillips's

estimation, the

Wolf

was

his

greatest

discovery.

Even

though

he

preferred

the

creative

side

of

the

business,

Phillips

started

his

own

record

company

early in

1952

because

new

record

companies

had

come

to

town,

and

also

because

many

local artists

were leaving

Memphis.

With

his

own

label,

Phillips

could

run

the

business

like

he

wanted

and

release

records

that

other

labels

rejected.

When

I

was

leasing

to

other

labels,

they

wanted

me

to

compromise.

They

wanted

a

fuller

blues

sound

than

I

did.

They

were

selling

excitement.

I

was

recording

the

feel

I

found

in

the

blues.

I

wanted

to

get

that

gut

feel

onto

record.

I

realized

that

it

was

going

to

be

much more

difficult

to

25

Ibid.,

25.

26

Ibid.,

26.

27

Ibid.,

30.

Ibid.,

31.

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merchandise

than

-what

Atlantic

or

Specialty,

for

example,

were

doing,

but

I

was

willing

to

go

with

it.

29

He

named

his

new

company

Sun

Records

and

selected

an

eye-catching

record

label

of

primary

yellow,

highlighted

in

brown.

At

the

center

of

the

label

stood

a

crowing

rooster

in

profile

before

a

rising

sun

motif,

with

stylized

sun

rays

fanned

from

one

horizon

to

the

other.

SUN

was

written

in

large

block

letters

over

the

rooster, and

musical

notes

on

a

staff

ringed

the outside

edge

of

the

label.

Phillips

thoughtfully

chose

the

name

Sun

and

its

distinctive

label

design:

'The

sun

to

me—even

as

a

kid

back

on

the

farm—was

a

universal

kind

of

thing.

A

new

day,

a

new

opportunity."

30

The

first

record

issued

on

the

new

Sun

label

(March

27,

1952),

Sun

number

175,

was

an

original

instrumental,

"Drivin'

Slow,"

by

alto

saxophonist

Johnny

London.

Even

on

this

first

release,

all

the

hallmarks

of

a

Sam

Phillips

Sun

record

-were

in

place:

the

raw

sound,

the

experimental

origin,

the

dark

texture,

even

the

trademark

echo.

Phillips

and

London

created

the

illusion

of

a

sax

heard

down

a

long

hallway

on

a

humid

night

by

rigging

something

like

a

telephone

booth

over

London's

head

while

he

played.

The

record's

appeal

had

more

to

do

with

feeling

than

virtuosity—in

short,

it

offered

everything

music

buyers

could

expect

from

Sun

for

the

remainder

of

the

decade?

1

The

first

recording

on

the

Sun

label

considered

to

be

a

classic

was

"Easy,"

an

instrumental

released

in

March

1953

by

Walter

Horton

(Little

Walter,

and

later,

Big

Walter).

. . .

Horton

played

the

same

theme

five

times,

with

mounting

intensity.

By

the

fourth

chorus,

he

was

playing

with

such

intensity

that

his

harmonica

sounded

like

a

tenor

saxophone.

Phillips'

virtuosity

with

tape

delay

echo

was

rarely

used

to

better

advantage:

he

made

three

instruments

[harmonica,

guitar,

drums]

sound

as

full

as

an

orchestra.

Any

other

instrument

would

have

been

redundant.

32

Sun

Records

had

its first

national

hit

in

the

spring

of

1953

with

"Bear

Cat,"

which

went

to

number

3

on

the

national

R&B

chart.

It

was

an

"answer

song"

to

"Hound

Dog"

by

Big

Mama

Thornton

(Willie Mae

Thornton),

sung

by

local

radio

announcer

Rufus

Thomas.

"Bear

Cat"

was

the

first

record

to

make

money

for

Sun

Records

and

it

put

the

company

on

the

map.

"Feelin'

Good,"

by

Little

Junior's

Blue

Flames

(released

in

July

1953),

was

also

commercially

successful,

reaching

number

5

on

the

national

R&B

chart.

Sun's

was

"Just

Walkin'

in

the

Rain" by

The

Prisonaires,

a

black

vocal

group

of

five

inmates

from

the

Tennessee

State

Penitentiary

in

Nashville.

They

sang

close-harmony

gospel

style

and

came

under

armed

guard

to

record

at

706

Union

on

June

1,

1953.

As

part

of

the

warden's

rehabilitation

program,

they

were

allowed

to

perform

on

radio,

in

concerts,

and

at

the

Governor's

mansion,

but

"Just

Walkin'

in

the

Rain"

was

their

only

hit.

29

Ibid.,

40.

30

Ibid.,

35.

31

Ibid.,

36-37.

Ibid.,

38-39.

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Page

14

United

States

Department

of

the

Interior,

National

Park

Service

National

Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

Phillips

recorded

a

number

of

important blues

artists

in

the early

1950s,

including

"Sleepy"

John

Estes,

Little

Milton

Campbell,

Rosco

Gordon,

Dr.

Ross,

Harmonica

Frank

Floyd,

Willie

Nix,

Billy

"The

Kid"

Emerson,

and

Bobby

"Blue"

Bland.

. .

.

It's

safe

to

say

that

the

blues

has never

sounded

as

mean,

raw,

or

intense

as

it

did

on

countless

days

and

nights

at

706

Union

Avenue.

Amplifiers

were

cranked

way

past

the

point

of

distortion,

guitars

slashed

like

straight

razors,

rickety

drum

kits

were

pounded

with

Jury

and

abandon,

and

the

stories

both

sung

and

shouted

spanned

the

gamut

of

the

black

Southern

experience

. . .

Even

if

he'd

never

issued

a

record

on

the

shining

yellow

Sun

label,

even

ifElvis

Presley

had never

entered

his

small

recording

studio

. . .

,

Phillips

would

rank

as

one

of

the

most

visionary

record

producers

of

our

time

on

the

basis

of

his

early

fifties

blues

work.

In

February

1954,

Phillips and

his

brother

Jud

started

a

music

publishing

company,

Hi

Lo

Music,

to

avoid

placing

their

copyrights

with

other

companies.

In

May

1954,

Phillips

recorded

"Cotton

Crop

Blues"

with

James

Cotton

on

vocals and

Auburn

"Pat"

Hare

on

guitar.

This

was

"one

of

the

truly

great

blues

recordings,"

35

but

recording

of

traditional

blues

at

706

Union

fell

off

in

1954

with

the

growing

popularity

of

R&B

music.

Sun

Records

soon

became

synonymous

with

rock

'n'

roll,

overshadowing

Phillips's

role

in

blues

recording

"and

the

insight

that

[he]

brought

to

recording

the

blues.

He

worked hard

to

get

the

best from

his

artists

...

Phillips

would

sit

behind

his

tape

deck

until

sunup

if

he

thought

the

musicians

on

the

studio

floor

might

capture

the

sound

that

he

heard

in

his

head."

36

Phillips

struggled

to

make

money

in

the

record

business

for almost

six

years.

Eventually

he

saw

that

the

market

at

that

time

was

too

small

for

the

kind

of

music he

was recording.

The

base

wasn

't

broad enough

because

of

racial

prejudice.

It

wasn

't

broad

enough

to

get

the

amount

of

commercial

play

and general

acceptance

overall—not

just

in

the

South

. . .

Now

these

were

basically

good

people,

but

conceptually

they

did

not

understand

the

kinship between

black

and

white

people

in

the

South.

So

I

knew

what

I

had

to

do

to

broaden

the

base

of

acceptance.

37

Elvis

Presley

Elvis

Presley

graduated

from

Humes

High School

in

north

Memphis

on

June

3,

1953

and

went

to

work

at

M.B.

Parker

Machinists

on

July

1.

Later

that

summer,

he

recorded

a

personal

record

at

the

Memphis

Recording

Service.

Presley

paid

$3.98

for

an

acetate

with

two

sides,

both

ballads.

While

he

was

there,

Presley

talked

with

Marion

Keisker,

a

long-time

Memphis

radio

personality

who

helped

Sam

Phillips

run

his

businesses

at

706

Union, and

asked

if

she

knew

of

a

band that

needed

a

singer.

He

made

an

impression

on

Keisker which

she

later

remembered

well,

especially

his

answer

to

her

question about

which

hillbilly

singer

he

sounded

like:

"I

don't

sound

like

33

John

Floyd,

Sun

Records:

An

Oral

History

(New

York:

Avon

Books,

1998),

2.

34

Ibid.,

1.

35

Escott,

Good

Rockin'

Tonight,

51.

36

Ibid.,

57.

37

Ibid.

NFS

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Page

15

United

States

Department

of

the

Interior,

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Park

Service

National

Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

nobody."

38

At

that

time,

Presley

had

a

child's

guitar

that

he

played

in

the

park,

on

his

porch

steps,

and

in

a

band

with

his

buddies around

their

housing

project.

He

soon

aspired

to

be

a

member

of

the

Songfellows,

an

amateur

church

quartet.

Presley dropped

by

706

Union

a

number

of

times after

that

initial

meeting

to

see

if

Ms.

Keisker

had

any

leads for

him.

In

January

1954,

Presley

paid

for

a

second

personal

record,

and

tried

out

for

a

professional

band

that

spring.

Eddie

Bond,

the

band

leader,

told him

to

keep

driving

a

truck

because

he

would

never

make

it

as

a singer.

Presley

later

revealed

that

Bond's

rejection

"broke

my

heart."

39

.

There

is

little

question

that

he

stepped

through the

doorway

[at

706

Union]

with

the

idea,

if

not

of

stardom

. . .

at

the

very

least

of

being

discovered.

In

later

years

he

would

always

say

that

he

wanted

to

make

a

personal

record

"to

surprise

my

mother.

"

Or

"I

just

wanted

to

hear

what

I

sounded

like.

"

But,

of

course,

if

he

had

simply

wanted

to

record

his

voice,

he

could

have

paid

twenty-five

cents

at

W.

T.

Grant's

on

Main

Street.

.

Instead,

Elvis

went

to

a

professional

facility,

where

a

man

who

had

been

written

up

in

the

papers

would

hear

him

sing.

40

Marion

Keisker

finally

called

Presley

on

Saturday,

June

26

to

set

up

an

appointment,

almost

a

year

after

he

recorded

his

first

personal

disc.

On

a

recent

trip

to

Nashville, Phillips

had

gotten

an

acetate

of

a

song

that

reminded

him

of

Presley's

voice.

They

worked

on

"Without

You"

for

a

long

time

that

afternoon,

and

Phillips

had

Presley

sing

a

number

of

other

songs

after

his

unsuccessful

attempts

with

"Without

You."

A

week

later,

Phillips

set

Presley

up

with

two

members

of

the

Starlite

Wranglers,

Scotty

Moore

(guitar)

and

Bill

Black

(bass),

and

the three

of

them

went

to

the

studio

on

Monday,

July

5

so

Phillips

could

hear

them

on

tape.

Nothing

special

happened

at

the

session

until

they

took

a

break

and

Presley

began

fooling

around

and

playing

an

old

blues

song

by

Arthur

Crudup,

"That's

All

Right

[Mama]."

Sam

recognized

it

right

away.

He

was

amazed

that

the

boy

even

knew

Arthur

"Big

Boy"

Crudup—nothing

in

any

of

the

songs

he

had

tried

so

far

gave

any

indication

that

he

was

drawn

to

this

kind

of

music

at

all.

But

this

was

the

sort

of

music

that

Sam

had

long

ago

wholeheartedly

embraced

.

. .

And

the

way

the

boy

performed

it,

it

came

across

with

a

freshness

and

an

exuberance,

it

came

across

with

the

kind

of

clear-eyed,

unabashed

originality

that

Sam

sought

in

all

the

music

that

he

recorded—it

was

"different,

"

it

was

itself.*

1

Phillips

got

his

friend

and kindred

spirit,

disc

jockey

Dewey

Phillips,

to

play

"That's

All Right"

on

his

radio

show

"Red

Hot

and

Blue," then

near

the

height

of

its

popularity.

The

response

was

immediate—hundreds

of

phone

calls

and

telegrams.

Dewey

played

the

song

a

number

of

times

that

night

and

also

interviewed Presley

during

the

show.

By

the

time

the

record

was

pressed

and

ready

for

release,

there

were

6,000

orders for

it

locally.

42

Sun

record

number

209

was

released

38

Guralnick,

Last

Train,

63.

39

Ibid.,

83.

40

Ibid.,

62-63.

41

Ibid.,

95.

Ibid.,

104.

NFS

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No.

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RECORD COMPANY/MEMPHIS

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16

United

States

Department

of

the

Interior,

National

Park

Service

National

Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

on

Monday,

July

17,

1954.

Phillips

had

been

"looking

for

something

that

nobody

could

categorize,"

43

and this

song

did

not

sound exclusively

black

or

white

or

country

or

pop.

Initially,

many

people

who

heard

the

song

thought

that

Presley

was

a

black

man.

Elvis

Presley's

first

big

public

appearance

with

Scotty

and

Bill,

the

Blue

Moon

Boys,

was

on

Friday,

July

30

at

Memphis's

outdoor

amphitheater

in Overton

Park.

The

show

featured

Slim

Whitman,

a

star

from

the

Louisiana

Hayride,

which

some called

the

Grand

Ole

Opry's

"farm

club."

He

drew

a

hillbilly

crowd,

but

they

went

wild

when

Elvis

shook

and wiggled

his

legs,

his

natural

way

of

performing.

The

new

record

made

Billboard's

regional

charts

by

the

end

of

August,

but

it

was

the

B

side

that

was

more

popular.

Phillips

backed

"That's

All

Right"

with

an

unorthodox

version

of

"Blue

Moon

of

Kentucky,"

a

waltz

that

was

a

hit

in

1946

for

Bill

Monroe,

country

music's

elder

statesman.

By

early

September,

"Blue

Moon"

was

number

1

on

the

Memphis

C&W

chart

and

"That's

All

Right"

was

number

7.

44

Sun

released

Presley's

second

record

in

late

September.

"It

was

...

an

even

bolder

declaration

of

intent

than

the

first,

especially

the

strident

blues

number

'Good

Rockin'

Tonight,'

which

rocked

more

confidently

than

anything

they could

have

imagined

in

those

first,

uncertain

days

in

the

studio."

45

Presley's

growing

popularity

enabled

Phillips

to

arrange

a

guest

appearance

on

the

Grand

Ole

Opry

for

October

2,

even

though

the

Opry

had

never

before

scheduled

a

performer

at

such

an

early

stage

in

his

career.

The

performance

of

"Blue

Moon

of

Kentucky"

by

Elvis

Presley,

Scotty

and

Bill

received

a

"polite,

but

somewhat

tepid,

reception,"

and

the

Opry's

manager

told

Phillips

that

Presley

"just

did

not

fit

the

Opry

mold."

46

It

was

a

big disappointment

for

Elvis.

But

soon

they

were

off

to

Louisiana

for

Presley's

first

appearance

on

the

Louisiana

Hayride,

"the

Opry's

more

innovative

rival

in

Shreveport"

47

that

had

a

show

every

Saturday

night.

On the

third

Saturday

of

the

month

the

show

broadcast

with

a

50,000

watt

signal

that

reached

up

to

twenty-eight

states.

48

After

only

one

guest

appearance,

Presley

signed

a

standard

one

year

contract

to

be

one

of

the

Hayride's

regular

members,

and

he

and

his

band

quit

their

day

jobs.

For

the

Elvis

Presley

and

the

Blue

Moon

Boys

toured

almost

constantly.

They

started

out

at

civic

clubs

and

school

functions

in

Mississippi

and

Arkansas,

in

addition

to

their

weekly

performances

on

the

Louisiana

Hayride.

In

November

and

December,

they

also

played

in

Houston,

adding

spots

in

West

Texas,

East

Texas,

and

Missouri

in

January.

By

the

time

Presley

performed

for

the

first time

at

Memphis's

Ellis

Auditorium

on

February

6,

he

and

the

Blue

Moon

boys

were

working

almost

every

night.

In

mid-February

they

were

booked

as

part

of

a

Hank

Ibid.,

106.

44

Ibid.,

123.

45

Ibid.,

130-131.

46

Ibid.,

129.

47

Ibid.,

127.

Ibid.,

136.

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17

United

States

Department

of

the

Interior,

National

Park

Service

National

Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

Snow/Jamboree

Attractions

package

tour

that

began

in

Roswell,

New

Mexico.

Presley

took

his

first

airplane flight

and

first

trip

to

New

York

City

on

March

23,

1955

to

try

out

for

Arthur

Godfrey's

Talent

Scouts

contest,

but

he did

not

pass

the

audition.

Another

tour

with Hank

Snow/Jamboree

Attractions

began

on

May

1

in

New

Orleans,

visiting

twenty

cities

in

three

weeks, including

a

number

of

stops

in

Florida.

There

was

a

"riot"

backstage

after

the

concert

in

Jacksonville.

In

July,

Presley

took

a

vacation

and

was

back

on

the

road

again

for

the

rest

of

the

summer

and

fall.

The

audiences

had

never

heard

music

like

Presley

played

before,

and

they

had

never

seen

anyone

who

performed

like

Presley

either. The

shy,

polite,

mumbling

boy

gained

self-confidence

with

every

appearance, which

soon

led

to

a

transformation

on

stage.

People

watching

the

show

were

astounded

and

shocked,

both

by

the

"ferocity

of

his

performance,"

49

and

the

crowd's

reaction

to

it.

Even

in

the

early

days,

Elvis

almost

always

stole

the

show

from

the

headliners,

and

concert

lineups

had

to

be

rearranged

accordingly.

Nobody

followed

Elvis.

Roy

Orbison

saw

Presley

for

the

first time

in

Odessa,

Texas:

"His energy

was incredible,

his

instinct

was

just

amazing

...

I

just

didn't

know

what

to

make

of

it.

There was

just

no

reference

point

in

the

culture

to

compare

it."

50

'"He's

the

new

rage,'

said

a

Louisiana

radio executive

.

..

'Sings

hillbilly

in

R&B

time.

Can

you

figure

that

out?

He

wears

pink

pants

and

a

black

coat..

.'"

51

Elvis

caused

a

great

commotion

everywhere

he

went.

Throughout

the

South,

Presley

had

girls screaming

and

fainting

and

chasing

after

him.

Sam

Phillips

was

also

on

the

road

constantly

after

the

Overton

Park

performance

in

July

1954,

promoting

the

new

records

to

distributors,

disc

jockeys,

record

store

owners,

and

jukebox

operators.

His

experiences,

however,

were

entirely

different.

Time

and

again,

disc

jockeys

who

were

old

friends

and/or

long-standing

business

associates

told

Phillips

they

could

not

play

the

Presley

records.

A

country

deejay

said

"Sam,

they'll

run

me

out

of

town."

To

an

R&B

deejay,

"That's

All

Right"

was

a

country

song.

A

major

pop

station

disc

jockey

told

Phillips,

"your

music

is

just

so

ragged.

I

just

can't

handle

it

right

now.

Maybe

later on."

52

WELO

in

Tupelo,

Mississippi,

Presley's

hometown,

would

not

even

play

the

record, in

spite

of

many

requests

from

teenagers,

because

the

deejay

did

not

like

the

new

music.

53

Sam

Phillips

persevered

in

spite

of

all

the

rejection

he

was

getting,

and

kept

trying

to

turn

it around.

"I

needed

the

attention

that

I

got

from

the

people

that

hated

what

I

was

doing,

that

acted

like:

'Here

is

somebody

trying

to

thrust

junk

on

us

and

classify

it

as

our

music.'"

54

He

was

a

man

swept

up

by

a

belief,

in

a

sound

and

in

an

idea.

And

as

discouraged

as

he

might

sometimes

get,

as

harsh

as

the

reality

of

selling

this

new

music

might

be,

he

never

strayed

from

his

Ibid.,

191.

50

Ibid.,

171.

51

Ibid.,

182.

52

Ibid.,

112.

53

Ibid.,

114.

Ibid.,

130.

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belief,

he

never

allowed

himself

to

be

distracted

from

his

main

goal.

Which

was

to

get

them

to

listen.

55

Phillips

could

feel

a

revolution

was

on

the

way.

There

were

already

lots

of

country boys

coming

to

his

studio

to

play

the

new

music,

which

initially

got

the

name

rockabilly.

"Sam

knew

that

a

day

was

coming

.

..

when

the

music

would

prevail."

56

Presley

was

still

a

regional

sensation

and

unknown

to

the

national

market

when

he

got

the

record

industry's

attention.

By

the

summer

of

1955,

almost

all

the

major

and

independent

record

labels

were

inquiring

about

him.

Sam

Phillips

had

mixed

feelings

about

selling

Presley's

contract,

but

his

operations

could

not

accommodate

the

Presley

phenomenon,

his

finances

were

very

tight,

and

he

had

other

artists

who

needed

his attention.

Presley's

parents

signed

a

contract

in

August

which

soon

forced

the

issue.

Col.

Tom

Parker

became

"special

adviser

to

Elvis

Presley."

He

was

the

head

of

Jamboree Attractions,

one

of

the

major

promoters

and

bookers

of

country

and

western

talent,

and

had

booked

Presley

on

the

Hank

Snow

package

tours

earlier

that

year.

At

that

time,

Parker was

known

as

the

best

promoter

in

the

business.

In

October

Parker

asked

Phillips

to

name

his

price

for

Presley's

contract,

and

Parker

made

sure

that

it

was

met.

The

deal

was

signed

at

706

Union

Avenue

on

November

21,

1955.

RC

A-Victor

bought

Elvis

Presley's

contract

from

Sun

Records

for

$35,000,

plus

$5,000

in

back

royalties

owed

to

Presley.

The

story

ran

in

the

Memphis

Press-Scimitar

the

Elvis

Presley,

20,

Memphis

recording

star

and

entertainer

who

zoomed

into

big-

time

and

the

big

money

almost

overnight,

has

been

released

from

his

contract

with

Sun

Record

Co.

of

Memphis

. .

Phillips

and

RCA

officials

did

not

reveal

terms

but

said

the

money

involved

is

probably

the

highest

ever

paid

for

a

contract

release

for

a

country-western

recording

artist.

'Ifeel

Elvis

is

one

of

the

most

talented

youngsters

today,'

Phillips

said,

'and

by

releasing

his

contract

to

RCA-Victor

we

will

give

him

the

opportunity

of

entering

the

largest

organization

of

its

kind

in

the

world,

so

his

talents

can

be

given

the

fullest

opportunity.'

51

Sam

Phillips

never regretted

his decision

to

sell

Elvis

Presley's

contract.

In

many

ways,

Presley's

departure

was

like

a

new

beginning

for

Sun

Records.

Many

country

musicians

aspiring

to

play

rockabilly

began

to

make

their

way

to

706

Union

Avenue.

As

Johnny

Cash

said

many

years

later,

"Elvis

was

a

beacon

that

brought

us

all

there."

58

Johnny

Cash

Sun

released

"Cry,

Cry,

Cry"

by

Johnny

Cash

(J.

R.

Cash,

John

Cash)

on

June

21,

1955.

Cash

had

a

big

voice

but

a

limited

vocal

range,

so

Phillips

made

the

most

of

the

situation.

With

Cash,

"Phillips

challenged

the

conventions

of

recording

balance,

placing

[his]

vocals

more

assertively

in

the

mix

than

had

ever

been

the

case

in

country

music.

Phillips

fattened

the

sound

of

the

vocals

55

Ibid.,

113.

56

Ibid.,

147.

57

Quoted

in

Guralnick,

Last

Train,

233.

Peter

Guralnick,

"Sam

Phillips:

The

Man

Who

Invented

Rock

'n'

Roll,"

VHS

(A&E

Biography,

2000).

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and

the

rhythm

track

with

slapback

echo."

59

"Cry,

Cry,

Cry"

hit

number

1

on

the

local

Memphis

country

chart in

September,

reached

number

14

on

the

national

country

and

western

chart

in

November,

and

Johnny

Cash

became

1955's

"outstanding new

act

in

Memphis."

60

After

the

release

of

"Folsom

Prison

Blues"

in

December

1955,

which

reached

number

4

on

the

C&W

chart,

Cash

got

a

regular

spot

on

the

Louisiana

Hayride

in Shreveport. Sun

released

"I

Walk

the

Line"

in

April

1956.

Cash

wrote

the

song

as

a

slow,

mournful

ballad,

but

Phillips

had

the

band

record

it

at

a

faster

tempo.

Cash

did

not

like

the

version

Sun

released

and

even

asked

Phillips

to

quit

distributing

it.

61

"I

Walk

the

Line,"

however,

reached

number

1

on

the

C&W

chart,

crossed over

to

the

national

pop

chart,

and

climbed

to

number

17.

It

was

one

of

Cash's

biggest

hits.

In

July,

Cash

got

a

regular

spot

on

the

Grand

Ole

Opry.

By

the

end

of

the

year,

he

was

the

third

best-selling

country

artist

and

one

of

the

first

young

country

artists

on

the

national

pop chart after

the

"barriers

that

separated

pop

and

country

music

began

to

crumble

in

the

wake

ofElvisPresley."

62

By

1957

Johnny

Cash's

stark

originality

was

getting

old.

Phillips

turned

Cash's

recording

sessions

over

to

Jack

Clement,

a

new

producer

at

Sun,

who

gave

Cash

a

more

mainstream

sound.

In

November

1957,

Phillips

released

Sun

Records's

and

Johnny

Cash's

first

album,

which

was

followed

by

the

single

"Ballad

of

a

Teenage

Queen." It

sold

more

than

460,000

copies,

reached

number

16

on

the

pop

chart's

new Hot

100,

and

number

1

on

C&W.

63

The

"Guess

Things

Happen

That

Way,"

reached

number

11

on

the

pop chart

and stayed

at

number

1

on

the

C&W

chart

for weeks.

It

was

Johnny

Cash's

biggest

hit

on

Sun

Records.

When

his

contract

with

Sun

expired

in

the

summer

of

1958,

Cash

signed

with

Columbia

Records.

Although

Columbia

recorded

Cash

-with

the

same

instrumentation

that Phillips

used

at

Sun,

he

never

sounded

quite

as

good

again

. . .

Phillips'

achievement

was

to

keep

Cash's

sound

at

its

bare

essentials,

and

then

fatten

it

up

with

the

use

of

slapback

echo.

Subsequent

producers

and

engineers

could

never

quite

recapture that

formula.

Their

echo

lent

distance

rather

than

presence.

Worse

yet

were

the

early

stereo

recordings

at

Columbia,

whose

primitive

separation

heightened

the

unfocused

sound

. . .

Johnny

Cash

's

three

years

of

recording

for

Sun

are

a

wonderful

demonstration

of

just

how

far

a

whole

can

outclass

the

sum

of

its

parts.

Cash

's

limited

vocals,

Luther

Perkins'

woefully

limited picking,

and

Marshall

Grant's

strictly

functional

bass

playing

jelled

magically

through

Sam

Phillips'

mixing

board

to

produce

perhaps

the

most

original

and

innovative

sound

in

country

music

since

Hank

Williams

died.

64

59

60

Escott,

Good

Rockin'

Tonight,

101.

Ibid.

61

Peter

Guralnick,

Feel

Like

Going

Home:

Portraits

in

Blues

and

Rock

'n'

Roll

(New

York:

Perennial,

1971,

1989),

175.

62

Escott,

Good

Rockin'

Tonight,

95.

63

Ibid.,

106.

Ibid.,

108-109.

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Registration

Form

Carl

Perkins

In

December

1955,

Sam

Phillips

recorded

Carl

Perkins

playing

"Blue

Suede

Shoes,"

the

record

that

has

been

called

"the

first

true

rock

'n'

roll

hit."

65

It

was

the

first

record

that

borrowed

from

country,

blues,

and

pop

music,

and

the

first

record by

a

single

artist

that

was

a

hit

on

all

three

charts.

"Blue

Suede

Shoes"

was

released

in January

1956

and

had

huge

sales

throughout

the

South

by

February.

In

March,

Carl

Perkins

became

the

first

country

artist

with

a

song

on

the

national

R&B

chart,

where

it

later

peaked

at

number

2.

"Blue

Suede

Shoes"

went

to

number

1

on

the

C&W

chart,

number

2

on

the

pop

chart,

and stayed

on

these

charts

for

almost

five

months.

It

became

the

first

million-seller

for

Perkins

and

Sun

Records.

"Blue

Suede

Shoes"

was

the

song

that

really

got

black

radio

stations

to

play

songs

by

white

artists

and

white

stations

to

play

black

artists.

Sam

Phillips

was

almost

bankrupt

shortly

before

he

recorded

"Blue

Suede

Shoes."

The

sale

of

Elvis

Presley's

contract

allowed

him

not

just

to

carry

on,

but

to

prevail.

The

"record

business

is

a

lottery,

and

Phillips

hit

the

jackpot.

More

than

that,

he

was

a

success

on

his

own

terms.

He

had

recorded

music

that

no

one

else

believed

in.

He

recorded

it

his

way.

He

released it

on

his

own

label.

And

he

reaped

the

colossal

rewards."

66

Phillips

also

owned

the

publishing

rights

to

"Blue

Suede

Shoes;"

the

song's

popularity

enabled

him

to

put

together

deals

that

eventually

distributed

Sun

recordings

around

the

world.

67

Carl

Perkins's

own

story

was

not

so

fortunate. In

March

1956,

he

was

traveling

with

his

band

to

New

York

to

tape the

Perry

Como

television

show

when

their

car

crashed.

Almost

everyone

was

seriously

injured.

Perkins

never

had

a

second

big

hit

to

follow

up

"Blue

Suede

Shoes."

He

signed

with

Columbia

Records

when

his

contract

with

Sun

expired

in

January

1958.

It

may

be

that

Carl

Perkins

recorded

more

memorable

music

during

his three

years

at

Sun

than

he

recorded

during

the

balance

of

his

career

. . .

No

one

but

Sam

Phillips

could

seem

to

draw

the

rough

edges

out

of

Perkins

and

capture

the

bite

in

his

guitar

playing.

A

comparison

of

Perkins'

Sun

recordings

-with

the

remakes

he

cut

for

a

variety

of

labels

makes

an

eloquent

case

for

the

chemistry

at

706

Union

Avenue

. . .

The

edge

had

gone.

68

Carl

Perkins

himself

said:

"There

was

a

feeling there

that

I've

never

found

since.

We were

trying

one

hundred

per

cent,

and

Sam

Phillips

captured

it."

69

By

the early

1960s,

Perkins

was

discouraged

and

gave

up

the

music

business

until

a

1964

tour

with

Chuck Berry

in

England rejuvenated

his

career.

"Dance

Album

of

Carl

Perkins"

was

one

of

just

a

few

rockabilly

records

available

in

England

before

1964.

It

made

Perkins

a

huge influence

on

the

rock

'n'

roll

bands

that

came

out

of

England

in

the

early

1960s,

the

so-called

British

65

Ibid.,

131.

66

Ibid.,

134.

67

Ibid.

68

Ibid.,

140.

69

Ibid.

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States

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Registration

Form

invasion.

These

groups

idolized

Perkins

and

"the

Beatles

recorded

more

songs

by

Perkins

than

they

recorded

by

any

composer

other

than

themselves."

70

Roy

Orbison

Sun

released

"Ooby

Dooby,"

a

novelty

song

by

Roy

Orbison,

in

May

1956.

It

sold

around

200,000

copies

and

reached

number

59

on

Billboard"s

Hot

100.

But

Orbison

was

not

happy

at

Sun,

where

he

was

one

of

many

musicians

playing

rockabilly

and rock

'n'

roll.

He

wanted

to

be

a

ballad

singer.

Orbison

was

disillusioned

with

the

way

Phillips

was

handling

his

career

as

a

recording

artist.

He

was

locked

into

recording

rock

'n'

roll

novelties

. . .

In

one

of

the

least

commercially

astute moves

of

his

career,

Sam

Phillips

had

kept

Roy

Orbison

on

a

steady

diet

of

rock

'n

'

roll.

Phillips'

golden

ear

told

him

once again

that

he

heard

something

unique;

yet

in

Orbison's

case,

he

didn

't

know

what

to

do

with

it.

. . .

over

the

best

of

these

recordings

hangs

a

feeling

of

missed

opportunity,

of

perhaps

the

most

singular

chance

Phillips

failed

to

take.

11

When

his

Sun

contract

expired,

Orbison

recorded

for

RCA

before

signing

with

Monument

Records.

He

soon

became

famous

for

dramatic

ballads

like

"Crying"

and

"Only

the

Lonely,"

his

first

million-seller.

Rockabilly

A

number

of

important

rockabilly

artists

recorded

for

Sun

in

the

mid-1950s,

including

Sonny

Burgess,

Billy

Lee

Riley,

Warren

Smith,

Charlie

Feathers,

Malcolm

Yelvington,

and

Onie

Wheeler.

Bill

Justis

&

His

Orchestra

were

the

only

ones

in

this

group

to

have

a

hit

record.

"Raunchy,"

released

in

September

1957,

went

to

number

1

on

the

R&B

chart,

number

2

on

the

pop

chart,

and

number

6

on

country

and

western.

In

1956,

Phillips

hired

Jack

Clement

(songwriter,

musician,

engineer,

producer)

and

Bill

Justis

(musician,

music

arranger,

A

and

R

[artist

and

repertoire]

director)

to

help

run

the

studio.

They

listened

to

audition

tapes,

recorded

potential new

artists,

and

gradually assumed

greater

responsibilities

for

running

the

business.

They

were experienced

musicians

who

wanted

a

more

elaborate,

refined

sound

than

the

missed

notes

and

rough

quality

that

Phillips

overlooked

to

capture

the

feeling in

an

artist's

music.

As

Clement

stated,

"At

Sun,

I

took

it

in

a

whole

new

direction."

72

Clement

and

Justis

were

primarily

responsible

for

Sun

recordings

in

1957

and

1958

as

Phillips

got

involved

with

other

projects.

Jerry

Lee

Lewis

In

November

1956,

Jerry

Lee

Lewis

of

Ferriday,

Louisiana,

showed

up

at

706

Union

Avenue.

He

had

already

made

the

rounds

in

Nashville

in

1955,

but

record

companies

there

were

not

interested

in

him.

They

told him

to

learn

to

play

the

guitar.

Before

he

went

to

Memphis,

the

Louisiana

Hayride

also

turned

Lewis

down

for

a

package

show

featuring

Slim

Whitman.

Ibid.,

142.

71

Ibid.,

150-151,

153.

72

Floyd,

Sun

Records:

An

Oral

History,

80.

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United

States

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of

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Service

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of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

Sam

Phillips

was

out

of

town

and

Jack Clement

was

in

charge

of

Jerry

Lee

Lewis's

audition.

Lewis

played

a

variety

of

songs

for

Clement,

who

told him

to

go

home

and

learn

some

rock

'n'

roll.

Phillips

was

ready

to

sign

Lewis

as

soon

as

he

heard

the

tape,

partly

because

he

"had

been

wanting

to

get

off

this

guitar

scene

and

show

it

could

be

done

with

other

instruments."

73

Lewis

did

not

have

a

band,

so

Clement

set

him

up

with

some

local

musicians.

"In

the

combination

of

Jerry

Lee

Lewis,

Roland

Janes

[guitar],

and

J.M.

Van

Eaton

[drums],

a

magic

formula

had

fallen

into

Sam

Phillips'

lap."

74

"Crazy

Arms"

was

Lewis's

first

release

in

December

1956.

It

sold

well

in

the

region

but

did

not

make

the

national

charts.

"Whole

Lot

of

Shakin'

Going

On"

was

recorded

in

February

1957.

It

made

the

national

C&W

chart

in

June

and

entered

the

pop

chart's

Hot

100

at

number

70

by

the

end

of

the

month.

Lewis's

first

tour

was

with

Johnny

Cash

and

Carl

Perkins

in

April

and

May

1957.

Initially

he

was

shy

on

stage.

Cash

and

Perkins

encouraged

him

to

put

on

more

of

a

show,

and

immediately

there

was

a

radical

change.

On

Sunday,

July

28,

1957,

Jerry

Lee

Lewis's

appearance

on

the

Steve

Alien

Show

made

television

and

music

history.

Like

Elvis

's

television

appearances,

Jerry's

spots

on

the

Alien

show

are

landmarks

in

the

history

of

rock

'n'

roll.

He

pounded

the

piano,

eyes

fixed

above

with

messianic

intensity.

When

it

came

time

to

sing,

he

glared

at

the

camera

with

a

wild-eyed

fury

. . .

At

the

top

of

the

last

chorus,

he

kicked

the

piano

stool

back

across

the

stage

. . .

Set

in

the

context

of

the

jugglers,

ventriloquists,

and

singing-sister

acts

that

were

the

staples

of

television

variety

in

those

days,

Jerry's

performance

was

nothing

short

of

demonic.

75

After

the

Alien

show,"Whole

Lot

of

Shakin'"

hit

number

1

on

the

C&W

and

R&B charts,

and

number

3

on

the

pop

chart.

"Great

Balls

of

Fire," released

in

November

1957

as

the

followup

to

"Whole

Lot

of

Shakin',"

reached

number

1

on

the

country

and

western

chart,

number

2

on

the

pop

chart,

and number

3

on

R&B.

"Breathless"

and

"High

School

Confidential," released

in

1958,

also

made

all

three

national

Billboard

charts.

"With

Presley

halfway

into

the

Army,

Lewis

was

just

about

the

hottest

phenomenon

in

pop

music."

76

Lewis

was

extraordinarily

prolific

in

the

studio

during

1957

and

early

1958.

With

Roland

Janes

and

J.

M.

Van

Eaton

trying

to

follow

him

as

best

they

could,

Lewis

would

plunder

his

subconscious

for

songs,

hoping

to

find

something

that

would

catch

Phillips's

ear.

The

variety

was

enormous:

sentimental

hillbilly

weepers

in

waltz

time,

such

as

"I'm

Throwing

Rice;"

contemporary

country

hits like

"Singing

the

Blues;

"

R&B

songs

like

"Sixty

Minute

Man

"

and

"Honey

Hush;"

old

pop

favorites

such

as

"Love

Letters

in

the

Sand;"

folk

songs

like

"Crawdad

Hole;"

a

little

gospel

in

the

form

of

"Old

Time

Religion;"

and

even

one

giantly

egotistical

original,

"Lewis

Boogie."

Surprisingly,

it

is

the

music

left

in

the

outtake

boxes

that

provides

the

definitive

proof

of

Lewis's

genius.

In

his

hands,

an

impossibly

wide

variety

of

material

is

recast

into

a

uniform

body

of

work.

.

If

Sam

Phillips thought

a

song

had

merit

and

wanted

to

hear

it

another

way,

Lewis

could

73

Escott,

Good

Rockin'

Tonight,

192.

Ibid.,

193.

75

Ibid.,

196-197.

Ibid.,

198.

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Form

change

the

time

signature,

the

tempo,

the

key,

his

phrasing—even

the

lyrics—at

the

drop

of

a

hat.

77

Lewis's

meteoric

rise ended

abruptly

in

May

1958

during

a

short

tour

to

England.

He

was

accompanied

by

his

new

wife,

thirteen

year-old

Myra

Gale

Brown, who was

also

his

second

cousin.

Their

relationship

outraged

the

British

press.

The

scandal

followed

Lewis

back

to

the

United

States,

where

he

found

that

all

of

his

big

bookings

had

been

canceled

and

that

he

was

blacklisted

from

the

new

Top

40

pop

format.

For

the

years,

Jerry

Lee

Lewis

played

dance

halls

in

the

South for

$250

a

night.

In

1961,

he

recorded

Ray

Charles's

"What'd

I

Say"

and

finally

made

it

back

onto

the

national

charts.

Subsequent

tours

in

England

in

1962

and

1963

were

very

successful,

but

Lewis

never

had

another

big

hit

on

Sun Records.

He

signed

with

Mercury

Records

when

his

contract

expired

in

1963.

Lewis's

musical

reputation

rests

on

the

strength

of

his

Sun

recordings.

The

Top

20

hits

were

only

four

in

number;

few

legends

in

popular

music

have

been

grounded

in

such

low

gross

sales

. . .

In

terms

of

capturing

the

sheer

joy

of

recording,

nothing

can

match

Jerrry

Lee

Lewis's

recording

at

Sun.

78

. . .

[his

records],

especially

those made

between

1956

and

1960,

stand

as

one

of

the

most

impressive

bodies

of

recordings

to

emerge

from

that

turbulent

era—maybe

the

most

impressive.

The

simple

truth

is

that

Lewis

could never

have

made

those

recordings

for

a

major

label.

Phillips's

willingness

to

keep

the

tape

running

while

Lewis

plundered

his

memory

was

crucial

to

Jerry's

development

as

an

artist

and

performer.

"Whole

Lotta'

Shakin'"

was

the

product

of

one

of

those

sessions

. . .

Other

studios

would

schedule

a

standard

three-hour

session

and

have

four

songs

ready

to

record,

but

Phillips

knew

his

artist:

"Jerry

is

an

informal

person

....

and

the

conditions

had

to

be

right.

You

had

to

have

a

good

song,

of

course,

but

atmosphere

is

nearly

everything

else.

Jerry

had

to

know

that

the

people

around

him,

the

people

responsible

for

the

session,

understood

him.

He

had

such spontaneity.

With

great

artists,

almost

50

percent

of

something

good

they

might

do

happens

because

of

an

almost

instant

reaction

to

what

is

taking

place

around

them.

"

79

The

Late

1950s

and

the

1960s

By

the

late

1950s

the

music

business

was

changing

once

again.

Rockabilly,

the

initial

and

purest

form

of

rock

'n'

roll,

exemplified

by

Elvis

Presley's

early

music,

Carl

Perkins,

and

Jerry

Lee Lewis,

was

short-lived.

Sun's

minimal,

revolutionary

sound

was

superseded

by

a

bigger

pop

sound

with

more

instruments,

along

with

choruses

and

even

strings.

Every

phase

of

the

music

business

was

becoming

more

technical,

complicated, and

expensive.

In

the

early

days,

Sam

Phillips

could single-handedly

cut,

master, press,

and

promote

a

record,

but

those

days were

over.

Major

record

companies

began

to

record

rock

'n'

roll

and

lured

artists

away

from

the

independent

labels.

Sun

lost

Elvis

Presley

to

RCA

in

1955,

Perkins

and

Cash

to

Columbia

Records

in

1958,

and

Jerry

Lee

Lewis

to

Mercury

Records

in

1963.

Ibid.,

194-195.

78

Ibid.,

189.

Ibid.,

189-207.

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States

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of

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Sun

Records

had

outgrown

706

Union

Avenue

by

the

late

1950s

also.

The

studio

itself

was

not

big

enough

to

accommodate

larger

groups

of

musicians,

the

control

room

was

too

small

for

the

new

multitrack

recording

equipment,

and Phillips

needed

more

space

so

he

could

hire

more

employees.

In

the

summer

of

1958,

Phillips

bought

a

building

nearby

at

639

Madison Avenue

for his

new

headquarters.

They

occasionally

used

the

studio

at

the

new

building

beginning

in

January

1960,

but

it

was

not

officially

opened until

September

17.

Around

that

time,

Phillips

was

quoted

as

follows:

"Woodshed

recordings

have

had

it.

You've

got

to

have

latitude

today—all the

electronic

devices,

built-in

high

and

low

frequency

and

attenuation,

echoes,

channel splitting

and

metering

on

everything."

80

The

new

studio

on

Madison

Avenue,

one

of

the

most modern

in

the

United

States

at

that

time,

was

"everything

that

706

was

not,

spacious,

state-

of-the-art,

and

soulless."

81

Phillips

began

to

expand

his

business

interests

in

the

mid-1950s.

He

started

a

new

label

in

1957,

Phillips

International,

to

record

pop

and

jazz

as

well

as

rock

'n'

roll,

and

he

began

to

let

other

people

use

his

studio

for

custom

recording.

In

1961

he

opened

a

studio

in

Nashville

at

317

7

th

Avenue

North.

Phillips

started

his

first

radio

station

in

1955,

something

he

had

wanted

to do

for

a

long

time.

WHER,

with

"1,000

beautiful

watts,"

was

the

country's

first "all-girl"

station

at

a

time

when

women

did

not

yet

work

in

radio.

Phillips's

original

idea

for

his

first

station

was

a

24-hour

"all

Negro"

station,

but

the

FCC

turned

down

that

application.

Phillips

went

on

to

build

a

radio

empire,

including

a

number

of

stations

around

his

hometown

in Florence,

Alabama.

He

was

also

an

original

shareholder

in

Holiday

Inns,

Inc.

which

originated

in

Memphis

in

1952.

All

of

these

ventures

contributed

to

Phillips's

waning

involvement

in

his

record

business.

Phillips

hired

managers,

producers,

and engineers

to

run

his

studios

during

this

period,

and

they

recorded

all

kinds

of

musical

artists.

Two

songs

recorded

at

706

Union

Avenue

shortly

before

the

move

to

the

new

studio

on

Madison

Avenue

became

hits,

but

they

were released

on

the

Phillips

International

label.

"Lonely Weekends"

was Charlie

Rich's

first

hit.

He

eventually

became

a

big

star

in

the early

1970s

with

the

song

"Behind

Closed

Doors."

Carl

Mann's

unusual

version

of

"Mona

Lisa"

also

became

a

hit

in

1959,

reaching

number

24

on

Billboard's

R&B

chart

and

number

25

on

the

pop

chart.

In

1962,

Frank

Frost

made

"some

of

the last

truly

great

blues recordings

to

emerge

from

Memphis,"

82

but

the

classic

Sun

sound

had

faded

by

then.

The

last

time

Phillips

recorded

an

artist

as

president

of

Sun

Records

was

a

session

for

Dane

Stinit

in

November

1966.

83

The

last

record

on

the

Sun

label

was

released

in January

1968.

Phillips

had

received

a

number

of

offers

for

the

Sun

catalog

over

the

years.

In

July

1969,

he

sold

the entire

catalog,

approximately

7,000

master

recordings,

for

$1

million

to

Shelby

S.

Singleton,

Jr.,

a

former

Mercury

Records

executive

who

had

launched

his

own

company

in

1966.

Singleton

reorganized

the

company

as

the

Sun

International

Corporation,

which

is

now

the

Sun

80

Ibid.,

224

81

Ibid.,

222.

82

Ibid.,

230

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United

States

Department

of

the

Interior,

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Service

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Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

Entertainment

Corporation.

Phillips received

an

interest

in

the new

corporation,

retained

his

music

publishing

rights,

and

kept

the

studio

on

Madison

Avenue.

"Sun

Records

ended

in

1969;

to

musical

purists,

it

ended

a

decade

before

that,

when

the

old

studio

was

closed."

84

Some

are

of

the

opinion

that

Sam

Phillips lost

his

vision

for

Sun

Records

in

the

later

years.

But

Phillips's

vision

was

that

music

with

southern

roots

had

a

special

feeling

and

a

universal

appeal.

Prejudice,

both

class

and

racial,

had

generally

kept

that

music

confined

to

its

places

of

origin

for

decades,

until

Phillips

figured

out

a

way

to

let

the

people

hear

the

music.

Once

they

heard

it,

rock

'n'

roll

flew

around

the

world

and

took

the

blues

along

for

the

ride.

Sam

Phillips

did

not

lose

his

vision

for

Sun

Records.

By

1957,

his

vision

was

realized,

it

had

changed

the

whole world,

and

Sam

Phillips

moved

on

to

other

challenges.

Sun

Studio

After

Sam

Phillips

moved

his

companies

to

the

new

location

on

Madison

Avenue,

706

Union

Avenue

housed

a

number

of

different

businesses

in

the

1960s

and

1970s,

including

a

barber

shop,

an

auto

parts

store,

and

a

scuba

shop.

The

building

was

vacant in

1985

when

it

became

the

site

of

a

family

reunion

of

sorts.

An

album

entitled

"Class

of'55:

Memphis

Rock

'n'

Roll

Homecoming"

was

recorded

here

to

celebrate

and

remember

the

"Class

of

'55"

on

their

30

th

"anniversary."

Record

producer

Chips

Moman convened

Johnny

Cash,

Jerry

Lee Lewis,

Carl

Perkins,

and

Roy

Orbison

to

record

together

for

the

first time

at

the

Sun

studio

in

September

1985.

Not

long

after

that

event,

706

Union

Avenue

became

a

stop

for

visitors

on

tours

to

Graceland,

the

home

of

Elvis

Presley,

which

opened

to

the

public

in

1982.

The

building

opened

as

the

Sun

Studio

for tours

in

1987—the

name

Sun

Records

and

the

original

Sun

record

label

design

still

belong

to

Shelby

Singleton,

who

bought

the

company

in

1969.

The

current

property

owner

also

purchased

the

adjacent

two-story

brick

building

that

housed

a cafe

and

a

boarding

house

in

the

1950s.

That

building

now

serves

as

a

soda

shop,

gallery,

and

gift

shop

for

visitors

to Sun

Studio.

The Sun

Studio

also

operates

as

a

full

service

24-track

recording

studio

for

professional

musicians,

as

well

as

anyone

who

wants

to

make

a

personal

record,

just

like Elvis.

In

1987,

the

Irish

rock

band

U2

recorded

several

songs

here

for

their

album

"Rattle

and

Hum,"

including

"When

Love

Comes

to

Town"

featuring

B.B.

King.

Several

hundred

thousand

visitors have

made

the

pilgrimage

to

this

extraordinary

place.

Significance

The

building

at

706

Union

Avenue

in

Memphis,

Tennessee,

is

nationally

significant for

its

association

with

Sam

Phillips,

the

man

who

established

the

Memphis

Recording

Service

and

Sun

Records,

and,

because

of

his

vision

and

work, the

artists

and

the

music

recorded

here

played

a

unique

and

revolutionary

role

in

American

music

history

and

popular

culture.

It

meets

National

Historic

Landmark

Criteria

1

and

2.

Ibid.,

241.

NFS

Form

10-900

USDI/NPS

NRHP

Registration

Form

(Rev. 8-86)

OMB

No.

1024-0018

SUN

RECORD COMPANY/MEMPHIS

RECORDING

SERVICE

Page

26

United

States

Department

of

the

Interior,

National

Park

Service

National

Register

of

Historic

Places

Registration

Form

The

period

of

significance

for

this

property

is

1949-1960,

which

coincides

exactly

with

the

years

that

Sam

Phillips

operated

his

recording

service

and

record

company

at

this location.

This

is

the

only

building

associated with

Phillips's

productive

life

as

a

record producer

during the

years

that

he

made

exceptional

contributions

to

American

music. He

continued

to

be

a

record

producer

after

his

studio

relocated

to

Madison

Avenue

in

1960,

but

those

efforts

were

occasional,

not

routine.

Since

the

sale

of

Sun

Records in

1969,

Phillips

has

only

produced

a

handful

of

artists,

most

notably

John

Prine

in

1979

("Pink

Cadillac")

and

the

"Class

of

'55:

Memphis

Rock

'n'

Roll

Homecoming"

in

1985.

Although

some

of

the

years

included

in

the

period

of

significance,

the

years

1953-1960,

are

less

than

50

years

ago,

the

extraordinary

significance

of

this

property

during

that

period

clearly

satisfies

National

Historic

Landmark

Exception

8.

This

property

has

a

high

degree

of

integrity.

It

opened

to

the

public

as

a

historic

site

in

1987

to

promote

and

interpret

the

history

of

Sun

Records,

now

known

as

Sun Studio,

and

careful

attention

has

been

given

to

retaining

the

building's

historic

character.

The

building's

current

owner

also

purchased

the

adjacent

two-story

brick

building

on

the

corner

(710

Union

Avenue)

to

accommodate

services

for

visitors

to Sun

Studio

(706

Union

Avenue)

in

a

separate

location.

In

recent

years,

Sam

Phillips and

Sun

Records

have

been

examined

at

length

in

books,

magazine

articles,

television

documentaries, music compilations,

etc.

Peter

Guralnick

is

a

prolific

writer

on

American

roots

music

and

a

preeminent

authority

on

this

subject.

The

dedication

for his

1979

book,

Lost

Highway-Journeys

and

Arrivals

of

American

Musicians,

reads,

"For

Sam

Phillips and

Chester

Burnett,

the

real

heroes

of

rock

'n'

roll."

Guralnick

regards

Phillips

as

"the

man

who

started

it

all...

the

man

who almost

single-handedly

authored

one

of

the

most

remarkable

chapters

in

the

history

of

American

popular

music."

85

In

the

Foreword

to

Good

Rockin'

Tonight

-

Sun

Records

and

the

Birth

of

Rock

'N'

Roll,

the

definitive

history

of

Sun

Records

to

date,

Guralnick

wrote

this

assessment:

It

is

a

music

of

almost

unparalleled

richness

and

diversity.

Sam

Phillips,

in

scarcely

a

decade

of

full-scale

involvement

in

the

record

business—and

for

most

of

that

decade

functioning

largely

as

a

one-man

operation—created

a

legacy

comparable

to

no

other,

really,

provided

the

stylistic

bedrock

not

just

for

rock

'n'

roll

but

for

much

of

modern

blues

as

well.

And

. . .

it

was

no

accident

of

spontaneous generation

but,

rather,

the

culmination

of

a

social

and

historical

vision.

86

Sam

Phillips

was

an

original

inductee

into

the

Rock

'n'

Roll

Hall

of

Fame

in

1986

and

the

first

person

inducted

in

the

Non-Performers

category.

In

1987,

he

received

the

Lifework

Award

for

Non-Performing

Achievement from

the

Alabama

Music

Hall

of

Fame.

The

Blues

Hall

of

Fame

recognized

Phillips

in

the

Non-Performers