This is part two of the "Stories and Dreams" series, and focuses on Sam Phillips and his discoveries in Memphis, Tennessee in the 1950's. We visited the Delta Blues Museum in Clarksdale, Mississippi as well as the Rock and Soul Museum and Sun Studios in Memphis, hearing many of the same stories repeated with little to no variation. American music has a mythology, and indulging in the legends and myths has made our trip educational and engaging.
Sam Phillips is a man of legend--so much so that a Broadway Musical about one night in his life was created: Million Dollar Quartet. If not for Sam Phillips--his strengths and weaknesses--the story would have been quite different.
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| Jerry Lee, Carl, Elvis, & Johnny |
As told, this story begins with a dream. Sam Phillips is a disc jockey for an easy listening station, but his real interest is in more exciting music, the kind heard in the black nightclubs on Beale Street and the black radio stations. Sam opens a recording service with the motto "We will record anything, anywhere, any time." This one act would lead Sam to his first big break-through.
Dateline 1951 Clarksdale, Mississippi -- a man named Ike Turner and his friend Jackie Brenston play a game of watching out for new cars--Chevys, Fords, and most notably Oldsmobile. Jackie loves the Olds Rocket 88 and writes a song (with Ike, uncredited) about it. They hear about Sam's recording services, so they load up their equipment in a truck and head to Memphis. On the way, their amplifier falls out of the truck and sustains damage. They take it anyway. When they arrive at Memphis Recording Service, they stuff newspaper into the hole in the amplifier and play the song. It causes a distortion, which is a unique sound and one Sam realizes is transformative. He records "Rocket 88" which is released by Chess Records, selling big and now considered to be the very first Rock 'n' Roll song. Sam didn't reap much on the deal, however, since he was just a recording service and not a record producer. This experience motivates him to open Sun Studios. |
| In honor of the very first Rock 'n' Roll song |
Sun Studios, 1953. A young man just out of high school walks in to Sun Studios to record a ballad called "My Happiness." Sam Phillips is not in that day, but his secretary knows how to use the equipment, so she is the first to record Elvis Presley. Sam was not impressed. He did not like ballads and easy listening, so had no use for Elvis.
But Elvis was determined, and kept showing up at Sun trying to get a deal. Finally he gets a break when in 1954 Sam wants to put together a trio and needs a front man. He lets Elvis take a shot at it, but is disappointed when Elvis leans on ballads once more. In frustration they take a break, when just for fun Elvis starts singing an uptempo version of an Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup tune "That's Alright Mama." Sam goes crazy!!! This is the sound he has been waiting for! They record it immediately, get it pressed into vinyl, and he takes it directly to his disc jockey friend Dewey Phillips who runs a radio show out of the Chisca Hotel. He plays the song and the response is immediate. Dewey plays this new Elvis hit 14 more times that night. Sun Records is on its way with its first major hit, and Elvis becomes a major star.
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| Replica of Dewey Phillips DJ booth |
Both Sam and Elvis had dreams that were so strong they simply could not die. On a magical night in July 1954, their dreams converged and American music was changed forever.
Elvis reminisces in 1968.
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| Jim and I rocking the Elvis microphone |
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