Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – June 30, 2003), better known as Sam Phillips, was an American record producer who played an important role in the emergence of rock and roll as the major form of popular music in the 1950s. Events 1477 - Battle of Nancy: Charles the Bold is killed and Burgundy becomes part of France. Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the In the Music industry, a record producer or music producer has many roles among them controlling the recording sessions coaching and guiding the musicians organizing Rock and roll (also known as rock 'n' roll) is a form of Music that evolved in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s with roots in mostly African The 1950s Decade refers to the years of 1950 to 1959 inclusive He is most notably attributed with the discovery of Elvis Presley, and is associated with several other noteworthy rhythm and blues and rock and roll stars of the period.

Phillips was a native of Florence, Alabama and a graduate of Coffee High School. Florence is a city in and the County seat of Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the northwestern corner of the state Coffee High School is Public high school located in Douglas Georgia.

The "Memphis Recording Service" and Sun Records

In the 1940s, Phillips worked as a DJ for Muscle Shoals, Alabama radio station WLAY (AM). Muscle Shoals is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. Alabama (formally the State of Alabama;) is a State located in the southern region of the United States of America. WLAY is a Radio station serving the Florence / Muscle Shoals, Alabama market and is heard at 1450 AM and on a translator at 92 According to Phillips, this radio station's "open format" (of broadcasting music from both white and black musicians) would later inspire his work in Memphis.

Sam Phillips with recording equipment as shown on a display wall inside Sun Studio

On January 3, 1950, Phillips opened the "Memphis Recording Service" at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, which also served as the studios for Phillips' own label, Sun Records, through the 1950s. Events 1431 - Joan of Arc is handed over to the Bishop Pierre Cauchon. Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Memphis is a City in the southwest corner of Tennessee, and the County seat of Shelby County. Sun Records was a Record label based in Memphis, Tennessee, starting operations on March 27 1952. In addition to musical performances, he recorded events such as weddings and funerals, selling the recordings.

Phillips recorded what some—notably music historian Peter Guralnick—consider the first rock and roll record: "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, a band led by 19-year-old Ike Turner, who also wrote the song. Peter Guralnick (born December 15, 1943, in Boston Massachusetts) is an American music critic, writer on music and historian of There are many candidates for the title of the first rock and roll record, but it is arguable whether any such thing exists This article is about the song For the band by this name see Rocket 88 (band. Jackie Brenston ( 15 August 1930, Clarksdale, Mississippi — 15 December 1979, Memphis, Tennessee Ike Wister Turner ( November 5 1931 &ndash December 12 2007) was an American Musician, Bandleader, The recording was released on the Chess/Checker record label in Chicago, in 1951. Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January From 1950 to 1954 Phillips recorded the music of black rhythm and blues artists such as James Cotton, Rufus Thomas, Rosco Gordon, Little Milton, Bobby Blue Bland, and others. James Cotton (born July 1 1935, Tunica, Mississippi) is an American Blues Harmonica player Singer Rufus Thomas Jr ( March 26 1917 – December 15 2001) was a Rhythm and blues, Funk and soul singer and Rosco Gordon ( April 10 1928 – July 11 2002) was an African American Blues Singer and Songwriter Milton "Little Milton" Campbell Jr ( September 7, 1934 &mdash August 4, 2005) was a Blues and Soul vocalist and Robert Calvin Bland (born January 27, 1930) better known as Bobby “Blue” Bland, is an American singer of Blues and soul Blues legends such as B.B. King and Howlin' Wolf made their first recordings at his studio. B B King (born Riley B King, September 16 1925 is an American Blues Guitarist and Singer-songwriter. Chester Burnett redirects here For the American football player see Chester Burnett (American football Chester Arthur Burnett ( June 10, 1910

Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash

Although much has been written about Phillips' goals, he can be seen stating the following: "Everyone knew that I was just a struggling cat down here trying to develop new and different artists, and get some freedom in music, and tap some resources and people that weren't being tapped. "^[1]

Elvis Presley, who recorded his version of Arthur "Big Boy" Cruddup's That's All Right (Mama) at Phillips' studio, met that goal, and became highly successful, first in Memphis, then throughout the southern United States. " That's All Right (Mama " is the name of the first single released by Elvis Presley, written and originally performed by blues singer Arthur Crudup. For the first six months, the flip side, Blue Moon of Kentucky, his upbeat version of a Bill Monroe bluegrass song, was slightly more popular than "That's All Right (Mama). William Smith Monroe ( September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American musician who developed the style of music known as " While still not known outside the South, Presley's singles and regional success became a drawing card for Sun Records, as singing hopefuls soon arrived from all over the region. Singers such as Sonny Burgess ("My Bucket's Got A Hole In It"), Charlie Rich, Junior Parker, and Billy Lee Riley recorded for Sun with some success, while others such as Jerry Lee Lewis, BB King, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, and Carl Perkins would become superstars. Albert Austin "Sonny" Burgess (born May 28 1931, on a farm near Newport, Arkansas to Albert and Esta Burgess is a Guitarist Charlie Rich ( December 14, 1932 - July 25, 1995) was an American Country Music Singer/Musician. Junior Parker, also known as Little Junior Parker or "Mr Blues" ( May 27, 1932 &ndash November 18, 1971) was Billy Lee Riley (born October 5, 1933) is a Rockabilly Musician, Singer, Record producer and Songwriter. Jerry Lee Lewis (born September 29, 1935) is an American Rock and roll and Country music Singer, Songwriter B B King (born Riley B King, September 16 1925 is an American Blues Guitarist and Singer-songwriter. Johnny Cash (born J R Cash; February 26 1932 - September 12 2003 was a Grammy Award -winning American country Singer-songwriter. Roy Kelton Orbison ( April 23 1936 &ndash December 6 1988) nicknamed "The Big O" was an influential Grammy Award -winning Carl Lee Perkins ( April 9, 1932 &ndash January 19, 1998) was an American pioneer of Rockabilly music a mix of Rhythm

Despite this popular regional acclaim, by mid 1955 Sam Phillips' studio experienced financial difficulties, and he sold Presley's contract in November of that year; RCA Records' offer of $35,000 beat out Atlantic Records' offer of $25,000. RCA Records (originally The Victor Talking Machine Company, then RCA Victor is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. Atlantic Records ( Atlantic Recording Corporation) is an American Record label best known for its many recordings of Rhythm & blues, Rock Through the sale of Presley's contract, he was able to boost the distribution of Perkins' song 'Blue Suede Shoes', and it became Sun Records' first national hit. " Blue Suede Shoes " is a Rock and roll standard written and first recorded by Carl Perkins in 1955.

Phillips is credited with teaching production to Presley who used this knowledge into his career with RCA Victor. Although Steve Sholes was credited as the official producer of Elvis after his move to RCA, it was Elvis who in reality, produced most of the music, using what he had learned from Sam Phillips.

Phillips had an open style and insightful guidance that seemed to allow musicians, especially Presley, to search and feel their way to a point to where they would perform beyond Phillips' and their own expectations. He also seemed to have a sense for when the artist was about to reach the point of their best performance. Phillips recorded looking for a feel, not technical perfection. Phillips told Elvis that the worst thing he could go for was perfection. Phillips was always seeking what he called the perfect/imperfect cut. This meant that it was not technically perfect, but perfectly conveyed the feeling and emotion of the song to the listener and gave the song a living personality, partially due to it being technically imperfect.

Phillips innovated while recording Elvis. Most recordings at the time gave substantially more volume to the vocals. Phillips pulled back the Elvis vocals, blending it more with the instrumental performances. Phillips also used tape delay to get an echo into the Elvis recordings by running the tape through a second recorder head. RCA, not knowing the method that Phillips had used was unable to recreate the Elvis echo when recording "Heartbreak Hotel". " Heartbreak Hotel " is a Rock and roll song performed by Elvis Presley, with Bill Black ( bass) Scotty Moore ( In an attempt to duplicate the Sun Records sound, RCA used a large empty hallway at the studio to create an echo, but it sounded nothing like the echo that Phillips had created at Sun Records.

Elvis did not have a band when he arrived at Sun Records. It was Sam Phillips who decided that little was needed to augment Elvis' vocals and rhythm guitar. Phillips chose two musicians, lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black to perform with Elvis. Winfield Scott "Scotty" Moore III (born December 27, 1931 near Gadsden Tennessee) is a legendary American Guitarist and William Patton "Bill" Black Jr ( September 17, 1926 – October 21, 1965) was an American Musician. This choice of musicians proved to be inspired as this group along with drummer D.J. Fontana produced some of the biggest hits in rock 'n' roll history, even after Phillips had sold the Presley contract to RCA Victor. Dominic Joseph Fontana (born March 15 1931 in Shreveport Louisiana) is an American musician best known as the Drummer for Elvis Presley for These included "Heartbreak Hotel", "Hound Dog", and "Don't Be Cruel". " Heartbreak Hotel " is a Rock and roll song performed by Elvis Presley, with Bill Black ( bass) Scotty Moore ( " Hound Dog " is a Twelve-bar blues written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and originally recorded by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton For the Bobby Brown album see Don't Be Cruel (album. " Don't Be Cruel " is a song by Otis Blackwell, which was recorded

Phillips' pivotal role in the early days of rock and roll was exemplified by a celebrated jam session on December 4, 1956 which came to be known as the Million Dollar Quartet. "December 4th" redirects here For the song by Jay-Z, see December 4th (song. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Million Dollar Quartet is the name given to recordings made on Tuesday December 4 1956 in the Sun Record Studios in Memphis Tennessee Jerry Lee Lewis was playing piano for a Carl Perkins recording session at Phillips' studio. When Elvis Presley walked in unexpectedly, Johnny Cash was called into the studio by Phillips, leading to an impromptu session featuring the four musicians. Johnny Cash (born J R Cash; February 26 1932 - September 12 2003 was a Grammy Award -winning American country Singer-songwriter.

Phillips challenged the four to achieve gold record sales, offering a free Cadillac to the first. The contest is commemorated in a song by the "Drive-by Truckers". A song from the Drive-By Truckers ' 2004 album The Dirty South, Carl Perkins' Cadillac sympathetically tells the story of one of the giants of rock

WHER

Phillips launched radio station WHER on October 29, 1955. WHER (1430 kHz AM) was the first "All-Girl" Radio station when it went on the air in October 1955 Events 437 - Valentinian III, Western Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II Year 1955 ( MCMLV) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar) Each of the young women who auditioned for the station assumed there would only be one female announcer position like other stations at that time. Only a few days before the first broadcast did they learn of the "All Girl Radio" format. Almost every position at the station was held by a woman. [1]

Other business interests

Through savvy investments, Phillips soon amassed a fortune. He was one of the first investors in Holiday Inn, a new motel chain that was about to go national; he became involved with the chain shortly after selling the rights to Elvis Presley to RCA for $35,000 which he multiplied many times over the years with Holiday Inn. Holiday Inn is a Brand name applied to Hotels within the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG He would also create two different subsidiary recording labels--Phillips International and Holiday Inn Records. Neither would match the success or influence of Sun, which Phillips ultimately sold to Shelby Singleton in the 1960s. Shelby Singleton (born Shelby Sumpter Singleton Jr 16 December 1931, Waskom, Texas) is an American Record producer and

He also owned the Sun Studio Café in Memphis. One location was in the Mall of Memphis. The Mall of Memphis was a large Shopping mall in Memphis, Tennessee, containing of retail space and 5564 parking spaces

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

In 1986 Sam Phillips was part of the first group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a Museum located on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland Ohio, United States The Rockabilly Hall of Fame was established on March 21, 1997 to present early Rock and roll history and information relative to the artists and personalities In 1987, he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Year 1987 ( MCMLXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar) He received a Grammy Trustees Award for his lifetime achievements in 1991. The Grammy Trustees Award is awarded by the Recording Academy to "individuals who during their careers in music have made significant contributions other than Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. In 1998, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, and in October 2001 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Year 1998 ( MCMXCVIII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1998 Gregorian calendar) The Blues Hall of Fame is a listing of people who have significantly contributed to Blues music Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum is located at 222 Fifth Avenue South in Nashville, Tennessee, United States.

Phillips died of respiratory failure at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee on June 30, 2003, only one day before the original Sun Studio was designated a National Historic Landmark. Memphis is a City in the southwest corner of Tennessee, and the County seat of Shelby County. Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Sun Studio was opened by rock pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. He is interred in the Memorial Park Cemetery, Memphis. Memorial Park Cemetery was founded in 1924 by E Clovis Hinds on initial 54  Acres (

He is portrayed by Charles Cyphers in the 1979 film Elvis, Trey Wilson in the 1989 film Great Balls of Fire and by Dallas Roberts in the 2005 film Walk the Line. Charles Cyphers (born July 28 1939) is an American Actor who has starred in many Films and on Television. Donald Yearnsley Wilson III ( January 21, 1948 – January 16, 1989) was an American Character actor known for playing rural " Great Balls of Fire " is a 1957 Song written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer Dallas Mark Roberts (born 10 May 1970) is an American stage and screen Actor. Walk the Line is a 2005 American biographical Drama film, directed by James Mangold and based on the life of country He was portrayed by Gregory Itzin in a 1993 episode of Quantum Leap entitled "Memphis Melody. Gregory Itzin (born April 20 1948) is an Emmy -nominated American film and television actor best known for his role on the series 24 Quantum Leap is an American science fiction television series that ran for 96 episodes from March 1989 to May 1993 on the NBC network "

Notes

References

• Guterman, Jimmy. (1998). "Sam Phillips". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 414.

External links

• Sun Studio official website
• Interview with Sam Phillips
• Rock Hall of Fame
• Elvis Presley at Sun Studio