The flame that ignited in Sun Studios when the first
sounds of rock and roll were created there will never
be extinguished. That’s pretty exciting for most
people considering how many music lovers and musicians
there are in the world. Rock and roll means so many different
things to different people but the effect of rock and
roll music sure does strike a chord in most people. Since
rock and roll was first born in Sun Studios, musical instruments
and sounds have developed immensely over the years and
rock and roll has changed greatly yet stayed the same
in many ways. Sun Studios will always be on the list of
must-sees in Memphis because,
as some people say, rock and roll will never die, and
if that’s true then music-lovers will always go
back to the place where it was first born.
Sun Studios Memphis was where Elvis Presley first walked in when he was an18-year-old aspiring musician. Sun Studios Memphis saw the likes of a lot of aspiring musicians, many who flopped and others who went on to become some of the most well-known stars of all time. Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash were the likes of who became extremely famous and worked on their music inside of Sun Studios Memphis while they were initiating their careers.
A man named Sam Philips got so excited about the sound
coming out of Memphis around the 1950's that he set up
a small studio and began recording unknowns starting with
a single track recorder. Elvis was one of the unknowns
who had walked in Sam Philips’s studio in 1953 at
the age of 18 and for Elvis music became his entire life
after about a year of messing around in the studio. On
July 7, 1954, for the first time in history a song was
played on a radio show sung by Elvis music that had never
been heard before. It was the first time anyone had heard
the explosion of the sound of rock and roll. People went
absolutely wild and the track was played 14 more times
that night after countless call in’s to the radio
show.
After the release of “That’s Alright” other major players came and connected with Elvis music and careened onto a whole new level. Elvis enjoyed an unprecedented career which, unfortunately, didn’t last as long as it should have. Sun Studio still has Elvis memorabilia hanging around today. Since the times when the “Million Dollar Quartet” of Carl Perkins, Elvis, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis played there, many solo musicians and bands have gone back to honor the memory of the music that all began in an infamous Sun Studios recording session.
One of the most famous pieces of Elvis memorabilia remaining
at the studio is the very microphone in which Elvis sang
his first recorded song to Sam Philips. Infact Sam Philips
remained relatively unimpressed with the initial ditty
and it wasn’t until a year later that Elvis came
back to record. It was in 1954 with that first rock and
roll recording that everyone hit the roof and went totally
crazy over Elvis, fans and musicians alike.
Though many items of Elvis memorabilia remain at the funky little studio where original tiles still remain, perhaps more important then any of that Elvis memorabilia is the memory of the man who first launched the music of rock and roll. He inspired thousands of musicians to continue along their creative paths and make the music that came straight from their hearts and souls.
