Paris, Memphis

Sun Records


founded 1952, by Sam Phillips





706 Union Ave., Memphis, Tennessee  38103


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---------- [excerpt from Mystery Train by Greil Marcus, Notes and Discographies] -----------


SUN, 1953 - 55


All of Elvis's master recordings at Sun [Records]...can be found on [the album/CD] Sunrise (RCA).  Alternate takes can be found all over the place.


Elvis's first recordings were made in June 1953 by the Memphis Recording Service, a cut-your-own disc operation ("$3 one side, $4 two sides") Sam Phillips set up to supplement the uncertain income of the pre-rock Sun label.


...Elvis recorded two songs, with Phillips co-manager Marion Keisker (according to her) or Phillips himself (according to him) running the machines:  "My Happiness," ...and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin" ...





...Phillips was intrigued; he  brought Elvis together with Scotty Moore and the bass fiddle player Bill Black (1926 - 65) and bid them rehearse.  Phillips was looking for a distinctive sound....Elvis's Sun singles followed in this order:


"That's All Right" b/w "Blue Moon of Kentucky," released July 19, 1954....


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[Google Elvis Presley, that's all, to play and listen]


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SAM PHLLIPS, SUN RECORDS & ROCKABILLY MUSIC


Sam Phillips (1923 - 2003), for those who haven't guessed it, is the secret hero of this book.  I don't know if he was the right man in the right place at the right time, or much more than that, and I don't really care.  "This is like Paris at the turn of the century," said Jim Dickinson





in 1982, trying to explain.  "We saw a change in Memphis that affected the whole world." ---------------- [end of Mystery Train excerpt]











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(Sam Phillips in 1969) --





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{Mystery Train, by Greil Marcus.  1975.  5th revision published 2008, Plume / Penguin.}


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