Sun Records Studio

  Originally called "The Memphis Recording Service", Sam Phillips' Sun Records Studio is located just a mile from the Rock-N-Soul museum. This is where Elvis got his recording start. The studio does not look like much from the street, but once you get inside, the history of the Blues and Rock-N-Roll just surrounds you. The shear number of famous recording artists we recognize today, that got their start at Sun Records, amazed us (e.g. Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Howlin Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, etc). The tour itself was a fascinating historical journey from the early days of the studio, until today - it's still an active recording studio. Lori and I grew up during the birth years of Rock-N-Roll. It was a thrill for us to relive some of this history.

              sunstudio.com

The front window of Sun Records.

This plaque on the street depicts some of the history of the studio.

The first floor all purpose lobby.

Sam Phillips, founder of Sun Records. He loved the Blues sound.

In the early days, Phillips only had portable recording equipment such as this.

Phillips felt that Howlin Wolf was his "...greatest discovery", even over Elvis.

One of Sam Phillips' innovations was to use a singing group from the Tennessee corrections system, known as "The Prisonaires." They were so popular, this group eventually earned a pardon from the Governor.

Marion Keisker, Sam's assistant, was responsible for convincing Phillips to give Elvis a chance to record, although it took her a year to prove Elvis's talent to her boss.

The front office, where Marion met all those who wanted to audition.

"THE" recording studio ( it's still active today).

In 1956, this "Million Dollar Quarter" (Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis, and Johnny Cash) got together in the studio for an impromptu jam session. Recognizing the importance of these four stars singing together, the studio recorded the whole event.

In the early days of his career, there were no drums available for Johnny Cash's recordings. He improvised by wrapping a piece a paper around the frets to get the raspy strumming sound for which he was famous. Our tour guide, Ples Hamilton demonstrates how this worked.

The original recording microphone used in the studio.