Sam Phillips

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Sam Phillips (born January 5, 1923 in Florence , Alabama , as Samuel Cornelius Phillips , † July 30, 2003 in Memphis , Tennessee ) was an American producer and record label owner . Phillips founded the Sun Records label and spotted stars like Elvis Presley , Jerry Lee Lewis , Carl Perkins , Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash .

Life

Childhood and youth

Sam Phillips grew up in Alabama during the Depression. Born the youngest of eight children, Phillips was influenced by rural old-time music , spiritual and blues . In high school, he led the school band and also worked as a radio host for the broadcaster WLAY. After Phillips' father died in the war in 1941, he left school early to support his mother. In fact, he was planning law to study, then focused but on his career as a radio host.

Starts as a radio host

In 1942 Phillips married Rebecca Burns and took a job at WMSL in Decatur , Alabama. After a brief stopover in Nashville , Tennessee, he finally found a job with WREC in Memphis in June 1945 . His daily radio shows Songs of the West and Saturday Afternoon Tea Dance were broadcast nationally on the CBS system . Memphis was already established as a musical center primarily for blues and youth bands , but at that time there was no recording studio in town.

Foundation of Memphis Record Service

In October 1949, Phillips rented a small shop at 706 Union Avenue where he set up a modest recording studio. He got financial help from Buck Turner , a musician who often appeared at WREC. Phillips' slogan was " We record anything-anywhere-anytime ". At first Phillips made recordings of artists in addition to recordings at funerals and weddings, which he then pressed onto records and sold. With his friend Dewey Phillips he founded the label Phillips Records, for which the blues musician Joe Hill Louis had the first 300 records pressed on August 30, 1950 . However, the company had to close again after the first publication.

Phillips then changed his strategy, made recordings of local talent and sold the tapes to labels such as Chess Records or RPM by the Bihari brothers. In April 1951 Chess released the single Rocket "88" by Jackie Brenston . The song had been recorded a month earlier in Phillips' studio under the direction of pianist Ike Turner and reached number one on the R&B charts in May of that year. Rocket 88 is considered to be one of the first rock 'n' roll songs to be recorded. In the next few years Phillips promoted other rhythm and blues artists such as Howlin Wolf , BB King , James Cotton , Rufus Thomas , Rosco Gordon , Little Milton and Bobby Blue Bland .

Foundation of Sun Records

The Sun Studio at 706 Union Ave.

After Phillips fell out with Chess, he decided to start his own label again. In addition, despite his successes, he got into financial difficulties. So he quit his job as a radio host and founded Sun Records, whose first release was Drivin 'Slow by 16-year-old Johnny London . In 1953 the label recorded its first hit with Rufus Thomas ' Bear Cat .

In the summer of that year, a young singer named Elvis Presley made his first recordings in the Sun Studio. Almost a year later, in the spring of 1954, Presley sang again on request. Phillips once said, “ If I could find a white man with the voice and feel of a black man, I would be a millionaire. “This musician seemed to have come with Presley. After a session with the musicians Scotty Moore and Bill Black , the two tracks That's Allright (Mama) and Blue Moon of Kentucky came out. Through the economical instrumentation and the mixing of white country music with black R&B, the rockabilly was born.

Further successes and later years

As early as the end of 1954, other country musicians such as Malcolm Yelvington , Ray Harris and Johnny Cash had reported who also played a similar sound. But Phillips initially focused on Presley. He sold his records, managed him, got him appearances in the Grand Ole Opry and the Louisiana Hayride and led his recording sessions. In November 1955, Presley's contract was sold to RCA Victor , who finally made Presley a star.

From 1955, Phillips also devoted himself to other artists. Johnny Cash's first single on Sun Records was released with Hey! Porter / Cry! Cry! Cry! on June 21, 1955 and reached number 14 on the country charts. Phillips also celebrated success with Carl Perkins , Roy Orbison , Warren Smith and other rockabilly artists. The "Sun Sound" was known throughout the southern United States and found numerous imitators. During the next few years, Phillips continued to sell rockabilly and achieved high sales. One of his last discoveries was Carl Mann .

In the 1960s, Sun Records' success quickly faded and Phillips sold the label to Shelby Singleton in 1969 . He focused back on the radio industry and had some unsuccessful studio projects.

Sam Phillips died in Memphis, Tennessee in 2003.

Awards

In Walk the Line (2005) Phillips was played by Dallas Roberts , in Elvis (2005) by Tim Guinee and in Great Balls of Fire (1989) by Trey Wilson.

literature

  • Morrison, Craig: American Popular Music. Rock and roll. Preface by Kevin J. Holm-Hudson. New York, NY: Checkmark Books, 2006, pp. 169-172
  • Escott, Colin / Hawkins, Martin: Good Rockin 'Tonight. Sun Records and the Birth of Rock 'n' Roll . New York City, NY: St. Martin's Press, 1991
  • Peter Guralnick: Sam Phillips: The man who invented Rock'n'Roll , Cosoc Grand Palace Publishing, Munich, 2015 ISBN 978-3-98210-160-6

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Phillips, Sam
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American music producer, founder of the Sun Records label
DATE OF BIRTH January 5, 1923
PLACE OF BIRTH Florence , Alabama ,
DATE OF DEATH July 30, 2003
Place of death Memphis , Tennessee