Sam C. Phillips/Sun Records - thread

[Rocker]

Slated for release this November!!







Peter Guralnick talks about the man who discovered Elvis, and reveals cover of his new book

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/06/04/peter-guralnick-sam-phillips-biography




The author of the critically acclaimed Elvis Presley biography Last Train to Memphis brings us the life of Sam Phillips, the visionary genius who singlehandedly steered the revolutionary path of Sun Records.
The music that he shaped in his tiny Memphis studio with artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, Ike Turner, Howlin' Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash, introduced a sound that had never been heard before. He brought forth a singular mix of black and white voices passionately proclaiming the vitality of the American vernacular tradition while at the same time declaring, once and for all, a new, integrated musical day. With extensive interviews and firsthand personal observations extending over a 25-year period with Phillips, along with wide-ranging interviews with nearly all the legendary Sun Records artists, Guralnick gives us an ardent, unrestrained portrait of an American original as compelling in his own right as Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, or Thomas Edison.

http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/peter-guralnick/sam-phillips-the-man-who-invented-rock-n-roll/9780316042741/#desc





Companion CD:





Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll was curated by Peter Guralnick ( Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley) and accompanies his landmark Sam Phillips biography of the same title.  These tracks are a hand-picked selection of Sam Phillips productions that illustrate Phillips’ unique (sounds and sense) approach to recording and his cosmic genius.  A celebration of the period (1950 - 1961) in which Sam played a revolutionary role in the music business, this collection includes big hits, near misses and never-was tracks that encompass blues, country, gospel, r&b,  and the birth of rock & roll.



DISC 1

01. Jerry Lee Lewis - Hello Hello Baby

02. Howlin’ Wolf - Moanin’ at Midnight

03. The Prisonaires - Just Walkin’ in the Rain

04. Howlin’ Wolf - How Many More Years

05. Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats (Ike Turner) - Rocket 88

06. Joe Hill Louis - Gotta Let You Go

07. The Jones Brothers - Every Night

08. Howard Seratt - Troublesome Waters

09. Jimmy and Walter - Easy

10. Jimmy and Walter - Before Long

11. Willie Nix - Lonesome Bedroom

12. Johnny Cash - Big River

13. Carl Perkins - Boppin’ the Blues

14. Doctor Ross - The Boogie Disease

15. Elvis Presley - Baby Let’s Play House

16. Roy Orbison - Ooby Dooby

17. Little Junior’s Blue Flames - Love My Baby

18. Carl Perkins - Matchbox

19. Jerry Lee Lewis - Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On

20. Billy Riley - Flyin’ Saucers Rock & Roll

21. B.B. King - She’s Dynamite

22. Howlin’ Wolf - Mr. Highway Man (Cadillac Daddy)

23. Rufus Thomas - Tiger Man

24. Sonny Burgess - Red-Headed Woman

25. Jerry Lee Lewis - End of the Road

26. Charlie Rich - Who Will the Next Fool Be?

27. Elvis Presley - Mystery Train

28. John Prine - How Lucky


DISC 2

01. Little Junior’s Blue Flames - Feelin’ Good

02. Jerry Lee Lewis - You’re the Only Star in My Blue Heaven

03. Carl Perkins - Turn Around

04. Jimmy DeBerry - Time Has Made a Change

05. Warren Smith - Miss Froggie

06. Willie Nix - Seems Like a Million Years

07. Billy “the Kid” Emerson - When It Rains It Pours

08. Elvis Presley - That’s All Right

09. Jerry Lee Lewis - You Win Again

10. Charlie Feathers - I’ve Been Deceived

11. Sleepy John Estes - Rats in My Kitchen

12. D.A. Hunt - Lonesome Ol’ Jail

13. Ernie Chaffin - Feelin’ Low

14. Charlie Rich - Sittin’ and Thinkin’

15. Johnny Cash - Hey Porter

16. Carl Perkins - Movie Magg

17. Harmonica Frank - Rockin’ Chair Daddy

18. Roscoe Gordon - Booted

19. James Cotton - Cotton Crop Blues

20. Joe Hill Louis - Dorothy Mae

21. Little Junior’s Blue Flames - Mystery Train

22. Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes

23. Warren Smith - Rock and Roll Ruby

24. Roy Orbison - Go Go Go

25. Jerry Lee Lewis - Settin’ the Woods on Fire

26. Million Dollar Quartet - I Shall Not Be Moved

27. Elvis Presley - Tryin’ to Get to You


http://yeproc.11spot.com/sam-phillips-sam-phillips-the-man-who-invented-rock-n-roll-pre-order-10-30.html









Here is the name giving documentary.

Part 1:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYcadYXsTyM


Part 2:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dan6idfM6sI

[PhilSpectre]

Looks interesting.

To nitpick, I'm not mad about the title. In this more knowledgeable day and age, I don't think you can get away with claiming any white person 'invented' rock n' roll. Elvis never liked being called 'The King of Rock n' Roll' anyway, and certainly for me, Little Richard and Chuck Berry are the true 'kings' of rock n' roll, though imo the music has no single inventor, just a slow, murky emergence out of r n' b, country, blues and gospel.

I wonder if the book discusses Sam's bizarre latterday image -





 

[Lonely Summer]

Looks interesting.

To nitpick, I'm not mad about the title. In this more knowledgeable day and age, I don't think you can get away with claiming any white person 'invented' rock n' roll. Elvis never liked being called 'The King of Rock n' Roll' anyway, and certainly for me, Little Richard and Chuck Berry are the true 'kings' of rock n' roll, though imo the music has no single inventor, just a slow, murky emergence out of r n' b, country, blues and gospel.

I wonder if the book discusses Sam's bizarre latterday image -





 

I agree that it is not a good title for this book. Sam certainly was there in the beginning stages of rock and roll, but he didn't invent the music. Fats Domino was already cutting records when Sam got into the business. Gotta say I always loved listening to the man talk - just had on a 90's PBS rock special a few nights ago, and Sam is there quite a bit talking about Elvis, Perkins, JLL. He always sounded like a Southern preacher that had just a little too much to drink.

[Rocker]

The title of course is just to sell (and also was also the tile of a documentary by Guralnick, see my first post).
No one invented Rock'n'Roll. It just evolved. That's how it goes. Sam though had a vision from beginning of a social kind as he wanted to build a bridge between black and white folks.


Speaking of "bizarr".... Do you know this Letterman appearance by Sam? The only time he was on such a big show afaik and then this.... 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkknN4vCIGM

[PhilSpectre]

Speaking of "bizarr".... Do you know this Letterman appearance by Sam? The only time he was on such a big show afaik and then this.... 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkknN4vCIGM

Great fun, if not a great showcase for Sam the man and his esteemed place in music history.

Also interesting to see Paul Shaffer, with whom our man Brian later collaborated on the unreleased Sweet Insanity era instrumental 'Metal Beach'  .

And here we have Sam Phillips - the Jeff Lynne Years -



Sorry, Rocker, latter-day Sam Phillips' look just tickles my funny bone  .

And finally, you'd never guess that this guy is one of Sam's sons, Mr Jerry Phillips, would you, huh?

[PhilSpectre]

Gotta say I always loved listening to the man talk - just had on a 90's PBS rock special a few nights ago, and Sam is there quite a bit talking about Elvis, Perkins, JLL. He always sounded like a Southern preacher that had just a little too much to drink.

  Totally agree. Watch this interview with Sam, talking about Elvis and from his tone only, I started to feel like Sam was confessing the story of his own sins and evangelizing how he found himself in the Lord.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry6E34Wa7gM

[Lonely Summer]

Gotta say I always loved listening to the man talk - just had on a 90's PBS rock special a few nights ago, and Sam is there quite a bit talking about Elvis, Perkins, JLL. He always sounded like a Southern preacher that had just a little too much to drink.

  Totally agree. Watch this interview with Sam, talking about Elvis and from his tone only, I started to feel like Sam was confessing the story of his own sins and evangelizing how he found himself in the Lord.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ry6E34Wa7gM

I love how he says at the end "I just wish everyone could've known Elvis Presley the way I did". Thank God for Sam Phillips, if not for him, the world might never have known the great artistry of Elvis, a shy guy with no formal training in singing or guitar playing, no showbiz  connections; we might not have ever know Johnny Cash and his Tennessee Two - guys that could barely play their instruments, yet they had something unique, something different, and Sam recognized it.

[Rocker]

Well, to tell you the truth, when it comes down to Elvis and all that stuff, there's hardly anyone who's words make so much sense as Sam Phillips'.



Author Peter Guralnick on his new Sam Phillips biography

http://www.commercialappeal.com/entertainment/books/author-peter-guralnick-on-his-new-sam-phillips-biography-233212f1-ac43-4277-e053-0100007f2ccc-341160731.html

[Rocker]

So, the book is out now!


“He had a vision for rock ‘n’ roll long before the music existed”: Peter Guralnick digs deep into the history of the man who made Elvis Presley
Salon talks to Peter Guralnick about his new biography of Sam Phillips, the founder of Sun Studios

http://www.salon.com/2015/11/07/he_had_a_vision_for_rock_n_roll_long_before_the_music_existed_peter_guralnick_digs_deep_into_the_history_of_the_man_who_made_elvis_presley/



And since it's related, here's an article about the great Little Junior Parker:

Elvis listened closely yet the world barely knows him : Junior Parker!

http://theimmortaljukebox.com/2015/07/07/elvis-listened-closely-yet-the-world-barely-knows-him-junior-parker/

[Rocker]

The Center of the Rock Universe
The man who discovered Elvis thought that music would close the racial divide: ‘I knew the physical separation of the races—but I knew the integration of their souls.’

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-center-of-the-rock-universe-1446840186

[Rocker]

Interview and Book Signing: Peter Guralnick

This program takes place in the Museum's Ford Theater and will also be streamed live at countrymusichalloffame.org/streaming. The live stream is powered by NewTek TriCaster.


http://countrymusichalloffame.org/calendar/event/interview-and-book-signing-peter-guralnick#.VkcbTSvjw1J

[Rocker]

‘Sam Phillips: The Man who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll’ by Peter Guralnick



Along the way Guralnick touches on Phillips’s struggles with mental illness, his astute business savvy, his complicated relationships with friends and family, and the incredible drive and charisma that propelled his genius even if some believed, at heart, he was deeply lonely.

...

By the book’s end, the weight of Guralnick’s mission comes into full view. Phillips had advised him early on, “It ain’t for you to put me in a good light. Just put me in the focus that I’m supposed to be in.” And that’s exactly what Guralnick has done. His subject would no doubt be proud that he got it right.



https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/books/2015/11/14/book-review-sam-phillips-the-man-who-invented-rock-roll-peter-guralnick/Q3nPvz70laD4WtCdBImLiI/story.html

Interview and Book Signing: Peter Guralnick

This program takes place in the Museum's Ford Theater and will also be streamed live at countrymusichalloffame.org/streaming. The live stream is powered by NewTek TriCaster.


http://countrymusichalloffame.org/calendar/event/interview-and-book-signing-peter-guralnick#.VkcbTSvjw1J

Here's the stream:

http://countrymusichalloffame.org/ContentPages/live-streaming#.Vkjm5yvjw1J

[Rocker]

Oh and by the way, this is the link to the Country Music Hall Of Fame exhibition on Sam Phillips:

http://countrymusichalloffame.org/exhibits/exhibitdetail/flyin-saucers-rock-roll-the-cosmic-genius-of-sam-phillips#.Vkub-yvjw1I

[Rocker]

Here's another interview with Guralnick.


What Sam Phillips Heard

http://www.oxfordamerican.org/item/698-what-sam-phillips-heard



And this:

The Story of Mystery Train

http://www.udiscovermusic.com/the-story-of-mystery-train

[Rocker]

Meet Man Who Discovered Elvis in Essential New Sam Phillips Book

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/meet-man-who-discovered-elvis-in-essential-new-sam-phillips-book-20151116#ixzz3rz4DraHO

[Rocker]

Conan O'Brien & Peter Guralnick Talk Sam Phillips' Life & Music at Grammy Museum: What We Learned


http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/6770246/conan-obrien-peter-guralnick-sam-phillips

[Rocker]

Sam and Johnny Cash at Phillips' studio at 639 Madison Avenue


Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll
By Peter Guralnick, November 4, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. EST

http://pitchfork.com/thepitch/953-sam-phillips-the-man-who-invented-rock-n-roll/



Peter Guralnick on NPR:

The Man And The Mistakes That 'Invented Rock 'n' Roll'


http://www.npr.org/2015/11/23/457083328/the-man-and-the-mistakes-that-invented-rock-n-roll

[Rocker]

Saw this on the "For Elvis CD Collectors Only"-Forum.


Limited edition vinyl set Sam Phillips

Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll is the title of the new book that was released more than a week ago from Peter Guralnick. At the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, there is an exhibition about the life and work of Phillips. And begin December, there is the release of the limited edition vinyl boxset of 'Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll', a 55-track companion to Peter Guralnick's biography of the same name, and a personal, idiosyncratic survey of one of the most important bodies of work in recording history.

The 3LP set features songs hand-selected by Guralnick, who also wrote an exclusive track-by-track essay for the release. Mostly spanning the years 1950-1961, the set shines a light on Phillips' unique approach to recording, his cosmic genius, and revolutionary role in the evolution of blues, country, R&B, gospel and the birth of rock 'n' roll.

Featuring big hits, near misses, and never-even-close tracks by Elvis Presley, Howlin' Wolf, Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and scores of other singular artists, Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'N' Roll delivers, in his own words, "individualism in the extreme."

Every track on this collection celebrates, whether intentionally or not, the diversity and beauty and rawness, the grandness and intimacy and comic and tragic drama of the human experience.

The 2 CD set is already available.

Published: november 19th 2015 02:19 AM.
Source: Yep Roc Records / Published by: ElvisMatters - Jeroen Vanderschoot .


http://elvismatters.com/index.php?pagina=nieuws&id=14337

[Rocker]

This one is a video report:


Biography examines life of Sun Records' Sam Phillips


http://www.cbsnews.com/videos/biography-examines-life-of-sun-records-sam-phillips/

[Rocker]

Not about the book on Sam, but an article by Gurlanick:


Searching the Desert for the Blues

http://www.oxfordamerican.org/magazine/item/705-searching-the-desert-for-the-blues

[Rocker]

From CNN:


Sam Phillips, Elvis and the invention of rock 'n' roll

http://edition.cnn.com/2015/11/18/entertainment/sam-phillips-sun-records-guralnick-feat/index.html



New York Times:


‘Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ’n’ Roll,’ by Peter Guralnick

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/06/books/review/sam-phillips-the-man-who-invented-rock-n-roll-by-peter-guralnick.html?_r=0

[Rocker]

Podcast:

Dad Rock: How Sam Phillips made rock 'n' roll

http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2015/12/04/dad-rock-how-sam-phillips-made-rock-n-roll/76737016/

[Rocker]

Here is the archived Q&A from the Country Music Hall Of Fame:


http://livestream.com/accounts/11775488/events/4496230



EDIT:


And here's a TV report.

Sam Phillips Exhibit Shows How Icon Influenced Country Music

http://www.onenewspage.com/video/20151102/3504122/Sam-Phillips-Exhibit-Shows-How-Icon-Influenced-Country.htm

[Rocker]

‘Sam Phillips’ review: Peter Guralnick on Elvis’ discoverer



http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/books/sam-phillips-review-peter-guralnick-on-elvis-discoverer-1.11227816



But whether you ultimately agree or disagree that Sam Phillips invented rock and roll, there’s one thing you can’t dispute: Sam Phillips was a singular, endlessly fascinating piece of work.

He was huckster, trickster, dreamer and architect compressed in one roiling, flamboyant package. If he hadn’t existed, it would have been necessary for Mark Twain to invent him, as the Phillips evoked in these pages carries Tom Sawyer’s adventurous cunning and Hank Morgan’s “Connecticut Yankee” ingenuity in his trick bag, along with Huck Finn’s desperate yearning for freedom.

[Rocker]

For your listening pleasure I searched for some Sam Phillips productions on youtube. Here are some not-so-well-known recordings plus some better known ones.
We start with a pure instrumental single:


Sonny Burgess - Thunderbird / Itchy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMMzKbDiGy0



Edwin Bruce - Sweet woman / Part of my life

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz487CwVfBQ



Mack Self - Everyday / Easy to love

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2kqRydJ2i4



Billy The Kid Emerson - If lovin' is believin' / No teasin' around

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJy5J6cKBs4



Dickey Lee - Good lovin / Memories never grow old

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpuVwBS02tI



Ernie Chaffin - Laughin' and jokin' / I'm lonesome

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnA7GqdRwTU



Carl Perkins - That's right / Forever yours

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKd9-jifLd0



Slim Rhodes - Gonna romp and stomp / Bad girl

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q3MW5f_1N3g



Ray Smith - Right Behind You Baby

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMX6QMR7fJo



Billy Lee Riley - Baby Please Don't Go

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvZAJNGkTcM



Barbara Pittman - No Matter Who´s To Blame

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LSGHT39jnk



Barbara Pittman - Cold Cold Herat

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfDPboTD3IQ



Mary Johnson - Mood Indigo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLb2hDGEe98



Jeanne Newman - Cheater Never Win

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l801x4OzDm4



Barbara Pitman - I Need A Man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcGGK9fn11s



Mikki Wilcox - So Many Beautiful Men

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNPxSVdCkvU



Barbara Pittman - Handsome Man

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFJiYX8FMz0



Big Memphis Marainey - Baby No! No! / Call me anything but call me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHx3K8qOsXw



Carl Perkins - Only you

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvP3JS6-Mdk



Malcolm Yelvington - Drinkin' wine spodee-o-dee / Just rolling along

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3C8OhkjOzA



Prisonaires - Softly And Tenderly

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qdh6BtKmTeQ


James Cotton - Cotton crop blues / Hold me in your arms

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6_ugQa6zIM


Elvis Presley - Milkcow blues boogie / You're a heartbreaker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1mYUhm09uI



Billy Red Love - Gee I Wish

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGkOFdAnAls



Lost John Hunter & The Blind Bats - Y M and V blues

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckYNLIq1BjE&list=PL927cH5_BV-lozhD0eM1VH-DR-ZJIecQK



B B King - Mistreated woman / B B boogie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLKTgo535EE&list=PL927cH5_BV-lozhD0eM1VH-DR-ZJIecQK&index=4



Jerry McGill - I wanna make sweet love / Lovestruck

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKIa5yeke8E



Frank Frost & The Nighthawks - Crawlback / Jelly Roll King

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HBJMSciRl6g