Sam C. Phillips/Sun Records - thread

[rab2591]

Rocker, thanks so much for that post!

The song I heard was 'Good Rockin Tonight', also 'Blue Moon of Kentucky' had some really cool percussion on it.

I've got some good listening to do the rest of today. I actually bought that Cash album With His Hot And Blue Guitar years ago and love it. So I guess I already have foot in the door to this music.

Elvis at Sun is on Apple Music and I'm listening to 'Harbor Lights' right now. Great stuff.

[Rocker]

Sam Phillips' Sun records rules, not so much with Shelby making Orion release fake Elvis records.

Well, the Orion thing was really bad imo. Although whoever thinks that this was Elvis probably doesn't deserve better  
But the original, undubbed versions of Jerry Lee are great!

Another one you should check out (and who is heard on the two not-Orion tracks) is Charlie Rich. His recordings for Sun/Phillips International are just fabulous. They are among my favorite Sun related recordings.


But in the end, Sam and his staff cut so much great music. You just can't beat something like this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMWQ53SB3po

[Rocker]

Rocker, thanks so much for that post!

The song I heard was 'Good Rockin Tonight', also 'Blue Moon of Kentucky' had some really cool percussion on it.

I've got some good listening to do the rest of today. I actually bought that Cash album With His Hot And Blue Guitar years ago and love it. So I guess I already have foot in the door to this music.

Elvis at Sun is on Apple Music and I'm listening to 'Harbor Lights' right now. Great stuff.

"Good rockin' tonight", yeah that'S one of my favorites.
But "Harbour lights"? Well, to each his own...   Not necessarily something I listen to many times.

Try to get the Perkins album for a next step 


EDIT:

Sun Records: Margaret Anne Florence on Playing the Other Woman

http://www.cmt.com/news/1777465/sun-records-margaret-anne-florence-on-playing-the-other-woman/

[SMiLE Brian]

CHICAGO BREAKDOWN rules!

[Rocker]

I totally forgot about this. Here's a youtube channel dedicated to Sam's recordings:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPXNgOyy_tc5_BVAGbNfrEA


It's part of this fan created website:

http://www.706unionavenue.nl/



Other recommendations for Sun material are the Bear Family releases, especially the boxsets. I don't own any of them but you can listen to some of it online etc. As seems to be the case with nearly everything Bear Family releases, they are top-notch.

https://www.bear-family.com/


In fact they just released two new compilations with Sun material: Guitars at Sun and Drums at Sun

[Rocker]

‘Sun Records’ Off To Strong Ratings Start On CMT

http://deadline.com/2017/02/sun-records-premiere-ratings-cmt-1201976190/

[Rocker]

Well, as of yet, the series is not what I had hoped it would be. It's ok for some entertainment if you have nothing else to do. Especially the way some characters (in fact most of them) are portrayed is disappointing. And it seems like none of the actors gets their character. There is no connection between actor and character. Only superficial TV acting (in not such a good sense). Let's wait and see what it will evolve to.


You can watch the two first episodes here:

http://www.cmt.com/shows/sun-records/episode-guide

[Rocker]

I haven't watched the latest episode yet, but as of yet I'm not too fond of this series. It just doesn't work. The actors mostly seem like a they don't know a thing about their characters. And I'm thankful for every moment "Elvis" isn't in a scene. That one - more than any other - is an embarrassment imo, followed by "Johnny Cash".
Has anyone else watched this? What are your thoughts?

rab2591, did you find something interesting?





On another note, the legendary James Cotton passed away. He also started out with Sam and Sun Records:


JAMES COTTON - COTTON CROP BLUES - HOLD ME IN YOUR ARMS - SUN 206

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyJj-dt-a4k





EDIT:

And this one is also new to me:


Jerry Lee Lewis - Receives 2017 Ameripolitan Master Award


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysIUzhF6LYU


The Killer looking fine and in good spirits

[Rocker]

Muscle Shoals, RCA, Sun: The Revival of 3 Legendary Studios

https://reverb.com/news/muscle-shoals-rca-sun-the-revival-of-3-legendary-studios

[Rocker]

Red Hot! A homegrown tribute to Sun Records

... Now, recorded jointly at Phillips and Sun, we have another tribute album about to drop nationally, Red Hot: A Memphis Celebration of Sun Records, with all sales revenue benefiting the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.

https://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/red-hot/Content?oid=6798306

[Rocker]

So, I have now finished Guralnick's book. If you haven't already: get it. It's a must-read and although it is a thick book, I was through with it fairly quickly because it was so interesting to read.

[Buckethead]

Another good read is A Whole Lotta Shakin', JW Brown's memoir. (He is Jerry Lee Lewis' bass man from the beginning, yet another of Jerry's cousins and the father of Jerry's 13-year-old child bride). 

[Rocker]

Another good read is A Whole Lotta Shakin', JW Brown's memoir. (He is Jerry Lee Lewis' bass man from the beginning, yet another of Jerry's cousins and the father of Jerry's 13-year-old child bride). 

I didn't knew he wrote a book. How is it? I just took a look at amazon. Looks like his son Rusty (Myra's brother) helped him. BTW Rusty's  ex-wife is now married to Jerry Lee.

[Rocker]

Holy sh!t!!


Exciting:

Leonardo DiCaprio To Play Music Pioneer Sam Phillips; Launched Elvis, Howlin’ Wolf, Johnny Cash & Jerry Lee Lewis

http://deadline.com/2016/10/leonardo-dicaprio-sam-phillips-sun-studio-movie-1201840489/

Here's why Mick Jagger met Jerry Lee Lewis in Memphis

https://eu.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2018/09/13/mick-jagger-and-jerry-lee-lewis-sun-studios-were-memphis/1291197002/

[Rocker]

You can find more pictures online, that I couldn't post here.

[Rocker]

Sam's nephew Jud Phillips has died:


Memphis music veteran Jud Phillips dead at 71; his wide-ranging career spanned six decades

https://eu.commercialappeal.com/story/entertainment/music/2019/12/16/jud-phillips-dies-memphis-music-phillips-music-sun-records/2666096001/?fbclid=IwAR3y2_WlOFZlPcRHIhXhVsoLUVuUHs0yVxsRRjwoYv4WS2oV0ozNDX2GdZY

[JK]

Sam's nephew Jud Phillips has died:


Memphis music veteran Jud Phillips dead at 71; his wide-ranging career spanned six decades

https://eu.commercialappeal.com/story/entertainment/music/2019/12/16/jud-phillips-dies-memphis-music-phillips-music-sun-records/2666096001/?fbclid=IwAR3y2_WlOFZlPcRHIhXhVsoLUVuUHs0yVxsRRjwoYv4WS2oV0ozNDX2GdZY

Sad news. Seventy-one is no age to die. But what a full musical life he led!

[Rocker]

Knox Phillips, tireless champion of Memphis music, dead at 74

https://eu.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2020/04/15/knox-phillips-dies-obituary-sam-phillips-memphis-music/5142374002/

[JK]

Knox Phillips, tireless champion of Memphis music, dead at 74

https://eu.commercialappeal.com/story/news/2020/04/15/knox-phillips-dies-obituary-sam-phillips-memphis-music/5142374002/

I never knew any of that. Thanks for sharing, Rocker. Love this picture of him with Elvis:



Knox was clearly a major force in Memphis music. So sad he and his friend John Prine left us so soon.

R.I.P. both.

[Lonely Summer]

There was a time I thought  71 was OLD! 

Now, not so much.

I was just watching a clip from a PBS special, early 2000's, about Sam and Sun - the scene where Ike Turner and Sam are chatting.

Ike may have been a terrible human being - I don't claim to know; very, very talented musician, though.

RIP Knox. You and your father have a great band up there with you.

[Rocker]

There's a new release for RSD of some Blues on Sun Records.


This limited edition compilation LP was curated from the classic Sun Record Company catalog by participating Record Store Day stores, and marks the seventh installment of the 'Sun Records Curated by Record Store Day' series. Volume 7, Sunrise on the Blues, highlights some of the incredible blues artists in the Sun Records archive. While the iconic label is best known for launching the careers of superstars like Elvis and Johnny Cash, Sam Phillips' Sun Records initially started as a rhythm and blues label. The track list for this compilation was carefully curated by the hardworking people in record stores themselves. This Record Store Day 2020 exclusive release is limited to 4,000 copies worldwide.

SIDE A
1. HOWLIN' WOLF “Everybody in the Mood” 2. LITTLE JUNIOR'S BLUE FLAMES “Mystery Train”3. ROSCO GORDON “Let's Get High” 4. JOHNNY ADAMS “I Won't Cry” 5. EARL HOOKER “Going On Down The Line” 6. LOST JOHN HUNTER & HIS BLIND BATS “Cool Down Mama” 7. BIG WALTER HORTON “Grandma Told Grandpa”

SIDE B
1. SLEEPY JOHN ESTES “Policy Man Blues”2. LITTLE MILTON “If Crying Would Help Me” 3. JAMES COTTON “Cotton Crop Blues” 4. DOCTOR ROSS “Cat Squirrel” 5. THE PRISONAIRES “That Chick's Too Young To Fry” 6. PAT HARE “I'm Gonna Murder My Baby” 7. JOE HILL LOUIS “We All Got To Go Some Time”



https://recordstoreday.com/SpecialRelease/12026

[Rocker]

5 Star Stories Studio Sessions: A rare look inside Sam Phillips Recording Studio


https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2020/12/08/star-stories-studio-sessions-rare-look-inside-sam-phillips-recording-studio/?fbclid=IwAR2GT92oIFpcxWWRJAF54IMfGuzQLuLd83-xwYojo3ai6paaecKLuGX7Ijg

[Rocker]

Just saw this:


Rockabilly great, 'Mona Lisa' hitmaker Carl Mann dead at 78



Carl Mann was the “Last Son of Sun,” one of the final artists that Sam Phillips introduced to the world. A child prodigy from West Tennessee, Mann arrived in Phillips’ orbit at the end of the Sun Records founder’s golden run in the 1950s. The teenaged Mann would hit the charts with his galloping rockabilly redux of "Mona Lisa" in 1959. Mann died Wednesday at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, Tennessee. He was 78.

A lanky dark-haired figure with a mellifluous voice, Mann sometimes mused that he was born a little too late to have been part of Phillips’ all-star roster of acts earlier in the era, which included Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash.

“If I'd have been a little older, I probably would've been more in the heyday of it," Mann recalled in a 2011 interview with The Commercial Appeal. "I came right on the tail end of the Sun era. And everybody, most of the guys — Elvis, Cash — had left except for Charlie Rich."

But Mann would ultimately achieve his own global renown, becoming an icon of the 1970s rockabilly revival in Europe and be enshrined in the International Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Born near Huntingdon, Tennessee, Mann was just a kid — who’d grown up on church music and the Grand Ole Opry — when he began to make his name in nearby Jackson.

"When I was 11 years old, I started playing talent shows down there. I hung around guys who were a little bit older than I was. I had my first band I was about 12, but I couldn't drive," said Mann. "I ended up making my first recording on the Jaxson label when I was 14."

Cut in 1957, Mann's Jaxson debut was called "Gonna Rock And Roll Tonight,” which found the boy rocker taking his cues from The King. " I was playing country music mostly, and maybe some blues-sounding songs," recalled Mann. "But when Elvis came out, I started doing a lot of his stuff, and then I eventually developed my own style."

The talents that emerged from the Memphis and the Mid-South during that era — among them Elvis and Carl Perkins — drew their music from similar sources. Mann would often note that there was literally a confluence of music in the air at the time.

"I think we all had access to a lot of different types of things: blues, country, gospel and even jazz,” Mann observed. "See, we could get the jazz out of a couple radio stations out of New Orleans. We'd get blues from the stations out of Memphis, and then country from Nashville. Also, back then, some of the old camp-meeting gospel songs you'd hear were rocked up. It seemed to all work together."

Mann's career took a fateful turn when he met and began playing with Carl Perkins' drummer, and future Johnny Cash trapsman, W.S. "Fluke" Holland (Holland died in September at the age of 85).

"He knew Sam [Phillips], so he got me an audition at Sun,” recalled Mann, who arrived at the studio in late 1958. “We went there, put down two songs. Sam wasn't there; Jack Clement was the A&R man, and he said he would play it for Sam.”

Mann’s standout song was a revved-up take on the Nat King Cole ballad "Mona Lisa." "That would be a pop-a-billy song, I guess," Mann would offer. "That’s where you take a pop song and rock it up, and turn it into a rockabilly number."

Mann was able to audience test the tune even before its release.  “We broke it out at a gig one night in at a roadhouse across the from Kentucky state line," he remembered. “We started doing it slow, and the kids wanted something fast to dance to. We had about eight requests to do it again. I figured that might be the one we was looking for."

Phillips was initially unconvinced of the tune’s hit potential but was moved to release the song after Mann’s fellow Southern rocker, Conway Twitty, put out his own cover and it began to gain traction at radio.

Mann’s recording would reach No. 25 on the Billboard pop charts and might’ve gone higher, had it not had to compete with Twitty’s version, which topped out at No. 29. Still, Mann's “Mona Lisa,” released on Sam Phillips' new Phillips imprint, ultimately became a million-seller.

Mann would follow-up with another peppy cover of a Nat King Cole song, "Pretend," which also charted. Though Mann went on to release half a dozen other singles and an LP for Phillips, he would never quite find the Top 40 again.

He went on to tour with Carl Perkins’ band in the early '60s, before being drafted into the Army in 1964. "By the time I got back out of the service, the music had changed," says Mann, who returned to civilian life in 1967. "The Beatles were hot, and The Monkees and bands like that."


After his discharge, Mann cut one single for the Monument label, and then began to recede from the music industry. He soon got married and went to work in his family's lumber business in Huntingdon.

"Every once in a while, I'd break loose and do something in music," recalled Mann, who made some recordings for ABC/Dot in the mid-'70s, with a 1976 version of the Platters’ “Twilight Time” becoming a small hit on the country charts.

It wasn't until a rockabilly revival took hold in Europe in the late '70s that Mann returned to music more seriously. "It really did surprise me when I first started going to Europe," said Mann of the wildly enthusiastic audiences he encountered. "It was almost like going back in time to go there and do shows, because they would come dressed in '50s attire. It really felt good. Felt like I was 16 again. Of course, every time I play, I feel like I'm 16 again."

Mann would record and perform for the next few decades — remaining a favorite on the roots and rockabilly festival circuit — in between periodic retirements from the stage. After dealing with some health problems in the late-'00s, he returned to performing in 2011. That year a book about Mann’s life, “The Last Son of Sun,” was published and he put out a self-titled album in 2012.

Plans for a memorial service are pending.



https://eu.commercialappeal.com/story/entertainment/music/2020/12/16/carl-mann-obit-sun-records-era-sam-phillips-memphis-music/3935073001/

[Rocker]

Puremix Interview Series | Sam Phillips Recording Studio Story | Jerry Phillips


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





Producer Shelby Singleton - The Story of Buying Sun Records from Sam Phillips


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

[Rocker]

5 Star Stories Studio Sessions: A rare look inside Sam Phillips Recording Studio


https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2020/12/08/star-stories-studio-sessions-rare-look-inside-sam-phillips-recording-studio/?fbclid=IwAR2GT92oIFpcxWWRJAF54IMfGuzQLuLd83-xwYojo3ai6paaecKLuGX7Ijg

Here's the other part:


5 Star Stories Studio Sessions: Memphis’ Sun Studio -- the birthplace of Rock ‘n’ Roll

https://www.wmcactionnews5.com/2020/12/22/star-stories-studio-sessions-memphis-sun-studio-birthplace-rock-n-roll/