THE HISTORY

The Sun Records sound was a fusion of rock & roll and country music (or hillbilly, as it was called in the 50’s) that was labeled rockabilly.  The Sun sound was exemplified by early Sun recordings made by Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison and many more artists

Sun influenced many major rock and roll artists such as the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin.  When Beatle John Lennon was introduced to a noted music business executive from Tennessee at an awards event, his first words were “Do you know Sam Phillips?”.

SAM PHILLIPS

As a businessman, Phillips was patient and willing to listen to almost anyone who came in off the street to record. Memphis was a happy home to a diverse musical scene: gospel, blues, hillbilly, country, boogie, and western swing. Taking advantage of this range of talent, there were no style limitations at the label. In one form or another Sun recorded them all.

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET

In 1954 Sam found Elvis Presley, an artist who could perform with the excitement, unpredictability and energy of a blues artist but could reach across regional, musical and racial barriers.

He helped form the beginnings of the Sun Sound by infusing Country music with R&B. Elvis’s bright star attracted even more ground-breaking talent to the Sun galaxy. Listed among his contemporaries and lab mates were Johnny Cash, the inimitable Jerry Lee Lewis, and the “Rockin’ Guitar Man”, Carl Perkins. These four soon became known as the Million Dollar Quartet.