5. Sun Records and Sam Phillips
Sam Phillips was a fan of rhythm and blues in Memphis, Tennessee, who scouted local talent for several record labels. In 1950 he established Memphis Recording Service, with a studio on Union Avenue in Memphis. It was there a band who called themselves Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats recorded Rocket 88 in 1951 (the band was actually Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm). The success of the record led Phillips to create the Sun record label, and he renamed his studio Sun Studios. In 1954 Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of black Memphis and delta blues to a national audience, began to consider that a local singer and truck driver – Elvis Presley – was capable of bringing the Memphis sound to a white audience.
In July, 1955, Elvis recorded a blues song from the 1940s, Arthur Crudup’s That’s All Right. Several days later Elvis returned to the studio to record a B side for the record, choosing Blue Moon of Kentucky. It was the first hit for Sun Records, and would be the first of many, though the label would never achieve financial stability. Elvis hit Great Britain as he did Memphis, he was the instantaneous King of rock and roll. But Sun was unable to profit from the star it had discovered, Presley’s contract was sold by Phillips to RCA before his explosion on the international music scene.