I'm strictly for Stevenson. I don't dig the intellectual bit, but I'm telling you, man, he knows the most.

Interview with Ernst Jorgensen and Sam Phillips:

 From US TV in 2002, a remembrance of rock-and-roll legend Elvis Presley and discussion about his cultural and musical legacy. With presenter Charlie Rose talking with Elvis-historian Ernst Jorgensen, Anthony DeCurtis of "Rolling Stone" and Sam Phillips.

Click here for this interesting 25 minute interview. (Sam Phillips appears in the last 5 minutes)

18/10/2010 2:46:20

Phillips To Be Inducted Into Radio Hall Of Fame Of all the accolades the late Sam Phillips received during his long and illustrious career, his youngest son said the one he would likely appreciate the most is his upcoming induction into the National Radio Hall of Fame. Sam Phillips is known worldwide as the “Father of Rock 'n' Roll” for discovering and recording legendary artists including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and Howlin' Wolf. But his start in the music business began in his hometown of Florence as a disc jockey for WLAY. Sam Phillips died July 30, 2003, at the age of 80. “Most people don't really know about his radio career because it was overshadowed by his success in the music business,” Jerry Phillips said. Based in Chicago, the National Radio Hall of Fame and Museum was created to recognize persons living or dead who have made significant contributions to radio, said Bruce Dumont, the hall of fame's chairman. “I personally think this award would probably mean more to him than all the ones he's got,” Jerry Phillips said. “He's a member of almost every hall of fame having to do with music that one can be in.” Sam Phillips is a member of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Blues Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. Phillips also is a 2000 inductee of the Technical Excellence and Creativity Hall of Fame, which was created to recognize people whose careers exemplified the spirit of technical and creative excellence in recording and sound. Sam Phillips will be inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame on Nov. 6 during a ceremony at the WTTW studios in Chicago. Jerry Phillips said his father worked at radio stations in Decatur and Nashville before moving to Memphis where he worked as a disc jockey and engineer at WREC. “As soon as he made enough money, he bought radio stations,” Jerry Phillips said. “As soon as he was able to, he came back to his hometown and started Big River Broadcasting.” Sam Phillips purchased WQLT in February 1973 and WXFL in 1995. Big River includes WXFL and WLVS in Clifton, Tenn. The company is still operated by the Phillips family, with Jerry Phillips serving as president. Jerry Phillips said his father continued to own and operate radio stations throughout his career as a record producer. Sam Phillips is widely known as the founder of Memphis Recording Service and Sun Studios in Memphis and the Sun Records label. “I don't think anything would have thrilled him more or made him happier than being in the Radio Hall of Fame,” said music historian Terry Pace, who was personally acquainted with Sam Phillips. “Radio was his first and greatest love. He was a firm believer in the power of sound to transform people, to unify people, and that extended to his love of music.” Pace said part of Sam Phillips' interest in sound was that he had an aunt who was deaf. “The way she was cut off from the world of sound made him acutely aware of the power of sound,” Pace said. Jerry Phillips said his father's expertise as a recording engineer was likely augmented by his experience in radio and running live broadcasts. Sam Phillips used to mix big band performances at the Peabody Hotel in downtown Memphis that were broadcast on WREC. “The big band guys coming through Memphis said Sam made them sound so good,” Jerry Phillips said. “The bottom line was he had a unique way of mixing. He did that his entire life through all his records.” Phillips was always willing to try something different. He started WHER in Memphis, the first all-female radio station. Jerry Phillips said everyone who worked at the station was female except the engineer. “He was first and foremost a radio station owner who got into music and promotion, and ultimately discovered and gave opportunities to some of the most significant recording artists of all time,” Dumont said. Jack “Cowboy” Clement, Memphis singer/songwriter/music and film producer, will present the award to Jerry Phillips and his older brother, Knox Phillips, during the ceremony. Clement was an engineer and producer at Sun Studios who worked with Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. “I just wish he was here to enjoy it,” Pace said. “Wherever he is, he's got a big ol' grin on his face, I'll tell you that.” Source: TimesDaily

Sun Studio was opened by rock pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Record label business. Reputedly the first rock-and-rol single, Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats' "Rocket 88" was recorded there in 1951 with song composer Ike Turner on keyboards, leading the studio to claim status as the birthplace of rock & roll. Blues and R&B artists like Howlin' Wolf, Junior Parker, Little Milton, B.B. King, James Cotton, Rufus Thomas, and Rosco Gordon recorded there in the early 1950s.

In 1957, Bill Justis recorded his Grammy Hall of Fame song "Raunchy" for Sam Phillips and worked as a musical director at Sun Records.

In 1987, the original building housing the Sun Records label and Memphis Recording Service was reopened as "Sun Studio", a recording business and tourist attraction that has attracted many notable artists including U2, who recorded tracks for Rattle and Hum there on newer equipment Sun had purchased from producer Terry Manning.

August 18, 1956

15/01/2011 19:26:55

Unseen Elvis: Presley's first visit to Detroit in never-published photos:  It's May 1956. Americans were fretting about President Eisenhower's health, slugger Mickey Mantle was the toast of the baseball world, and 21-year-old Elvis Presley was about to make his first appearance at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. It had been a whirlwind five months for the soft-spoken truck driver from Tupelo, Miss., who recorded his first RCA Records session in January, yielding "Heartbreak Hotel," which shot to No. 1. Elvis was winding up a tour of the Midwest when he came to Detroit on Friday, May 25. Fifty-five years later, never-published photographs of the day Elvis first  came to Detroit have been brought to light by author Michael Rose for a forthcoming book, "Spring of '56." The photographs show Elvis in and around the Fox Theatre, greeting Detroit Times contest winners backstage, relaxing in a downtown arcade and enjoying himself at an adult party. Detroit teenagers may have been ecstatic at Elvis' arrival, but newspaper writers barely hid their disdain. Vera Brown wrote in typically snappy, Detroit Times tabloid style of Elvis: "He rarely gets a haircut, does a kind of hillbilly derivative. When he winds himself around a mike and gives out, the kids go crazy. Nothing like it since the early Frank Sinatra days. . Only way to keep calm about all this is to try to remember how silly you were in your high school days." Brown met Elvis at the airport, where she demanded to know why he needed four Cadillacs. "I just like automobiles," he said. His latest one was pink with white leather upholstery. Brown also described his turnout: a black shirt open at the throat, and black pegged pants. Why, the columnist demanded of the singer, was he so popular? "If I knew I would tell you," Elvis replied politely. "I honestly don't know how it took place, but if I can go on from here into the movies, that would be swell." He told reporters he doesn't drink and has no girlfriend yet. "I still love my mother who lives in Memphis." Incredibly, the day before Elvis' three Friday shows (4, 7 and 9:45 p.m.), Bob Bothwell, managing director of the Fox Theatre, said good seats were still available. As if Elvis wasn't enough entertainment for the $1.50 ticket, there were numerous other acts on the bill: The Jordanaires (his backup singers), Frankie Connors, Jackie Little and Maurice King and the Wolverines (the house band at Detroit's Flame Showbar). At age 14, Carol Bainbridge was one of the "teeners" who really didn't care what snarky, middle-aged newspaper writers thought of Elvis. Her father, Larry McCann, had interviewed Elvis on his WXYZ-TV talk show, and he scored her two tickets to the 4 p.m. show. Bainbridge and a girlfriend took a bus downtown from Three Mile Drive and Mack, and sat in the front row. "I touched his shoes and screamed my heart out while he sang in front of me," Bainbridge says. But are YOU in these photos? Did you meet Elvis Presley backstage at the Fox Theatre in 1956? Are you, or a loved one, pictured in any of the photos? Author Michael Rose is putting together a book, "Spring of '56," on the subject of the memorable spring when Elvis broke out into mainstream success (and teenaged hysteria). and would liek to hear from you. GO HERE for the detailed story and all the images. The first person to contact The News and identify any of the people pictured (except Elvis, of course!) will receive a copy of Rose's book. E-mail your identifications to swhitall@detnews.com

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