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The Birth of Rock 'N' Roll Is Found at Sam Phillips's Sun Records (2016)

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Re: The Birth of Rock 'N' Roll Is Found at Sam Phillips's Sun Records (2016)

#21

Post by AlbertCory »

> After Phillips’s first few unsuccessful attempts to get black music heard by the world, B. B. King urged him to call nineteen-year-old Ike Turner, a bandleader in nearby Clarksdale, Mississippi.

"B.B." stood for, in some stories, "Beale Street Blues Boy"

I was lucky enough to host Greil Marcus (first name rhymes with "real" not "dial") at Google, and he's written very extensively on the power of the raw blues:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wBlXAzv0Fg

I'm pretty sure if you woke up Greil in the middle of the night and asked him to speak for two hours about Sun Records, he could do it.

Re: The Birth of Rock 'N' Roll Is Found at Sam Phillips's Sun Records (2016)

#23

Post by wackycat »

greenie_beans wrote: post #20
thisisauserid wrote: post #2

Chuck Berry recorded Roll Over Beethoven in 1956 with Chess Records. We'd have been fine without Elvis and Sun Records.

that ignores all the black artists that sam phillips recorded before elvis.

> Phillips regretted bailing on black music. Sun artist Rufus Thomas recalled, “Me and Sam Phillips, we were tighter than the nuts on the Brooklyn Bridge, but when Elvis and Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash came along, no more blacks did he pick up at all.”

The article did address this a bit, but I still agree with the spirit of this comment thread that too often when the beginning of rock 'n' roll is discussed the absolutely critical role black artists played in creating it is ignored/dismissed.

Re: The Birth of Rock 'N' Roll Is Found at Sam Phillips's Sun Records (2016)

#24

Post by enobrev »

thisisauserid wrote: post #2

Chuck Berry recorded Roll Over Beethoven in 1956 with Chess Records. We'd have been fine without Elvis and Sun Records.

My biggest peeve when I visited Memphis. My wife went to Graceland, which I was excited to avoid. A couple buddies and I went to Sun Records for a tour.

So many black rock pioneers recorded there and they got about 10 minutes of lip service. The whole rest of the hour was dedicated to Elvis. I left a bit early when I realized they were sticking with Elvis the whole time.

Now, the Lorraine Motel - that is a tour I feel like everyone should experience.

Re: The Birth of Rock 'N' Roll Is Found at Sam Phillips's Sun Records (2016)

#25

Post by ghotli »

enobrev wrote: post #24
thisisauserid wrote: post #2

Chuck Berry recorded Roll Over Beethoven in 1956 with Chess Records. We'd have been fine without Elvis and Sun Records.

My biggest peeve when I visited Memphis. My wife went to Graceland, which I was excited to avoid. A couple buddies and I went to Sun Records for a tour. So many black rock pioneers recorded there and they got about 10 minutes of lip service. The whole rest of the hour was dedicated to Elvis. I left a bit early when I realized they were sticking with Elvis the whole time. Now, the Lorraine Motel - that is a tour I fee…

Agreed and I want to highlight this comment. Skip everything else and go straight to the Lorraine Motel / National Civil Rights Museum. It's basically the opposite of a waste of time. For those that don't know this is where MLK was murdered and is now a museum / memorial.

Re: The Birth of Rock 'N' Roll Is Found at Sam Phillips's Sun Records (2016)

#26

Post by blacksqr »

hondo77 wrote: post #22

Even though Rock Around the Clock was released two months before That's All Right was recorded?

I will go out on a limb and state my considered opinion that both Rock Around the Clock and That's All Right are western swing. Their main significance is that they perfected the genre and made improvements impossible. So Elvis had to invent rock 'n' roll with his next single, Good Rockin' Tonight.

Re: The Birth of Rock 'N' Roll Is Found at Sam Phillips's Sun Records (2016)

#27

Post by greenie_beans »

enobrev wrote: post #24
thisisauserid wrote: post #2

Chuck Berry recorded Roll Over Beethoven in 1956 with Chess Records. We'd have been fine without Elvis and Sun Records.

My biggest peeve when I visited Memphis. My wife went to Graceland, which I was excited to avoid. A couple buddies and I went to Sun Records for a tour. So many black rock pioneers recorded there and they got about 10 minutes of lip service. The whole rest of the hour was dedicated to Elvis. I left a bit early when I realized they were sticking with Elvis the whole time. Now, the Lorraine Motel - that is a tour I fee…

the lorraine is excellent. the end where he got shot was so powerful.
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