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Tag Archives: Sam Phillips
“When I’m performing, that’s the real me.” — Billy Lee Riley
“Memphis 1955 on Union Avenue Carl and Jerry and Charlie and Roy And Billy Riley too…” – Johnny Cash, “I Will Rock’n’Roll With You” “and Billy Riley too” …. Billy Lee Riley was always a little irritated to be an … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
Tagged Billy Lee Riley, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam Phillips, Sun Records
5 Comments
“Either be hot or cold. If you are lukewarm, the Lord will spew you forth from his mouth.” — The Killer
“There is more of the Devil and of salvation — of the power of the eternal idea of those forces — implicit in that kicking than in all their crying unto heaven combined. And in this age of safe sex … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
Tagged Howlin' Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, Sam Phillips, Sun Records
11 Comments
“Who do you sound like?” — Marion Keisker to 18-year-old Elvis Presley, July 18, 1953
It’s her birthday. I finally wrote about her – and my theory about her “role” in “discovering” Elvis – for my column at Liberties! That was a long time coming! In the piece I mentioned her reunion with Elvis in … Continue reading
“Blues is a tonic for whatever ails you.” — B.B. King
I love Langston Hughes’ description of the blues: “The mood of the Blues is almost always despondency, but when they are sung people laugh.” WHAT a performance. And WHAT an audience. The mood – the back and forth – the … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
Tagged B.B. King, Bo Diddley, Elvis Presley, Howlin' Wolf, Little Richard, Merle Haggard, Robert Johnson, Sam Phillips, Sun Records, The Beatles, Willie Nelson
6 Comments
“If I don’t feel it, I can’t play it.” — James Cotton
Blues-harmonica legend James Cotton was born on this day in 1935 on a cotton plantation. He was a working musician by the time he was 10 years old. He toured with Howlin’ Wolf. Eventually he hooked up with Muddy Waters … Continue reading
“I couldn’t do no yodelin’, so I turned to howlin’ and it’s done me just fine.”– Howlin’ Wolf
Chester Burnett, who would eventually become the legendary Howlin’ Wolf, was born on this day in 1901. He is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the “early influences” category. He is in the Memphis Music Hall of … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
Tagged Howlin' Wolf, James Burton, Sam Phillips, Sun Records, The Rolling Stones
3 Comments
“Sometimes I can sing it when I can’t say it.” — Carl Perkins
“The music was new, the kids were just eatin’ it up. They were claiming it as their own music. But I really think when the kids were comin’ to the sock hops and to the rock and roll shows, I … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
Tagged Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Rufus Thomas, Sam Phillips, Sun Records
2 Comments
“Memphis amateurs are the world’s professionals.” — Rufus Thomas
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis movie was filled with deep cuts, so appreciated if you care about this story, and not just Elvis’ story, but the environment from which he came. Memphis. Beale Street. Thomas was a singer, yes, and he recorded … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
Tagged B.B. King, Baz Luhrmann, Elvis Presley, Jim Jarmusch, Rufus Thomas, Sam Phillips, Sun Records
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“Sometimes I am two people. Johnny is the nice one. Cash causes all the trouble. They fight.” — Johnny Cash
It’s his birthday today. Johnny Cash, singing “Man in Black” in Denmark: Here he is on Tex Ritter’s Ranch Party, 1956 or so. Great guitar solo, too. He’s not just strumming that guitar. The guitar CHUGS along, with an irresistible … Continue reading
Posted in Music, On This Day
Tagged Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Sam Phillips, Sun Records
29 Comments
“I was looking for what was coming from a man’s soul and a man’s conviction.” — Sam Phillips
The myth. The legend. There’s a lot of bull shit with the legend, and saying that does not mean throwing out the whole thing. But Sam did have a way of placing him at the center of every story in … Continue reading