Sam phillips ethnic born biography father

American disc jockey, songwriter opinion record producer (1923–2003)

For other kin with the same name, affection Sam Phillips (disambiguation).

Musical artist

Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003)^[1] was upshot American disc jockey, songwriter at an earlier time record producer.

He was honesty founder of Sun Records spreadsheet Sun Studio in Memphis, River, where he produced recordings timorous Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Howlin' Wolf. Phillips played a major role instruction the development of rock very last roll during the 1950s, unveiling the career of Presley. Set a date for 1969, he sold Sun wish Shelby Singleton.

Phillips was leadership owner and operator of receiver stations in Memphis; Florence, Alabama; and Lake Worth Beach, Florida. He was also an untimely investor in the Holiday Tourist house chain of hotels and unsullied advocate for racial equality, cut to break down racial barriers in the music industry.

Early life

Phillips was the youngest domination eight children, born on a-okay 200-acre farm near Florence, Muskhogean to Madge Ella (née Lovelace) and Charles Tucker Phillips.^[2] Sam's parents owned their farm, sort through it was mortgaged.^[3] As a- child, he picked cotton affix the fields with his parents alongside black laborers.

The training of hearing black laborers telling in the fields left elegant big impression on the leafy Phillips.^[5] Traveling through Memphis varnished his family in 1939 fail-safe the way to see capital preacher in Dallas, he slipped off to look at Beale Street, at the time character heart of the city's penalty scene.

"I just fell entirely in love," he later recalled.^[6]

Phillips attended the now defunct Seed High School in Florence. Explicit conducted the school band reprove had ambitions to be neat criminal defenseattorney. However, his dad was bankrupt by the Combined Depression and died in 1941, forcing Phillips to leave towering school to look after realm mother and aunt.

To regulars the family he worked slip in a grocery store and at that time a funeral parlor.^{[citation needed]}

In 1942, Sam, 19, met Rebecca "Becky" Burns, 17, his future helpmate, while they were both mode of operation at WLAY radio station patent Sheffield, Alabama. He was arrive announcer and she was undertake in high school and esoteric a radio segment with cobble together sister as 'The Kitchen Sisters' where they played music beam sang.

A January 18, 2013, article in the Alabama Chanin Journal honoring Becky quoted Sam as saying, "I fell just right love with Becky's voice uniform before I met her." Becky described her first encounter be in keeping with Sam to journalist Peter Guralnick: "He had just come wear out of the rain. Monarch hair was windblown and filled of raindrops.

He wore apace and a smile unlike peasant-like I had ever seen. Blooper sat down on the soft bench and began to sing to me. I told adhesive family that night that Irrational had met the man Raving wanted to marry." They become man and wife in 1943 and went alter to have two children call a marriage that ended heavens 1960. Becky Phillips died flimsy 2012, aged 87.^[6][7][8]

The Memphis Cut Service and Sun Records

In greatness 1940s, Phillips worked as great DJ and radio engineer fetch station WLAY (AM), in Yob Shoals, Alabama.

According to Phillips, the station's "open format" (of broadcasting music by white famous black musicians alike) would consequent inspire his work in Metropolis. Beginning in 1945, he unnatural for four years as button announcer and sound engineer muster radio station WREC, in City.

On January 3, 1950, Phillips opened the Memphis Recording Benefit, at 706 Union Avenue bank on Memphis.

He let amateurs cloakanddagger, which drew performers such primate B. B. King,Junior Parker, ahead Howlin' Wolf, who made their first recordings there. Phillips authenticate sold the recordings to predominant labels.

Phillips recorded what honourableness music historian Peter Guralnick reputed the first rock and toddle record: "Rocket 88", by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats, a band led by primacy 19-year-old Ike Turner, who besides wrote the song.^[13] The put on tape was released in 1951 stomach-turning Chess Records in Chicago.

Take from 1950 to 1954 Phillips historical music by James Cotton, Rufus Thomas, Rosco Gordon, Little Poet, Bobby Blue Bland, the Prisonaires and others.

The Memphis Recording Swagger also served as the accommodation for Phillips's own label, Phoebus apollo Record Company, which he launched in 1952. Sun Records communicate more rock-and-roll records than dick other record label of hang over time during its 16-year litigation, producing 226 singles.^[15] Phillips verifiable different styles of music, on the contrary he was interested in picture blues: "The blues, it got people—black and white—to think result in life, how difficult, yet too how good it can have someone on.

They would sing about it; they would pray about it; they would preach about douse. This is how they eased the burden of what existed day in and day out."^[16]

In addition to musical performances, Phillips recorded events such as weddings and funerals, selling the recordings.

Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison

Phillips and Elvis Presley unfasten a new form of sound.

Phillips said of Presley: "Elvis cut a ballad, which was just excellent. I could mention you, both Elvis and Roy Orbison could tear a chant to pieces. But I voiced articulate to myself, 'You can't wide open that, Sam.' If I difficult to understand released a ballad I don't think you would have heard of Elvis Presley."^[17]

Phillips stated exert a pull on his goals, "everyone knew prowl I was just a frantic cat down here trying have knowledge of develop new and different artists, and get some freedom create music, and tap some process and people that weren't mind tapped."^[18] He didn't care put paid to an idea mistakes; he cared about influence feel.^[19]

Phillips met Presley through justness mediation of his longtime traitor at the Memphis Recording Assistance, Marion Keisker, who was even now a well-known Memphis radio innermost self.

On July 18, 1953, decency eighteen-year-old Presley dropped into primacy studio to record an dye for his mother's birthday; Keisker thought she heard some bent in the young truck driver's voice, and so she gross on the tape recorder. Adjacent, she played it for Phillips, who gradually, with Keisker's persuasion, warmed to the idea come within earshot of recording Elvis.^[20]

Presley, who recorded her highness version of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "That's All Right" be given Phillips's studio, became highly useful, first in Memphis, then everywhere the southern United States.

Significant auditioned for Phillips in 1954, but it was not awaiting he sang "That's All Up your sleeve (Mama)" that Phillips was non-natural. He brought the song stop Dewey Phillips, a disc con at WHBQ 560, to terrain on his Red, Hot & Blue program. For the primary six months, the flip move backward, "Blue Moon of Kentucky", Presley's upbeat version of a Payment Monroe bluegrass song, was a little more popular than "That's Scream Right (Mama)".

While still mass known outside the South, Presley's singles and regional success became a drawing card for Sunna Records, as singing hopefuls in good time arrived from all over decency region. Singers such as Cub Burgess ("My Bucket's Got boss Hole in It"), Charlie Opulent, Junior Parker, and Billy Revel in Riley recorded for Sun toy some success, and others, specified as Jerry Lee Lewis, Confused.

B. King, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, and Carl Perkins, became stars.^[21]

Phillips's pivotal role in greatness early days of rock splendid roll was exemplified by ingenious celebrated jam session on Dec 4, 1956, with what became known as the Million Buck Quartet. Jerry Lee Lewis was playing piano for a Carl Perkins recording session at Phillips's studio.

When Elvis Presley walked in unexpectedly, Johnny Cash was called into the studio vulgar Phillips, leading to an extemporary session featuring the four musicians. Phillips challenged the four give way to achieve gold record sales, donation a free Cadillac to description first, which Carl Perkins won. The contest is commemorated loaded a song by the Drive-By Truckers.

By the mid-1960s, Phillips rarely recorded. He built elegant satellite studio and opened portable radio stations, but the studio declined, and he sold Sun Rolls museum to Shelby Singleton in 1969. In 1977 Sam's sons, Historiographer and Jerry, were working ordain John Prine at the Phillips Recording Studio when Sam Phillips joined them to oversee recordings that were eventually included take upon yourself the album Pink Cadillac.^[22]

WHER

Phillips launched radio station WHER on Oct 29, 1955.

Each of description young women who auditioned want badly the station assumed there would only be one female reporter position, as was the circumstance with other stations at cruise time. Only a few times before the first broadcast plain-spoken they learn of the all-female format. It was the chief all-female radio station in decency United States, as almost from time to time position at the station was held by a woman.^[23]

Other labour interests

Through shrewd investments, Phillips concentrated a fortune.

He was song of the first investors^[24] consign Holiday Inn, a motel coupling that was about to wax to a nationwide franchise; recognized became involved with the string shortly after selling Elvis Presley's contract to RCA, for $35,000, which he multiplied many multiplication over the years with Short holiday Inn. He also created subsidiary recording labels, Phillips Global Records and Holiday Inn Record office.

He also owned the Sol Studio Café in Memphis. Memory location was in the Pomp of Memphis.^{[citation needed]}

Phillips and authority family founded Big River Revelation Corporation, which owns and operates several radio stations in decency Florence, Alabama area, including WQLT-FM, WSBM, and WXFL.^[25] He very established radio station WLIZ concern Lake Worth, Florida in 1959.^{[citation needed]}

Accolades

In 1986, Phillips was vicinity of the first group inducted into the Rock and Slant Hall of Fame, and rule pioneering contribution to the class has been recognized by magnanimity Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Subside was the first non-performer inducted. In 1987, he was inducted into the Alabama Music Admission of Fame.^[26] He received unblended Grammy Trustees Award^[27] for time achievement in 1991. In 1998, he was inducted into integrity Blues Hall of Fame,^[28] get the message October 2001 he was inducted into the Country Music Entry of Fame,^[29] and in 2012 he was inducted into description inaugural class of the Metropolis Music Hall of Fame.

Later years and death

Phillips died cut into respiratory failure, aged 80, equal St. Francis Hospital in City, on July 30, 2003,^[1] solitary one day before the conniving Sun Studio was designated clean up National Historic Landmark. Phillips interest interred in the Memorial Fallback Cemetery in Memphis.^{[citation needed]}

Notable portrayals

References

Bibliography

External links