Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American record producer. He was the founder of

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny ...

and Sun Studio in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...

, where he produced recordings by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician known for his impassioned singing style, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. His music was described by critics as ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis mad ...

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998)#nytimesobit, Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, Tennes ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his c ...

, and Howlin' Wolf. Phillips played a major role in the development of

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm ...

during the 1950s, launching the career of Presley. In 1969, he sold Sun to

Shelby Singleton Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Jr. (December 16, 1931 – October 7, 2009) was an American record producer and record label owner. Early life He was born Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Jr. in Waskom, Texas. His parents were Shelby Sumpter Singleton, Sr. and ...

. Phillips was the owner and operator of radio stations in Memphis; Florence, Alabama; and Lake Worth Beach, Florida. He was also an early investor in the

Holiday Inn Holiday Inn is an American chain of hotels based in Atlanta, Georgia. and a brand of IHG Hotels & Resorts. The chain was founded in 1952 by Kemmons Wilson, who opened the first location in Memphis, Tennessee that year. The chain was a division ...

chain of hotels and an advocate for racial equality, helping to break down racial barriers in the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

Early life

Phillips was the youngest of eight children, born on a 200-acre farm near

Florence, Alabama Florence is a city in, and the county seat of, Lauderdale County, Alabama, United States, in the state's northwestern corner. It is situated along the Tennessee River and is home to the University of North Alabama, the oldest college in the ...

to Madge Ella ( Lovelace) and Charles Tucker Phillips. Sam's parents owned their farm, though it was mortgaged. As a child, he picked

cotton Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor pe ...

in the fields with his parents alongside black laborers. The experience of hearing black laborers singing in the fields left a big impression on the young Phillips. Traveling through Memphis with his family in 1939 on the way to see a preacher in Dallas, he slipped off to look at

Beale Street Beale Street is a street in Downtown Memphis, Tennessee, which runs from the Mississippi River to East Street, a distance of approximately . It is a significant location in the city's history, as well as in the history of blues music. Today, t ...

, at the time the heart of the city's music scene. "I just fell totally in love," he later recalled. Phillips attended the now defunct Coffee High School in Florence. He conducted the school band and had ambitions to be a criminal

defense Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense indus ...

attorney. However, his father was bankrupt by the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and died in 1941, forcing Phillips to leave high school to look after his mother and aunt. To support the family he worked in a

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday U.S. usage, however, "grocery store" is a synonym for supermarket, a ...

and then a

funeral parlor A funeral home, funeral parlor or mortuary, is a business that provides burial and funeral services for the dead and their families. These services may include a prepared wake and funeral, and the provision of a chapel for the funeral. Services ...

. In 1942, Sam, 19, met Rebecca "Becky" Burns, 17, his future wife, while they were both working at WLAY radio station in Sheffield, Alabama. He was an announcer and she was still in high school and had a radio segment with her sister as 'The Kitchen Sisters' where they played music and sang. A January 18, 2013 article in the Alabama Chanin Journal honoring Becky quoted Sam as saying, "I fell in love with Becky's voice even before I met her." Becky described her first encounter with Sam to journalist Peter Guralnick: "He had just come in out of the rain. His hair was windblown and full of raindrops. He wore sandals and a smile unlike any I had ever seen. He sat down on the piano bench and began to talk to me. I told my family that night that I had met the man I wanted to marry." They wed in 1943 and went on to have two children in a marriage that ended in 1960. Becky Phillips died in 2012, aged 87.

The Memphis Recording Service and Sun Records

In the 1940s, Phillips worked as a DJ and

radio engineer Broadcast engineering is the field of electrical engineering, and now to some extent computer engineering and information technology, which deals with radio and television broadcasting. Audio engineering and RF engineering are also essential par ...

for station WLAY (AM), in

Muscle Shoals, Alabama Muscle Shoals is the largest city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. It is located along the Tennessee River in the northern part of the state and, as of the 2010 census, the population of Muscle Shoals was 13,146. The estimated popu ...

. According to Phillips, the station's "open format" (of broadcasting music by white and black musicians alike) would later inspire his work in Memphis. Beginning in 1945, he worked for four years as an announcer and sound engineer for radio station WREC, in Memphis. On January 3, 1950, Phillips opened the Memphis Recording Service, at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis. He let amateurs record, which drew performers such as B.B. King,

Junior Parker Herman "Junior" Parker (March 27, 1932November 18, 1971) Li ...

, and Howlin' Wolf, who made their first recordings there. Phillips then sold the recordings to larger labels. Phillips recorded what the music historian Peter Guralnick considered the first rock and roll record: " Rocket 88", by Jackie Brenston and His Delta Cats, a band led by the 19-year-old

Ike Turner Izear Luster "Ike" Turner Jr. (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, record producer, and talent scout. An early pioneer of 1950s rock and roll, he is best known for his work in the 1960s and ...

, who also wrote the song. The recording was released in 1951 by

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock a ...

in Chicago. From 1950 to 1954 Phillips recorded music by James Cotton,

Rufus Thomas Rufus C. Thomas, Jr. (March 26, 1917 – December 15, 2001) was an American rhythm-and-blues, funk, soul and blues singer, songwriter, dancer, DJ and comic entertainer from Memphis, Tennessee. He recorded for several labels, including Chess R ...

, Rosco Gordon, Little Milton, Bobby Blue Bland, the Prisonaires and others. The Memphis Recording Service also served as the studio for Phillips's own label, Sun Record Company, which he launched in 1952. Sun Records produced more rock-and-roll records than any other record label of its time during its 16-year run, producing 226 singles. Phillips recorded different styles of music, but he was interested in the blues: "The blues, it got people—black and white—to think about life, how difficult, yet also how good it can be. They would sing about it; they would pray about it; they would preach about it. This is how they relieved the burden of what existed day in and day out." 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

opened a new form of music. Phillips said of Presley: "Elvis cut a ballad, which was just excellent. I could tell you, both Elvis and

could tear a ballad to pieces. But I said to myself, 'You can't do that, Sam.' If I had released a ballad I don't think you would have heard of Elvis Presley." Phillips stated of his goals, "everyone knew that I was just a struggling cat down here trying to develop new and different artists, and get some freedom in music, and tap some resources and people that weren't being tapped." He didn't care about mistakes; he cared about the feel. Phillips met Presley through the mediation of his longtime collaborator at the Memphis Recording Service, Marion Keisker, who was already a well-known Memphis radio personality. On 18 July 1953, the eighteen-year-old Presley dropped into the studio to record an acetate for his mother's birthday; Keisker thought she heard some talent in the young truck driver's voice, and so she turned on the tape recorder. Later, she played it for Phillips, who gradually, with Keisker's encouragement, warmed to the idea of recording Elvis. Presley, who recorded his version of Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's "

That's All Right "That's All Right" is a song written and originally performed by blues singer Arthur Crudup and recorded in 1946. The song was rereleased in early March 1949 under the title "That's All Right, Mama", which was issued as RCA's first rhythm and bl ...

" at Phillips's studio, became highly successful, first in Memphis, then throughout the southern United States. He auditioned for Phillips in 1954, but it was not until he sang "That's All Right (Mama)" that Phillips was impressed. He brought the song to

Dewey Phillips Dewey Phillips (May 13, 1926 – September 28, 1968) was one of rock and roll's pioneering American disc jockeys, along the lines of Cleveland's Alan Freed, before Freed came along. Early life Phillips was born in Crump, Tennessee, but spent ...

, a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobil ...

at WHBQ 560, to play on his ''Red, Hot & Blue'' program. For the first six months, the flip side, "

Blue Moon of Kentucky "Blue Moon of Kentucky" is a waltz written in 1945 by bluegrass musician Bill Monroe and recorded by his band, the Blue Grass Boys. The song has since been recorded by many artists, including Elvis Presley and Paul McCartney. "Blue Moon of Ken ...

", Presley's upbeat version of a

Bill Monroe William Smith "Bill" Monroe (; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist, singer, and songwriter, who created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he is often called the " Father of Bluegrass". The genre take ...

bluegrass song, was slightly more popular than "That's All Right (Mama)". While still not known outside the South, Presley's singles and regional success became a drawing card for Sun Records, as singing hopefuls soon arrived from all over the region. Singers such as Sonny Burgess ("

My Bucket's Got a Hole in It "My Bucket's Got a Hole in It" is a song widely attributed to Clarence Williams, who obtained a copyright in 1933, although the melody was recorded under various names years earlier. The song became popular performed by Hank Williams for MGM an ...

"),

Charlie Rich Charles Allan Rich (December 14, 1932July 25, 1995) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and musician. His eclectic style of music was often difficult to classify, encompassing the rockabilly, jazz, blues, country, soul, and gospel g ...

Junior Parker Herman "Junior" Parker (March 27, 1932November 18, 1971) Li ...

, and Billy Lee Riley recorded for Sun with some success, and others, such as

, BB King,

, and

, became stars. Phillips's pivotal role in the early days of rock and roll was exemplified by a celebrated jam session on December 4, 1956, with what became known as the

Million Dollar Quartet "Million Dollar Quartet" is a recording of an impromptu jam session involving Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash made on December 4, 1956, at the Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. An article about the session ...

. Jerry Lee Lewis was playing piano for a Carl Perkins recording session at Phillips's studio. When Elvis Presley walked in unexpectedly,

was called into the studio by Phillips, leading to an impromptu session featuring the four musicians. Phillips challenged the four to achieve gold record sales, offering a free Cadillac to the first, which Carl Perkins won. The contest is commemorated in a song by the

Drive-By Truckers Drive-By Truckers are an American rock band based in Athens, Georgia. Two of five current members ( Patterson Hood and Mike Cooley) are originally from The Shoals region of northern Alabama and met as roommates at the University of North Alab ...

. By the mid-1960s, Phillips rarely recorded. He built a satellite studio and opened radio stations, but the studio declined, and he sold Sun Records to

in 1969. In 1977 Sam's sons, Knox and Jerry, were working with John Prine at the Phillips Recording Studio when Sam Phillips joined them to oversee recordings that were eventually included on the album '' Pink Cadillac''.

WHER

Phillips launched radio station WHER on October 29, 1955. Each of the young women who auditioned for the station assumed there would only be one female announcer position, as was the case with other stations at that time. Only a few days before the first broadcast did they learn of the all-female format. It was the first all-female radio station in the United States, as almost every position at the station was held by a woman.

Other business interests

Through shrewd investments, Phillips amassed a fortune. He was one of the first investors in

, a motel chain that was about to expand to a nationwide franchise; he became involved with the chain shortly after selling Elvis Presley's contract to

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

, for $35,000, which he multiplied many times over the years with Holiday Inn. He also created two subsidiary recording labels,

Phillips International Records Phillips International Records is a sub-label of Sun Records started by Sam Phillips in October 1957. The design had the whole label as a blue and white Earth-globe with "Phillips" prominent between the words "Sam C." and "International Corp" o ...

and Holiday Inn Records. He also owned the Sun Studio Café in Memphis. One location was in the

Mall of Memphis The Mall of Memphis was a shopping mall in Memphis, Tennessee, containing of retail space and 5,564 parking spaces. The mall opened October 7, 1981, closed on December 24, 2003, and was demolished in 2004. Among other things, the mall was h ...

. Phillips and his family founded Big River Broadcasting Corporation, which owns and operates several radio stations in the

area, including WQLT-FM,

WSBM WSBM (1340 AM) is a Fox Sports Radio– affiliated radio station broadcasting a sports format. Licensed to Florence, Alabama, United States, the station serves the Florence–Muscle Shoals metropolitan area. The station is currently owned by Big ...

, and

WXFL WXFL (96.1 FM, "KIX 96") is a country music-formatted radio station based in Florence, Alabama, United States and owned by Big River Broadcasting, a company established by legendary rock and roll music producer Sam Phillips. WXFL serves Floren ...

. He also established radio station WLIZ in Lake Worth, Florida in 1959.

Accolades

In 1986, Phillips was part of the first group inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

, and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He was the first non-performer inducted. In 1987, he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. He received a Grammy Trustees Award for lifetime achievement in 1991. In 1998, he was inducted into the

Blues Hall of Fame The Blues Hall of Fame is a music museum located at 421 S. Main Street in Memphis, Tennessee. Initially, the "Blues Hall of Fame" was not a physical building, but a listing of people who have significantly contributed to blues music. Started in 1 ...

, in October 2001 he was inducted into the

Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has ama ...

, and in 2012 he was inducted into the inaugural class of the Memphis Music Hall of Fame.

Later years and death

Phillips died of

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...

, aged 80, at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, on July 30, 2003, only one day before the original Sun Studio was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places liste ...

, and just over a month before the death of former Sun Records recording star

, on September 12, 2003. Phillips is interred in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis.

Notable portrayals

Paul Eiding Paul Eiding (born March 28, 1957) is an American actor and instructor, best known for his voice roles as Colonel Roy Campbell in the ''Metal Gear'' series and Max Tennyson in the '' Ben 10'' franchise. During the 1970s, Eiding was a prolific c ...

played the role of Phillips in the '' Twilight Zone'' episode "

The Once and Future King ''The Once and Future King'' is a collection of fantasy novels by T. H. White about the legend of King Arthur. It is loosely based upon the 1485 work ''Le Morte d'Arthur'' by Sir Thomas Malory. It was first published in 1958 as a collection o ...

". * Trey Wilson portrayed Phillips in '' Great Balls of Fire!'', a biopic about

released in June 1989. *Phillips was portrayed by

Gregory Itzin Gregory Martin Itzin (April 20, 1948 – July 8, 2022) was an American character actor of film and television best known for his role as U.S. President Charles Logan in the action thriller series '' 24''. Early life Itzin was born in Washing ...

in the penultimate ''

Quantum Leap ''Quantum Leap'' is an American science fiction television series, created by Donald P. Bellisario, that premiered on NBC and aired for five seasons, from March 26, 1989, to May 5, 1993. The series stars Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett, a phys ...

'' episode, "Memphis Melody". *Phillips was portrayed by Dallas Roberts in the film ''

Walk the Line ''Walk the Line'' is a 2005 American biographical musical romantic drama film directed by James Mangold. The screenplay, written by Mangold and Gill Dennis, is based on two autobiographies authored by singer-songwriter Johnny Cash, 1975's '' M ...

''. *Phillips was portrayed by Tim Guinee in the CBS miniseries '' Elvis''. *On October 21, 2016, it was announced that Leonardo DiCaprio will portray Sam Phillips in the forthcoming film based on Peter Guralnick's book, ''Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll''. *Phillips was portrayed by Chad Michael Murray in the CMT drama series ''

''. *Philips was portrayed by

Josh McConville Josh McConville is an Australian actor. He was nominated for the 2018 AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his role in 1%. Filmography TV *'' Mr Inbetween'' (2019) TV series – Alex (2 episodes) *''Home and Away'' (2017) TV se ...

in the 2022 Elvis Presley biopic Elvis

References

Notes

Foster, D. Wayne. retrieved from 2008 audio interview recording
* * *
Talevski, Nick. "Sam Phillips". ''The Unofficial Encyclopedia of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame''
Pop Culture Universe. ABC-CLIO. 22 October 2009.

External links

Interview with Sam Phillips for WGBH Public Television series "Rock and Roll: Renegades"Sun Studio official websiteInterview with Sam PhillipsRock Hall of FameCountry Music Hall of Fame and Museum
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Sam 1923 births 2003 deaths Deaths from respiratory failure Record producers from Alabama American country singer-songwriters American music industry executives Country Music Hall of Fame inductees Musicians from Florence, Alabama Sun Records Grammy Award winners Holiday Inn people 20th-century American singers Rock and roll musicians Country musicians from Alabama Early Recording Engineers (1930-1959) Burials at Memorial Park Cemetery (Memphis, Tennessee) Singer-songwriters from Alabama