''Class of '55: Memphis Rock & Roll Homecoming'' is a collaborative studio album by

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...

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

, and

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 ...

. It was released on May 26, 1986, by America/Smash Records, a subsidiary of Polygram Records. The album was produced by Chips Moman. While the album was in part a tribute to

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

, it was mainly a commemoration of those young performing hopefuls, the four album participants, who — as had Presley — all began their careers with

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee on February 1, 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Jo ...

in the 1950s. Recorded at Sam Phillips' Sun Studios and completed at American Sound Studios, the album was documented by Dick Clark Productions, which filmed it from start to finish; by The Commercial Appeal, the Mid-South's largest circulation newspaper; and by Nine-O-One Network Magazine, the first edition of which was sold with the album in a telemarketing package. The final song of the session, "Big Train (from Memphis)", written by John Fogerty, includes the blended voices of John Fogerty,

The Judds The Judds were an American country music duo composed of lead vocalist-guitarist Wynonna Judd and her mother Naomi Judd on backup vocals. The duo signed to RCA Records in 1983 and released six studio albums between then and 1991. The Judds wer ...

Dave Edmunds David William Edmunds (born 15 April 1944) is a Welsh retired singer, songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with Pub rock (United Kingdom), pub rock and New wave music, new wave, having many hit record, h ...

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard "Ricky" Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician and actor. From age eight, he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he began a ...

Sam Phillips Samuel Cornelius Phillips (January 5, 1923 – July 30, 2003) was an American disc jockey, songwriter and record producer. He was the founder of Sun Records and Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, where he produced recordings by Elvis Presley, R ...

, and June Carter Cash. Fogerty told a reporter that he was thinking about the old Sun Records sound when he wrote the song. The extended finale of the song features the singers singing lines from various Sun Records songs, including " That's All Right Mama", "

Blue Suede Shoes "Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard (music), standard written and first recorded by American singer, songwriter and guitarist Carl Perkins in 1955. It is considered one of the first rockabilly records, incorporating elements of blues ...

," " Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", " Folsom Prison Blues" and others. Producer Chips Moman encountered a major issue following the recording sessions, as Cash was still under contract to

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

at the time and proper permissions had not been obtained. Faced with the possibility of having to remove Cash's voice from the recordings, Moman paid Columbia $100,000 for the rights to keep Cash on the record. At this time, the America/Smash label was affiliated with PolyGram, which in turn also owned

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

to which Cash would sign shortly after recording ''Class of '55''. The recorded "''Interviews from the Class of '55 Recording Sessions,''" written and produced by Rose Clayton, earned the 1986

Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album The Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album has been awarded since 1959. The award has had several minor name changes: * In 1959 the award was known as Best Performance, Documentary or Spoken Word * From 1960 to 1961 it was awarded as Best Perform ...

for the four performers, plus for producer Chips Moman,

and

. For Nelson, it was his last recording session and only

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

of his career. A music video from Perkins' "Birth of Rock and Roll," starring Perkins, Lewis, and

Ron Wood Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for over six decades, they are one of the most popular, influential, and enduring bands of the Album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the band pione ...

, promoted the "Class Of '55." Cash, Lewis and Perkins had previously collaborated in 1956 with 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 Studio, Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. An article about th ...

and in 1982 with The Survivors Live.

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

hosted a TV special with footage of the studio sessions aired on TBS in 1989. After being out of print for decades, the album was re-released separately and as part of the Cash box set “The Complete Mercury Recordings: 1986-1991.”

Reception

Steve Huey of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

said it "include renditions of Perkins' "Birth of Rock and Roll," "Sixteen Candles," Waylon Jennings' "Waymore's Blues," Cash's "I Will Rock and Roll With You," and John Fogerty's "Big Train (From Memphis)." ''Billboard'' selected the album for a "Country Spotlight" review, and stated that "The songs effectively blend standards with worshipful derivatives"

Track listing

Personnel

* Johnny Cash — vocals, rhythm guitar * Carl Perkins — vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar * Jerry Lee Lewis — vocals, piano * Roy Orbison — vocals, acoustic guitar * Jack Clement,

Marty Stuart John Marty Stuart (born September 30, 1958) is an American country music, country and bluegrass music singer, songwriter, and musician. Active since 1968, Stuart initially toured with Lester Flatt, and then in Johnny Cash's road band before be ...

— background vocals, guitar * Reggie Young, Bob Wootton, Kenneth Lovelace, J. R. Cobb — guitar * Memphis Strings — strings * Ace Cannon, Wayne Jackson, Jack Hale, Jr., Bob Lewin — horns * Bobby Emmons — keyboards,

Synclavier The Synclavier is an early digital synthesizer, polyphonic digital sampling system, and music workstation manufactured by New England Digital Corporation of Norwich, Vermont. It was produced in various forms from the late 1970s into the ea ...

* Bobby Wood — Keyboard * Mike Leech,

Bob Moore Bob Moore may refer to: * Bob Moore (musician) (1932–2021), American session musician * Bob Moore (executive) (1929–2024), co-founder of Bob's Red Mill * Bob Moore (American football) (born 1949), American football tight end * Bob Moore (Au ...

— bass * Gene Chrisman, WS Holland, Buddy Harman — drums * Toni Wine, Paul Davis, Dan Penn, Rebecca Evans, Chips Moman, Reba Russell — backing vocals * Sam Philips, June Carter Cash, John Fogerty,

, Rick Nelson — backing vocals on "Big Train (From Memphis)"

Charts

Album - ''Billboard'' (United States)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Class of '55: Memphis Rock and Roll Homecoming 1986 collaborative albums Roy Orbison albums Johnny Cash albums Carl Perkins albums Jerry Lee Lewis albums Albums produced by Chips Moman Albums recorded at Sun Studio Rockabilly albums PolyGram albums