Where We Be
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| The next big thing in music? Umm, no. |
| Sun Studios & Beale St. -- Memphis, TN |
| Sun Studios isn't much to look at from the outside, but it's nevertheless the world's best candidate for the "Birthplace of Rock and Roll" |
| Sam Phillips started the recording studio in 1950 and recorded Elvis' first big hit |
| The actual recording studio isn't much to look at either, is it? |
| Talk about underwhelming! This is the anteroom to the recording studio. |
| Check out the photo above the piano. It shows Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley. By sheer chance they happened to show up at Sun Studios on the same day (December 4, 1956) and sat down for an impromptu recording session that has since been called the greatest rock jam session of all time! |
| This was an actual mike used by stars like Elvis back in the 1950s |
| It was fun to hear the stories of the early rock and roll legends who got their start right here |
| After our tour of Sun Studios, we headed to nearby Beale Street, which bills itself as "The Home of the Blues" (not to mention "Birthplace of Rock 'n Roll") |
| Beale Street brims with live music joints that are jumping in the evening |
| At Blues City Cafe we thoroughly enjoyed our lunch of BBQ ribs, tamales, chili, beans, slaw, and fries |
| We like the slogan above the cook's head: "Put Some South in Your Mouth" |
| Kinda sorry we didn't get to try these! |
| The first room you enter is filled with memorabilia from the earliest days of rock and roll |
| We got to hear an impromptu jam session by musicians trying out some of the instruments here |
| Elvis Presley's actual high school diploma |
| Our final stop of the day was at the famous Gibson Guitar Factory just off Beale Street |
| It takes about three weeks to build a single Gibson guitar |
| We expected to pop into the showroom for a quick look around but ended up taking the half-hour factory tour -- which we highly recommend [Not my photos] |
Our day started with a tour of one of the most
famous recording studios in the world, Sun
Studios. Our group filed into a small room filled
with memorabilia from the beginning days of
rock and roll. We learned how Sam Phillips
opened the recording studio in January 1950
and called it the Memphis Recording Service.
This was just before the age of rock and roll, so
he was primarily recording music for Memphis-
based blues and R&B artists like B.B. King. We
learned how Jackie Brenston and the Delta Cats
recorded what is now considered the first rock
and roll single, called "Rocket 88," in 1951.
Not long afterwards, Elvis Presley showed up as
an 18-year-old just out of high school and
recorded his first song. A year later he recorded
“That’s All Right” at the studio, and the song
proved so popular it launched his career. These
events lend credence to the studio's claim that
it's the "Birthplace of Rock and Roll." The actual
studio where the recordings happened is small
and rather drab, to be honest, with linoleum
floors and baffled walls -- but Sun Studios has
seen the likes of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash,
B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ike Turner, Carl
Perkins, Roy Orbison, and dozens more.
famous recording studios in the world, Sun
Studios. Our group filed into a small room filled
with memorabilia from the beginning days of
rock and roll. We learned how Sam Phillips
opened the recording studio in January 1950
and called it the Memphis Recording Service.
This was just before the age of rock and roll, so
he was primarily recording music for Memphis-
based blues and R&B artists like B.B. King. We
learned how Jackie Brenston and the Delta Cats
recorded what is now considered the first rock
and roll single, called "Rocket 88," in 1951.
Not long afterwards, Elvis Presley showed up as
an 18-year-old just out of high school and
recorded his first song. A year later he recorded
“That’s All Right” at the studio, and the song
proved so popular it launched his career. These
events lend credence to the studio's claim that
it's the "Birthplace of Rock and Roll." The actual
studio where the recordings happened is small
and rather drab, to be honest, with linoleum
floors and baffled walls -- but Sun Studios has
seen the likes of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash,
B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ike Turner, Carl
Perkins, Roy Orbison, and dozens more.
| '50s state-of-the-art recording equipment |
| "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and the Delta Cats (1951) is now considered the first rock and roll single |
| Elvis stood on this spot |