Sun Records

Early Sun Studio

Before Sun Records was a famous label, the studio opened in 1950 as MEMPHIS RECORDING SERVICE. The slogan was “We Record Anything – Anywhere – Any Time,” and Sam Phillips would make ends meet by recording weddings and funerals for a few dollars. 

Sun Studio was opened in 1952 to capture the music of the area, and Sam set up shop in an old auto repair shop at 706 Union Avenue, just east of downtown Memphis. 

It was only a few hundred square feet, and the studio was sound-deafened with asbestos panels. Sam started acting as the talent scout for record labels like Chess Records. He recorded a young B.B. King in 1951, and then Ike Turner’s Rocket 88 that same year. Sam would record the music and basically sell the songs to record labels. 

In the summer of ’51, Phillips recorded what he called his “greatest discovery”, Howlin’ Wolf. Without a label, had to send him to Chess Records. Feeling that he’d lost what Sam called his “greatest discovery” in Wolf, Philips decided to open his own label. And so in 1952 Sun Records was born. 

Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis

In January of 1954, local boy Elvis Presley wanders into Sun to record a song for his mother, he paid $4. A few months later, Sam called Elvis a few months later to record a demo. It took a couple tries, but when Elvis began playing a cover of “That’s All Right Mama”, a blues song by Arthur Crudup, magic happened. It was a local hit in Memphis. 

September that year, Johnny Cash auditioned for Sun, but he kept playing gospel and Phillips told him to “go home and sin”. A few months later, Cash came back with his first hit, “Cry! Cry! Cry”. 

Carl Perkins came through the next month in October, and the classic Sun Records lineup was almost complete. Now the label was releasing music they were calling Rockabilly… and rock n roll.  

Jerry Lee Lewis and is dad sold 33 dozen eggs to pay for a trip from Louisiana to Memphis, where he cut a hit on his first day in the studio, a song called “Crazy Arms”. 

The Million Dollar Quartet

On December 4th, 1956 Elvis, Cash, Lewis and Perkins all met by chance around the Sun Studio piano and had an impromptu jazz session of gospel, country and blues that they all loved. Phillips rolled the tapes, not to sell the unplanned moment, just to capture it. The next day’s newspapers called it the Million Dollar Quartet. People knew it had happened, but nobody would hear the quartet for twenty five years!

One problem was rights. Sun Records had already sold Elvis’ contract to RCA for the sum of $35,000, which may not seem like much now, but at the time it was the largest payout for any artist contract, ever.

The rights issues would complicate the release of the tapes for decades. so the reels sat unused for years. They were first released un Europe in 1981, but didn’t get a proper American release until 1990!

Sun’s Post-Golden Age Years

Tn 1958, Carl Perkins, stuck in Elvis’ shadow, left for Columbia Records, along with Johnny Cash. Lewis became embroiled in self-inflicted scandals, parting ways with Sun in 1963 while his career languished for years. 

It would be the end of the “golden age” of Sun Records. Phillips set out on a mission: he knew in his soul that people would love the delta blues he heard on Memphis streets, if they only gave it a chance. He started recording blues, opening the door for future blues greats, then rockabilly and finally, changed the world with blues-based rock n roll that followed. 

So in 1969, he sold Sun Records to Shelby Singleton, a Mercury Records exec, who moved the headquarters to Nashville and continued to release music and reissues. .

Sam Phillips invested some money in a local hotel chain with a big idea about having consistently great hotel rooms for guests anywhere they went, and so, he became one of the earliest investors in Holiday Inn.

Sun Studios in the Modern Age

Sun Studio is now a different entity than Sun records, but it is still in the classic building at 706 Union Ave in Memphis, which is onw on the National Historic Register.

Most days the (very) small studio can be toured, and the building is packed with memorabilia and tourists. But even decades later, artists are still drawn to the magic of that one room studio. John Mellencamp recorded his 2010 album No Better Than This at Sun. Margo Price recorded 2016’s Midwest Farmer’s Daughter there, her husband pawned their car and wedding rings to afford the studio time, and it worked. The album launched her career.

Many, many artists have recorded at Sun in the modern era, including Grace Potter, Justin Townes Earle, Def Leppard, Matchbox 20, Maroon 5 and Ringo Starr, Amy Helm, Ruthie Foster, Melissa Etheridge and The Steeldrivers, to name a few. 

We hand-picked some great videos lower in this page so you can see some modern artists performing live at Sun Studio in Memphis!