THIS WAS OUR MOTHERS DAY SUN TRIBUTE :: DID ELVIS REALLY WALK IN TO SUN, TO RECORD SONGS FOR HIS MOTHER OR WAS IT JUS HIS CURIOSITY TO HEAR HIMSELF ON A RECORD? The story of Elvis Presleys discovery begins with a shy, 18-year-old Elvis entering a recording studio in 1953 to cut two songs on an acetate disk at a cost of four dollars. The Memphis Recording Service was owned and operated by Sam Phillips, who had been recording rhythm-and-blues artists since 1950. By the time Elvis came to the recording studio, Sam Cornelius Phillips was known as Memphis most important independent record producer. He had opened Sun Records in 1952 to record both rhythm-and-blues (R&B) singers and country-western artists. Phillips enjoyed a national reputation for discovering such talented R&B artists as Rufus Thomas and Junior Parker. Phillips recorded these performers for independent record companies in other parts of the United States, including Chess Records in Chicago and the Modern label in Los Angeles. Phillips financed the recording sessions, paid the musicians, recorded the artists himself (often serving as the studio engineer), and then leased the master recordings to other record companies. His reputation was built on his recordings of blues performers, but he had just begun to work with country singers when Elvis walked into his recording studio for the first time. My Happinessyoutu.be/YMeQm4YQ_J8 [] This song was written in 1933 by Betty Peterson and Borney Bergantine. It was recorded in 1948 by John and Sandra Steele, whose release went to #3 on the Billboard Singles Chart. Others to record it in 1948 were The Pied Pipers with Paul Weston Orchestra, Ella Fitzgerald, The Song Spinners, and The Marlin Sisters. In 1953 the Mulcays, a harmonica group, released it as an instrumental. In 1959 a version by Connie Francis hit #2 on the Hot 100 Chart [] Rock n roll folklore relates a different version of Elvis first trip to the Memphis Recording Service. According to older, more sentimental accounts, Elvis was a talented but inexperienced singer who simply wanted to make a record for his mothers birthday. Because Gladys birthday was in April, the timing in this version of the story is not correct, because Elvis cut that first acetate disk in the late summer of 1953. Its more likely that Elvis knew of Sam Phillips reputation as an independent producer and came to the Memphis Recording Service to catch his attention. Unfortunately, on the day that Elvis decided to stop by, Phillips was not there. His tireless secretary and assistant, Marion Keisker, was running the recording studio alone. She noticed Elvis flamboyant clothes and his long, slicked-back hair and engaged him in conversation. Marion asked Elvis what kind of music he sang and who he sang like. His prophetic answer, I dont sound like nobody, piqued her curiosity, and while Elvis was singing My Happiness by the Ink Spots for his acetate record, Keisker also taped him so Phillips could hear him later. . Thats When Your Heartaches Begin youtu.be/kUi6PzCoAa8 [] This song was written in 1940 by William J. Raskin, Billy Hill and Fred Fisher. The Ink Spots recorded it in 1950. In 1951, a recording by Bob Lamb was released. In 1952 Billy Bunn and His Buddies released a version of it. Elvis re-recorded it for RCA on January 13, 1957 at Radio Recorders. This version was the B side to the single All Shook Up and it peaked at #58 on the Hot 100 Chart. Elvis stopped in at the Memphis Recording Service from time to time. [] In the early 1950s, rhythm-and-blues had evolved from a combination of urban blues and swing. It was called race music because R&B musicians were predominantly African American. Phillips firmly believed that the rhythm-and-blues sound could win a mass audience. He knew that white teenagers in Memphis were listening to R&B, and he suspected this to be true in other parts of the country as well. Phillips had been known to proclaim, If I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars. According to Marion Keisker, it was a widely known statement. Elvis second song for the flip side of the acetate was another Ink Spots song, Thats When Your Heartaches Begin. His choice of material -- two songs by the Ink Spots, an established R&B group -- suggests that Elvis may have known of Phillips statement and was hoping the producer would take notice. Phillips listened to the two songs by the unknown singer but did nothing about them, even though legend has it that Elvis natural talent immediately blew Sam Phillips away. Elvis stopped in at the Memphis Recording Service from time to time. On January 4, 1954, just four days before his nineteenth birthday, he again paid to record two songs. There were: It Wouldnt Be The Same Without You youtu.be/csrrWe1FkLk [] This one was written by Jimmy Wakely and Fred Rose and recorded by Jimmy Wakely. Willie Nelson and Chris Isaak also have released versions. [] Ill Never Stand In Your Way youtu.be/Iq9rVKTAfUo [] This song was written by Fred Rose and Walter (Hy) Heath in 1953. It was released in November 1954 by Joni James and then just a few days later a version by Ernie Lee was also released. Others who have recorded it also are Ray Charles, Jimmy Dean, Don Gibson and Dottie West.[] It wasnt until Elvis went back to the Memphis Recording Service that Sam Phillips and Sun Records really took notice..Six months later in June 1954, Sam Phillips sent for Elvis to come and audition for a recording session. This time he had Scotty Moore and Bill Black of the Starlite Wranglers to back him up Their first attempts to find a sound ...and the rest is history. Years later, after Elvis had become a major star, Phillips changed the story a little. He claimed that he was the person behind the desk at the Memphis Recording Service on that landmark day. To support his claim, Phillips pointed out that Keisker didnt know how to operate the recording equipment, so he was the only person who could have recorded Elvis. But Marion Keisker has told her account of the event many times in print and during television interviews, and, as far as anyone knows, Elvis never disputed her version. elvis/ --------------------------------------------------------------- If you like what you hear on this page please buy the albums, cds to keep the blues alive and well. There are many reasonably priced reissues available from web dealers or perhaps from your local record shop, if it still exists. These reissues will be in far better sound quality and will usually have more up to date liner notes and info, so go out and splash a little cash now and again. Help keep those reissue labels going. All images, articles, lyrics and music belong to their rightful owners. Nonetheless, if you own the rights to any of these images, videos, lyrics or music and do not wish them to appear on the site please contact us, and they will be promptly removed.We give credit to artists and writers when we can find the source. Blues Rocker: Seth, ex Radio DJ (Las Vegas) & Abe, LP / Record Collector (Honolulu, Hawaii) https://facebook/blues.rocker.1 From the notes of HOW STUFF WORKS. Additional Notes compiled by Seth Rogers. Photo: Young Elvis Aaron with his mother Gladys 1955. Cover Design by Abe.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Jun 2014 00:29:59 +0000
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