Industry | Recording studio |
---|---|
Predecessor | Memphis Recording Service |
Founded | Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. (1960 | )
Founder | Sam Phillips |
Headquarters | Memphis, Tennessee , U.S. |
Number of locations | 1 |
Website | samphillipsrecording |
Phillips Recording Service is the short name widely used to refer to the Sam C. Phillips Recording Studio established in 1960 by Sun Records and Memphis Recording Service founder Sam Phillips at 639 Madison Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee to replace the older, smaller Memphis Recording Service studio.
In July 1958, feeling that his Memphis Recording Service/Sun Studio was becoming outdated and too small to accommodate the needs of the record labels and publishing companies of the growing Sam Phillips Recording Organization, Sam Phillips bought a property at 639 Madison Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, just a few blocks from Sun Studio. The building, which had previously housed a Midas Muffler shop and a bakery, was gutted to build two recording studios on the ground floor, A&R and promotion offices on the second floor, and offices for accounting, publishing, and Phillips himself on the third floor. The new studio, Sam Phillips Recording Service, opened in 1960, with Scotty Moore being named studio manager. In 1965, Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs recorded their hit song "Wooly Bully" at the studio. [1] [2]
By the end of the 1960s, Sam Phillips mostly retired from the recording business, [3] and his sons Knox and Jerry worked in the studio, which hosted sessions by The Yardbirds, Willie Nelson, Amazing Rhythm Aces, Alex Chilton, Bobby Doyle, John Prine, and The Cramps. [1] Knox Phillips managed the studio until his death on April 13, 2020. [4] The studio, still an analog-based facility utilizing much of its original equipment from the 1960s, is still owned and operated by the Sam Phillips family. [5]
In the early 1960s, Phillips Recording also had a short-lived demo studio in Tupelo, Mississippi, as well as a studio in Nashville. The Sam Phillips Recording Service of Nashville was opened in 1961 in the top floor of the Cumberland Building, a former Masonic Lodge at 315 Seventh Avenue North, next to the WSM radio studio. Notable songs produced at this studio include Jerry Lee Lewis' 1961 version of "What'd I Say", The Dixiebelles 1963 song "(Down at) Papa Joe's", the 1963 version of "Yakety Sax" that would become Boots Randolph's signature song, and Ronny & the Daytonas hit 1964 song "G.T.O". [6] In 1962, producer Billy Sherrill was hired to manage the studio at the start of his career. Sherrill moved to Epic Records the following year, and Phillips sold the studio to Monument Records and renamed the Fred Foster Sound Studio in 1964. [7] [8] [9]
Roy Kelton Orbison was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's music is mostly in the rock genre and his most successful periods were in the early 1960s and the late 1980s. He was nicknamed "The Caruso of Rock" and "The Big O". Many of Orbison's songs conveyed vulnerability at a time when most male rock-and-roll performers projected machismo. He performed with minimal motion and in black clothes, matching his dyed black hair and dark sunglasses.
Samuel Cornelius Phillips 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, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Howlin' Wolf. Phillips played a major role in the development of rock and roll during the 1950s, launching the career of Presley. In 1969, he sold Sun to Shelby Singleton.
Jerry Lee Lewis 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 made his first recordings in 1952 at Cosimo Matassa's J&M Studio in New Orleans, Louisiana, and early recordings in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee. "Crazy Arms" sold 300,000 copies in the Southern United States, but it was his 1957 hit "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" that shot Lewis to worldwide fame. He followed this with the major hits "Great Balls of Fire", "Breathless", and "High School Confidential".
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 Johnny Cash. Prior to that, Sun had concentrated mainly on African-American musicians because Phillips loved rhythm and blues and wanted to bring it to a white audience.
Carl Lee Perkins 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, beginning in 1954. Among his best-known songs are "Blue Suede Shoes", "Honey Don't", "Matchbox" and "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby".
Fred Luther Foster was an American record producer, songwriter, and music business executive who founded Monument Records and Combine Music. As a record producer he was most closely associated with Roy Orbison, and was also involved in the early careers of Dolly Parton and Willie Nelson. Foster suggested to Kris Kristofferson the title and theme of "Me and Bobby McGee", which became a hit for Kristofferson, Roger Miller, and Janis Joplin, and for which Foster received a co-writing credit.
Charles Allan Rich was an American country singer. His eclectic style of music also blended influences from rockabilly, jazz, blues, soul, and gospel.
A session musician is a musician hired to perform in a recording session or a live performance. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a tour. Session musicians are usually not permanent or official members of a musical ensemble or band.
Sun Studio is a recording studio opened by rock-and-roll pioneer Sam Phillips at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. It was originally called Memphis Recording Service, sharing the same building with the Sun Records label business. The Sun label that was housed within the studio played a large role in Elvis Presley's early career.
Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman was an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for working in R&B, pop music and country music, operating American Sound Studios and producing hit albums like Elvis Presley's 1969 From Elvis in Memphis and the 1985 debut album for The Highwaymen. Moman won a Grammy Award for co-writing "(Hey Won't You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song", a 1975 hit for B.J. Thomas.
Jack Henderson Clement was an American singer-songwriter and record and film producer. He was producer and engineer for Sam Phillips at Sun Records in its early days, and worked with Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash.
Billy Norris Sherrill was an American record producer, songwriter, and arranger associated with country artists, notably Tammy Wynette and George Jones. Sherrill and business partner Glenn Sutton are regarded as the defining influences of the countrypolitan sound, a smooth amalgamation of pop and country music that was popular during the late 1960s and throughout the 1970s. Sherrill also co-wrote many hit songs, including "Stand by Your Man" and "The Most Beautiful Girl".
"Wooly Bully" is a song originally recorded by rock and roll band Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs in 1964. Based on a standard 12-bar blues progression, it was written by the band's frontman, Domingo "Sam" Samudio. It was released as a single on the small Memphis-based XL label (#906) in 1964 and was picked up in 1965 by MGM. The song was recorded at Sam C. Phillips Recording Studio at 639 Madison Avenue in Memphis, the successor to Phillips' original Sun Studio.
Billy Lee Riley was an American musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. His most memorable recordings include "Rock With Me Baby", "Flyin' Saucers Rock and Roll" and "Red Hot".
The American Sound Studio was a recording studio located in Memphis, Tennessee which operated from 1964 to 1972. Founded by Chips Moman, the studio at 827 Thomas Street came to be known as American North, and the studio at 2272 Deadrick Street came to be known as American East or the Annex.
The Golden Hits of Jerry Lee Lewis is the third studio album by musician Jerry Lee Lewis that was released on Smash Records in 1964. It was Lewis's first album with the label after leaving Sun Records.
Stanley Augustus Kesler was an American musician, record producer and songwriter, whose career began at the Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. He co-wrote several of Elvis Presley's early recordings including "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" and "I Forgot to Remember to Forget", and played guitar and bass on hit records by Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. As a producer, his successful records included "Wooly Bully" by Sam the Sham and the Pharaohs.
Randy and the Radiants were an American garage rock band from Memphis, Tennessee who were active from 1962 to 1966 and then again 1976–1984. They were one of the most popular groups in the Memphis area during the 1960s. Through their association with Knox Phillips, son of Sam Phillips, they signed with Sun Records and recorded two singles on the label which became hits in the region. Their second release, "My Way of Thinking", became one of the top hits in the area, reaching #1 on WGMN's charts. The group's work has today become highly regarded amongst garage rock enthusiasts and collectors.
Matt Ross-Spang is an American Grammy award winning record producer, engineer, and mixer. His credits include such artists as Jason Isbell, Margo Price, Al Green, John Prine and Elvis Presley.
Bell Sound Studios was an independent recording studio in New York City from 1950 to 1976. At its height, the studio was the largest independent recording studio in the United States, and the site of recording sessions that produced seminal hits by Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, the McGuire Sisters, the Flamingos, Dion and the Belmonts, Paul Anka, Frankie Avalon, the Drifters and Ben E. King, the Four Seasons, Lesley Gore, the Dixie Cups, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, and Kiss.