On July 18, 1953, Elvis Presley recorded a single at Sun Studio as a gift for his mother's birthday, the Ink Spots' "My Happiness", with "That's When Your Heartaches Begin" on the flipside.[1] Studio owner Sam Phillips was not there, so Presley's recording was managed by his secretary, Marion Keisker, who kept a demo copy of the recording.[2]
At Phillips' behest Keisker called Presley for an appointment at the studio almost a year later; he returned on June 26, 1954.[3] Although most of the session was not recorded, Phillips was impressed by Presley and introduced him to the country music band Starlight Wranglers' guitarist Scotty Moore, who later introduced Presley to double bass player Bill Black.[4]
Sun recordings
On July 5, 1954, the trio headed to the Sun Studios for a recording test together. They recorded the songs "Harbor Lights" and "I Love You Because", and during a break they performed an impromptu version of Arthur Crudup's "That's All Right", which impressed Phillips, who asked for a refinement of the interpretation that later was recorded.[3] Phillips played the recording for WHBQ's DJDewey Phillips, who played the song on his regular show next night, on July 8.[5] On July 9, the trio recorded what became the flipside to "That's All Right", an uptempo rockabilly version of Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon of Kentucky".[6] The single was released on July 19, 1954,[7] and was a local hit in Arkansas, Mississippi and New Orleans.[4]
Live appearances
Left to right: Scotty Moore (guitar), Bill Black (double bass), D.J. Fontana (drums)
Scotty Moore became the manager of the band, and they toured several cities in the south, the three members still working at their regular employments when not touring.[8] Both Moore and Black focused more on the group after they let Presley perform at the regular Starlight Wranglers show on the Bon Air club, where the reception of the audience was unfavorable, and led to animosity between them and the other members of the group for having to leave the stage.[4] The Blue Moon Boys appeared on a regular basis at Eagle's Nest club in Memphis, Tennessee.[9] Sam Phillips booked the band an appearance at the Grand Ole Opry, which was not well received.[8] After the failure, Phillips contacted Opry's main competition, the Louisiana Hayride. They made their first appearance on October 16, 1954.[4] Presley sang "That's All Right" followed by the flipside of the record, "Blue Moon of Kentucky". The performance was well received and they signed a one-year contract to be official members of the Hayride,[10] while Presley also signed a new management contract with Bob Neal.[10] On August 8, D.J. Fontana joined the band as the drummer on a regular basis after having played occasionally with them, the first time in Shreveport and subsequently on tour.[4] After disputes with Hank Snow's manager, Tom Parker, who booked most of Presley's appearances, Bob Neal turned over the contract to Colonel Parker who became officially Presley's manager on December 15, 1955.[11]
"Heartbreak Hotel" is a song recorded by American singer Elvis Presley. It was released as a single on January 27, 1956, Presley's first on his new record label RCA Victor. It was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden, with credit being given also to Presley. A newspaper article about the suicide of a lonely man who jumped from a hotel window inspired the song. Axton presented the song to Presley in November 1955 at a country music convention in Nashville. Presley recorded it on January 10, 1956, in a session with his band, the Blue Moon Boys, the guitarist Chet Atkins and the pianist Floyd Cramer. "Heartbreak Hotel" comprises an eight-bar blues progression, with heavy reverberation throughout the track, to imitate the character of Presley's Sun recordings.
Winfield Scott Moore III was an American guitarist who formed The Blue Moon Boys in 1954, Elvis Presley's backing band. He was studio and touring guitarist for Presley between 1954 and 1968.
Rockabilly is an early style of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South. As a genre, it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blues, leading to what is considered "classic" rock and roll. The term "rockabilly" itself is a portmanteau of "rock" and "hillbilly"; the latter is a reference to country music that contributed strongly to the style. Other important influences on rockabilly include western swing, boogie-woogie, jump blues, and electric blues.
William Patton Black Jr. was an American musician and bandleader who is noted as one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He played in Elvis Presley's early trio, The Blue Moon Boys. Black later formed Bill Black's Combo.
The Sun Sessions is a compilation album by American singer Elvis Presley, issued by RCA Records in 1976. The album contains Presley's earliest commercial recordings, made in Memphis, Tennessee for Sun Records in 1954 and 1955. RCA issued the album in the UK in 1975 under the title The Sun Collection. The album features liner notes by Roy Carr of the New Musical Express. The Sun Sessions features most of the tracks Elvis recorded for Sun Records and produced by Sam Phillips, the head of Sun Studios. The Sun Sessions reached number two on the Billboard Country Albums and number 1 on the Cashbox Country Albums charts.
"Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll 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, country and pop music of the time. Perkins' original version of the song appeared on the Cashbox Best Selling Singles list for 16 weeks and spent two weeks at the number two position.
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. Sun Studio is perhaps most famous for its role in the early years of Elvis Presley’s career.
"Mystery Train" is a song written and recorded by American blues musician Junior Parker in 1953. Originally performed in the style of a Memphis blues or rhythm and blues tune, it was inspired by earlier songs and later became a popular rockabilly song, as first covered by Elvis Presley, then numerous others.
"That's All Right" is a song written and originally performed by the American blues singer Arthur Crudup and recorded in 1946. It was rereleased in early March 1949 by RCA Victor under the title "That's All Right, Mama", which was issued as RCA's first rhythm and blues record on its new 45 rpm single format.
Dominic Joseph Fontana was an American musician best known as the drummer for Elvis Presley for 14 years. In 1955, he was hired to play drums for Presley, which marked the beginning of a 15-year relationship. He played on over 460 RCA recordings with Elvis.
"Blue Moon of Kentucky" is a waltz written in 1945 by bluegrass musician Bill Monroe and recorded by his band, the Blue Grass Boys. The song has since been recorded by many artists, including Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney. The song is the official bluegrass song of Kentucky.
The TCB Band is a group of musicians who formed the rhythm section of Elvis Presley’s band from August 1969 until his death in 1977.. The initials TCB stand for Taking Care of Business, a personal motto Presley adopted in the early 1970s. Although personnel changed over the years, the original members were James Burton, Jerry Scheff (bass), John Wilkinson, Larry Muhoberac (keyboards) and Ron Tutt (drums). They first appeared live at Presley’s first Las Vegas performance at what was then known as the International Hotel on July 31, 1969.
Sunrise is a two-disc compilation of Elvis Presley's studio recordings at Sun Studio from 1953 to 1955, released in 1999, RCA 67675-2. This set features all of the surviving master recordings made by Presley and his accompanists, Scotty Moore and Bill Black, occasionally augmented by other musicians, prior to his arrival on RCA Records in 1956.
"I Forgot to Remember to Forget" is a 1955 rockabilly and country song, first recorded by Elvis Presley and written by Stan Kesler and Charlie Feathers. It was Elvis' first no. 1 record nationally. The single was the fifth and final single released on Sun Records before Elvis moved to RCA Records.
"A Mess of Blues" is a song originally recorded by Elvis Presley for RCA Records in 1960, and written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. Although released as the B-side to "It's Now or Never", "A Mess of Blues" reached number 32 in the U.S. It reached number 2 in the UK as an A-side.
Peace in the Valley is an EP by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released in April 1957 on RCA Victor Records in mono with catalogue number EPA 4054. It reached number three on the short-lived Billboard EP chart, number three on the album chart and number 39 on the singles chart.
Douglas Winston Poindexter was an American singer and guitarist who fronted the country band The Starlight Wranglers in the early 1950s and recorded for Sun Records. Members of his band included Scotty Moore and Bill Black, before they started playing with Elvis Presley.
"I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" is a song written by Bill Taylor and Stan Kesler, and originally recorded by Elvis Presley for Sun Records.
Elvis Aaron Presley, popularly known by his first name Elvis, was an American singer and actor. He was born in Tupelo, Mississippi and relocated to Memphis, Tennessee with his family at age 13. His music career began there in 1954, recording at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring the sound of African-American music to a wider audience. Presley, on rhythm acoustic guitar, and accompanied by lead guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, was a pioneer of rockabilly, an uptempo, backbeat-driven fusion of country music and rhythm and blues. In 1955, drummer D. J. Fontana joined to complete the lineup of Presley's classic quartet and RCA Victor acquired his contract in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who would manage him for more than two decades.
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