Sun Studio- Memphis, Tennessee

 Memphis was a bit of a last-minute addition to the road trip.  When Stacey decided she was coming along for the end of my road trip we knew we had to get her back on a certain date to go to work.  We debated between a long day of driving from New Orleans, or stop somewhere along the way… Clearly, we decided on Memphis.  We didn’t get to do much, but we ate at a couple of different restaurants, and we did the Sun Studios Tour.

When Sam Phillips began recording, I doubt he really knew the impact that he was going to have on American Music.  He recorded what some call the “first rock and roll single” and recorded many, now famous, artists of different music genres. I mean, the man recorded Elivs-freakin’-Presley!

Just a few records made here

The tour was a lot of fun!  We had a very energetic, personable and knowledgable guide who gave out a lot of information about Sam, the studio and the people who recorded here.  There were cases of information and photos of a lot of these artists, and it was so fun because they play music samples all through the tour, so you can hear what was recorded in the building you’re standing in.  These were songs by Jerry Lee Lewis, The “Howlin’ Wolf”, B.B. King, and of course, Elvis Presley….

The largest exhibit in the museum was all about Elvis Presley.  There were guitars, shirts, photos, telegrams, newspapers and more!  The guide told us how the female receptionist, Marion Keisker, was actually the first person to ever record Elvis.  How cool is that?!

After going through the museum we went downstairs into the studio, which is still a functioning studio.  It was pretty incredible to stand in a room where Johnny Cash, Elvis, B.B. King recorded their music, along with current recordings by artists like The Watson Twins, Joshua James, Jakob Dylan and others!

“Getting down” to some Elvis in the studio

Inside the studio

The Million Dollar Quartet in the Studio

Stacey getting her Elvis on

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