Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum celebrates Sam Phillips’ 100th birthday
by Preshias Harris
2023 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of the most influential people in the realms of virtually all popular music – country, blues, R&B, rock n’ roll and pop. Sam Phillips was born January 5, 1923 in Florence, Alabama, but made his indelible mark on music in Memphis, Tennessee.
It was there, in 1950, that he set up the Memphis Recording Service and then Sun Records that would launch the careers of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and many more.
In February, The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum honored the legendary Sam Phillips at a special event marking what would have been his 100th birthday. In attendance was Sam’s son Jerry Phillips who took the podium for an informal Q&A, led by the Museum’s multimedia archivist Jay McDowell.
Read my full story and interview at Center Stage Mag here.
As Jerry Phillips pointed out, his father’s musical interests were initially formed as a boy working on his parents’ farm, picking cotton alongside Black laborers and hearing African American vocals.
When he opened his business, after a stint as a radio announcer, many of his early recordings were by blues artists including B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, Little Milton and Junior Parker as well as many others.
During the Q&A session, Jerry Phillips noted that his father and Elvis Presley both shared early experiences that melded the blues, Gospel and country music they grew up hearing. Jerry said that this experience influenced Presley’s stage presence as well as his vocals, something that might have shocked and infuriated parents but opened up Black music to a generation of kids.
“That did break down a lot of racial barriers,” said Jerry, “More than anything I know of, more than Carl Perkins, more than Johnny Cash. I don’t know if [Sam] knew exactly he was going to do that,” said Jerry, “But I know he knew there was a market out there for that. And he loved the music.”
I asked Jerry about Sam’s relationship with Jerry Lee Lewis who had a reputation for being unruly.
“Jerry Lee wasn’t drinking in the studio at all at that time,” noted Jerry. “These guys were young, around nineteen years old and Sam didn’t allow any drinking going on in the studio – at first.”
Jerry paused to say there was one exception: “Sam said he had to let Howlin’ Wolf have something or he was afraid he’d beat him up if he didn’t give him a pint of whiskey. But he’d only get him a pint because he was so big, Sam knew it wouldn’t get him drunk.”
Following the Q&A session, we toured the Museum, focusing on the newly renovated area devoted to Sun Records, Memphis Recording Services and Sam Phillips. The exhibits include some truly unique artefacts including the Rek-O-Kut machine used to record Elvis singing two songs as a gift for his mom. Those recordings would lead to Sam – at the urging of his assistant and radio DJ Marion Keisker – to invite Elvis back to the studios and the beginning of a piece of rock n’ roll history.
The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum is a fascinating treasure trove of amazing exhibits and “wow, I didn’t know that” moments. If you’ve never been there (or it’s been a while) now’s the time to plan a visit. You won’t be disappointed.
For more information, visit the Museum’s website, Twitter and Instagram. The Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum is located at 401 Gay Street, Nashville, TN 37219.
More about Sun Records, including new and remastered releases, here.
Read my full story and interview at Center Stage Mag here.
Preshias Harris is a music journalist and music career development consultant with the emphasis on new and aspiring artists and songwriters. Her book, ‘The College of Songology 101: The Singer/Songwriter’s Need to Know Reference Handbook’ is available here. Follow her blog and read her regular ‘Preshias On The Row’ news stories at Center Stage Magazine.