Book Review: The Father of Rock and Roll
September 23rd, 2009
Sam Phillips is probably the most famous name in Rock and Roll who never sang or played an instrument. Phillips is the man behind tiny Memphis recording label Sun Records and is widely regarded as the father of Rock and Roll. Kevin and Tanja Crouch’s book Sun King provides a fascinating insight into the live and times of Phillips who’s one room recording studio, which even by the standards of the day was poorly equipped, helped launch the careers of some of the most famous names in popular music – Elvis Presley, BB King, Ike Turner, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis.
From an early age Phillips mixed with both white and black people and he became exposed to the soulful blues music of the rural blacks of the southern US as well as the music popular at the time with the rural white people.
Unusually for a young white man growing up in the southern US, Phillips was not infused with the racism which blighted the thinking of many of his peers. He was determined to find away to bring the raw talent and sound of the music of the black population, who could not afford to make records, to a wider audience. This lead him to start his own recording studio on a shoe string budget getting his remarkable and historic career as a record producer underway.
Sun King is must read for anyone interested in the history of popular music and the way in which the turbulent social era in which it developed and blossomed shaped the music itself. Published by Hachette NZ, Sun King is available now through book sellers. RRP $32.99
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