https://youtu.be/xoV8MN9EVFg

The video was interesting to me because Scotty was a great inspiration to me as I tried to imitate his masterful styling on Elvis' early recordings from Sun Records.

The list of early artists from Sam Phillips' Sun Studio reads like the "Who's Who" of R&R and Rockabilly.

"The list of early artists from Sam Phillips' Sun Studio reads like the "Who's Who" of R&R and Rockabilly."

Bob,

Please correct me if wrong, but wasn't Roy Orbison another artist who started at Sun Studios?

Elvis is known to have said of Roy: "He has the most beautiful male voice that I've ever heard!"

With Roy's fabulous falsetto, Roy had a 5-octave range without quivering.

I had the pleasure of hearing Roy live twice, the second time shortly before the end of his life. He still sang everything in the original keys, with flawless tone. Great memory.


Regards,


Bob

Really nice find! Really interesting stuff regarding Roy Orbison - I've been listening to his music as long as I can recall, but I didn't know Elvis was THAT inspired by him.

Thanks for sharing

Hi Donny,
Not sure if you are aware of 'Good Rockin' Tonight: The Legacy of Sun Records' documentary.

It is incredible (I have enclosed the Amazon.ca description below).

I thought that you might be interested.

All the best,

drutgat



Historians may never agree about where and when rock 'n' roll was born, but they do agree that an entrepreneur in the world of music named Sam Phillips began a revolution and spawned a legacy when he created Sun Records. This Memphis-based success story defined some of the most appealing roots of American popular culture with such seminal artists as Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and so many others, all reprised in this two-hour American Masters film with such performers as Paul McCartney, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and Live, many accompanied by Elvis' original sidemen, Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana. Highlights include a moving rendition of "Lonely Weekends" with Jerry Lee Lewis and Matchbox Twenty, and an emotional reunion of old Mississippi Delta musicians. Songs: That's All Right (Paul McCartney), Honey Don't (Ben Folds Five), Rock n' Roll Ruby (Mark Knopfler), I Walk the Line (Live), My Bucket's Got a Hole in It (Robert Plant & Jimmy Page), Blue Suede Shoes (Johnny Hallyday), Who Will the Next Fool Be (Zucchero), Cry, Cry, Cry (Third Eye Blind), Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee (Malcolm Yelvington and Kid Rock), Lonely Weekend (Matchbox Twenty).

Amazon.ca
Sam Phillips's Sun Records will forever be best known as the label for which Elvis Presley made his timeless first recordings. But Sun earned its legendary status by also recording any number of other blues and rock & roll greats, including Howlin' Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash. This 112-minute, 2001 documentary from PBS's American Masters series features plenty of reminiscences by Sun old-timers (including the ever-voluble Phillips, who was not, apparently, universally loved by his artists) and some vintage film footage. But the best moments come when more contemporary artists--ranging from Paul McCartney, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, and Mark Knopfler to Live, Third Eye Blind, Ben Folds, and even Kid Rock--do their versions of Sun classics like "Honey Don't" and "That's All Right Mama." Several of these performances can also be found on the excellent Good Rockin' Tonight CD; the documentary is good, but if you have to make a choice, go with the CD. --Sam Graham

Thanks Sam. I'll definitely be checking that out later today.

I appreciate the information.

Hi Donny,
My user name is actually drutgat.

I did not see Sam Graham's name - he must have written the original description of 'Good Rockin' Tonight'.

The documentary is like two or three films in one.

For example, there are some very interesting, disgruntled, almost-made-it artists who Sam Phillips recorded who have this ongoing argument with him for a lot of the documentary. Face-to-face. So there is a political side of things highlighted in this film.

Then there are the fantastic performances - McCartney just walking into Sun Studios and nailing 'That's All Right Mama' in one take, playing and singing live.

Amazing stuff.

I must watch it again (usually watch it once every year or 18 months).