Life Story of Elvis Presley
In the sweltering summer of 1953, a young man named Elvis Presley walked into the Memphis Recording Service, a humble studio that would later become known as Sun Studios. With $3.98 in his pocket, Elvis aimed to record two songs, "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin," as a thoughtful gift for his mother [1][2][4][5]. Little did he know, this debut recording session would mark the beginning of a professional career that would revolutionize popular music worldwide.
While the discovery of Elvis is often credited to Sam Phillips, the studio's owner and later the founder of Sun Records, accounts of that day vary. Some reports suggest that Phillips was not present during the session, with his tireless secretary and assistant, Marion Keisker, running the studio instead. Keisker, who has shared her account of the event numerous times in print and during television interviews, wrote a note describing Presley as a "Good ballad singer. Hold." She later urged Phillips to contact Presley for further recordings [1].
Despite Phillips' absence, the initial session caught his attention, setting the stage for Elvis' breakthrough into a professional music career. Phillips, known as Memphis' most important independent record producer, had a reputation for discovering talented R&B artists like Rufus Thomas and Junior Parker. He believed that the rhythm-and-blues sound could win a mass audience, as he noticed white teenagers in Memphis listening to R&B [3].
On his second visit to the studio, Elvis chose two songs by the Ink Spots for the acetate, hinting that he may have been aware of Phillips' statement, "If I could find a white man who had the Negro sound and the Negro feel, I could make a billion dollars" [6]. Elvis' flamboyant clothes and long, slicked-back hair also caught Keisker's attention.
Contrary to Phillips' claim that he was the one operating the recording equipment during Elvis' first visit, Keisker taped Elvis singing "My Happiness" so Phillips could hear him later [7]. Elvis' prophetic answer, "I don't sound like nobody," piqued Keisker's curiosity [8].
Phillips eventually took notice of Elvis during his subsequent visits to the studio, leading to his first major hit, "That's All Right (Mama)" [1]. Elvis' first recording session at the Memphis Recording Service was not on his mother's birthday, but rather in the late summer of 1953 [9]. Rhythm-and-blues in the early 1950s evolved from a combination of urban blues and swing, and was known as "race music" due to the predominantly African American R&B musicians [10].
Phillips recorded these performers for independent record companies in other parts of the United States, including Chess Records in Chicago and the Modern label in Los Angeles [11]. Elvis' first trip to the Memphis Recording Service was a fateful encounter that set the stage for his meteoric rise in the music industry, transforming popular music forever.
Celebrities around the world continue to celebrate Elvis Presley's impact on pop-culture, looking back to his debut recording session in 1953 that redefined entertainment. Unbeknownst to Elvis, his unique sound, which blended rhythm-and-blues with a winning formula for a mass audience, was recognized by Memphis' influential record producer, Sam Phillips, who was known for discovering popular R&B artists.
