some good things have happened in memphis

This.

Was.

Just.

Amazing.

Sun Records, here in downtown Memphis, a mile away from my hotel.

And it is responsible for the music that we have today. This is where 18 year old Elvis Presley walked in off the street and spent four dollars to make a record for his mother's birthday.

Or so he said.

Turns out it was springtime and Mrs. Presley's birthday wasn't till fall, but that is what the young charmer told the secretary in order to get in her good graces and gee, did it work. It worked so well in fact, that she laid that little country song aside for Sam Phillips, the owner, to listen to, hoping to give the young man a break. A young man who would spend his hard earned money on recording a song for his momma's birthday.

Awwwwwwww.

And here's the kicker: I listened to that song today. The first recording Elvis ever made. And boy did he have some warbly vibrato and no it didn't impress Sam Phillips one bit, much to the chagrin of his secretary. It was country in a time when the blues were hot.

But still, I heard it.

And don't you worry about young Elvis. He did just fine. Because a year later he went back into that recording studio, sang song after song at Mr. Phillips' insistence, but nothing was working. It wasn't until Sam Phillips told Elvis, the bassist, and guitarist to take a break at midnight, leaving them to their own devices that some magic finally appeared. Elvis started singing a song he had heard, That's All Right, just joking around really, and the musicians started playing along. Sam Phillips heard it in the booth and knew they'd found what they were looking for.

The hottest radio station in Memphis, Red, Hot, and Blue, played it soon after and something intractable started. 49 people called in requesting that song by the unknown Elvis, and the DJ played it fourteen times in just three hours.

So yeah, like I said, Elvis did just fine.

And remember that scene from the Johnny Cash movie, Walk the Line? He's doing his salesman thing when he happens to spot a recording studio, and walks in just like that?

Yep, here it is.
I was so excited. Such history. Such dreams realized.

And then there were so many more. B. B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins, to name a few.

And how about those Irish boys who can't stop making beautiful albums?
They came here to record three songs for Rattle and Hum. And on that wall is the 12 track they used.
They knew that whatever happened within these walls was something they wanted to be a part of.

Smart guys.
And Sun Studio remains the only recording studio that is a national monument in the country. It gives tours through the day, but is still a working studio at night. The most recent artist to record here was John Mellencamp. And this place still has the same white tiles that soundproofed the room back when Elvis Presley stopped in for a visit, after being signed with RCA Records. Sam Phillips called in Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins too. And what do they do?

An impromptu jam session, of course.

And what does the always-thinking Sam Phillips do?

Press record, of course.

You can buy it, too, aptly called the Million Dollar Quartet.

And here I am, standing on the X that Elvis stood, grabbing that same mic that he grabbed.
Just, wow.