Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll
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Narrated by:
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Kevin Stillwell
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By:
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Peter Guralnick
About this listen
The author of the critically acclaimed Elvis Presley biography Last Train to Memphis brings us the life of Sam Phillips, the visionary genius who singlehandedly steered the revolutionary path of Sun Records.
The music that he shaped in his tiny Memphis studio with artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, Ike Turner, Howlin' Wolf, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash, introduced a sound that had never been heard before. He brought forth a singular mix of black and white voices passionately proclaiming the vitality of the American vernacular tradition while at the same time declaring, once and for all, a new, integrated musical day. With extensive interviews and firsthand personal observations extending over a 25-year period with Phillips, along with wide-ranging interviews with nearly all the legendary Sun Records artists, Guralnick gives us an ardent, unrestrained portrait of an American original as compelling in his own right as Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, or Thomas Edison.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2015 Peter Guralnick (P)2015 Hachette AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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One Way Out is the powerful biography of the Allman Brothers Band, an oral history written with the band's participation and filled with original, never-before-published interviews as well as personal letters and correspondence. This is the most in-depth look at a legendary American rock band that has meant so much to so many for so long. For 25 years, Alan Paul has covered the Allman Brothers Band, conducting hundreds of interviews, riding the buses with them, attending rehearsals and countless shows.
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From a non-fan
- By DK on 09-06-14
By: Alan Paul
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Luck or Something Like It
- A Memoir
- By: Kenny Rogers
- Narrated by: Taber Burns
- Length: 9 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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A remarkable story of a boy who couldn't stop singing, and a man who knew how to hold 'em. For more than half a century, Kenny Rogers has been recording some of the most revered and beloved music in America and around the world. In that time, he has become a living legend by combining everything from R&B to country and gospel to folk in his unique voice to create a sound that's both wholly original and instantly recognizable.
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Fun to listen to.
- By b.sea on 07-25-19
By: Kenny Rogers
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Respect Yourself
- Stax Records and the Soul Explosion
- By: Robert Gordon
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 17 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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The story of Stax Records unfolds like a Greek tragedy. A white brother and sister build a record company that becomes a monument to racial harmony in 1960’s segregated south Memphis. Their success is startling, and Stax soon defines an international sound. Then, after losses both business and personal, the siblings part, and the brother allies with a visionary African-American partner. Under integrated leadership, Stax explodes as a national player until, Icarus-like, they fall from great heights to a tragic demise.
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Great narration
- By A. K. Moore on 10-29-14
By: Robert Gordon
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Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?
- Larry Norman and the Perils of Christian Rock
- By: Gregory Alan Thornbury
- Narrated by: Stephen R. Thorne
- Length: 9 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1969, in Capitol Records' Hollywood studio, a blonde-haired troubadour named Larry Norman laid track for an album that would launch a new genre of music and one of the strangest, most interesting careers in modern rock. Having spent the bulk of the 1960s playing on bills with acts like The Who, Janis Joplin, and The Doors, Norman decided that he wanted to sing about the most countercultural subject of all: Jesus.
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Hagiography not Biography
- By Keith Howard on 10-29-18
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Small Town Talk
- Bob Dylan, The Band, Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix and Friends in the Wild Years of Woodstock
- By: Barney Hoskyns
- Narrated by: Mike Chamberlain
- Length: 13 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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When musicians in the New York folk scene of the 1960s grew tired of city life, they decided to "get it together in the country". They headed for Woodstock - not to the site of the infamous music festival of 1969 but to the Catskills, to Bearsville, to Woodstock proper. Counterculture revolutionaries like Janis Joplin, Richie Havens, and Paul Butterfield got "back to the land", turning the once sleepy hollow into a funky Shangri-La.
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Captured the era - too many mistakes
- By Frank Canino on 04-17-16
By: Barney Hoskyns
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Catch a Wave
- The Rise, Fall, and Redemption of the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson
- By: Peter Ames Carlin
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 14 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
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In Catch a Wave, Peter Ames Carlin pulls back the curtain on Brian Wilson, one of popular music's most revered luminaries, as well as its biggest mystery. Drawing on hundreds of interviews and never-before heard studio recordings, Carlin follows the Beach Boys from their earliest days through Brian's deepening emotional problems to his triumphant re-emergence with the release of Smile, the legendarily unreleased album he had originally shelved.
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Not great
- By J. Barker on 08-08-16
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Bright lights dark shadows
- The real story of Abba
- By: Carl Palm
- Narrated by: Adrian Mulraney
- Length: 26 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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An exploration of all aspects of the Abba member’s lives and careers. Amazingly detailed, it examines the group member’s family backgrounds, the pre-Abba days, the legendary 70s, the marriages, the divorces, the business ups and downs, and the post-Abba solo careers.
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Awesome! -- All the Swedish words pronounced!
- By Howard_a on 06-18-12
By: Carl Palm
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John Lennon
- The Life
- By: Philip Norman
- Narrated by: Graeme Malcolm
- Length: 12 hrs and 52 mins
- Abridged
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Philip Norman turns his formidable talent to the Beatle for whom belonging to the world's most beloved pop group was never enough. Drawing on previously untapped sources, and with unprecedented access to all the major characters, here is the definitive portrait of John Lennon. This biography takes a fresh and penetrating look at Lennon's much-chronicled life, including the songs that have turned him, posthumously, into almost a secular saint.
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Really Bad Abridgement Job (slash job)
- By Let's Be Reasonable on 12-04-08
By: Philip Norman
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Never a Dull Moment
- 1971 - the Year That Rock Exploded
- By: David Hepworth
- Narrated by: David Hepworth
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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On New Year's Eve, 1970, Paul McCartney told his lawyers to issue the writ at the High Court in London, effectively ending The Beatles. You might say this was the last day of the pop era. The following day, which was a Friday, was 1971. You might say this was the first day of the rock era. And within the remaining 364 days of this monumental year, the world would hear Don McLean's "American Pie", The Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar", The Who's "Baba O'Riley", Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", and more.
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A blast from the past
- By Amazon Customer on 07-30-16
By: David Hepworth
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The History of Rock & Roll
- Volume 1: 1920-1963
- By: Ed Ward
- Narrated by: David Colacci
- Length: 15 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Ed Ward covers the first half of the history of rock & roll in this sweeping and definitive narrative - from the 1920s, when the music of rambling medicine shows mingled with the songs of vaudeville and minstrel acts to create the very early sounds of country and rhythm and blues, to the rise of the first independent record labels post-World War II, and concluding in December 1963, just as an immense change in the airwaves took hold and the Beatles prepared for their first American tour.
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Author's blindspots mar this book
- By Mark Clark on 03-28-17
By: Ed Ward
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When Giants Walked the Earth
- A Biography of Led Zeppelin
- By: Mick Wall
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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They were the last great band of the '60s and the first great band of the '70s. They rose, somewhat unpromisingly, from the ashes of the Yardbirds to become one of the biggest-selling rock bands of all time - and eventually paid the price for it, with disaster, drug addiction, and death.
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Very annoying but tolerable for serious fans.
- By M. Allen on 08-14-19
By: Mick Wall
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Keith Richards
- The Unauthorised Biography
- By: Victor Bockris
- Narrated by: Adrian Mulraney
- Length: 20 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1992, Victor Bockris' celebrated biography was the first to recognize Richards' pivotal role in the legend of the Rolling Stones. Now that book on rock's most incredible survivor has been expanded. Here are the true facts behind Richards' battles with his demons: the women, the drugs and the love-hate relationship with Jagger. His struggle with heroin and his status as the rock star most likely to die in the 1970s. His scarcely believable rebirth as a family man in the 1980s. Illuminated with revealing quotes and thoughtful insights into the man behind the band that goes on forever.
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doesn't comapre to LIFE
- By A. Garofalo on 02-20-14
By: Victor Bockris
What listeners say about Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Carol
- 10-20-19
Awesome!
If you're a fan of 50's music this is a MUST. So much interesting and little known information. I loved it and listen to it over and over, THANK YOU Peter
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- SYS
- 10-30-20
My thoughts of this book loved it so much Especially hearing about his Elvis got his start
Enjoyed this book very much!
And even enjoyed the more after visiting the sun studios in Memphis tn and hearing what the tour guide talked about and hearing in the book!
Big fan of Elvis Presley !
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- TCB Rey
- 07-19-17
Amazing book!!!
The author does an amazing job at capturing Sam Phillips and bringing him and his journey alive. The narrator was excellent. On to my next Peter Guralnick narrated ny Kevin Stillwell book!!!
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- Margaret
- 06-12-16
a brilliant biography
Sun Records landed on me in a big way when I was around 8 years old. The first record I ever bought was Johnny Cash (Frankie's Man Johnny). I loved the Elvis Sun sessions (although they didn't have a name yet). But I lost interest in Elvis immediately after I saw Jerry Lee Lewis on TV. Peter Guralnick's biography of Sam Phillips told me exactly what was happening down in Memphis almost day-by-day while I was inventing the role of teeny-bopper in an industrial suburb of Toronto.
Guralnick has written a very detailed account of a complex man in exciting times in American, and world, culture. (Note: I believe in the power of rock 'n roll.) He's a brilliant biographer.
In a book this long, the narration is make-or-break. The narration of this book is excellent. Thank you, Kevin Stilwell, for making it possible for me to make it to the end. It took me a month, with breaks.
Notable passage: There are a number of passages describing the technical details of a recording session. The best to me is an hour-long description of Howling Wolf's first recording session: Sam Phillips and Howling Wolf in intense collaboration for hours and days in a little rickety building a few city blocks from the Mississippi.
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3 people found this helpful
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- James Paris
- 10-08-19
A very wonderful book about the man who created Rock and Roll
When I first decided to purchase this book, I didn’t know what I was getting myself into. I never heard of Sam Phillips—but I once had a “Sun” record. This book describes Sam from the beginning to the end-and of course, everything in between. I liked the honest portrayal of Sam for who he was. I recommend this book for anyone who is interested in R&R and its roots like I am. Just beware that there is some salty language interspersed in the book. But overall, it’s a great listen/read.
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- Roderick A. Guevara
- 12-12-16
Sun Records
Memorable biography of the immortal Sam Phillips & the story of Sun Records, and how Memphis' music helped change the world.
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- Marysue Page
- 11-02-16
Rather Lengthy; but full of intimacy.
The book was probably more detailed than necessary, making the listening, at times, feel like a marathon! Besides being a detailed music history biography, it is a labor of love. It is obvious that the author loved Sam Phillips, therefore he may have felt obligated to go into extreme detail to pay homage to him. I enjoyed the history of such an unusual and creative person, who was so influential in the music of my childhood. I look forward to the movie version! The narrator was excellent and spoke with you conversationally, as if he was in the room telling intimate details.
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- Emmett Hart III
- 08-13-21
FANTASTIC!!
If you’re a fan of rock n’ roll or blues, then this is the book for you. What a great historical biography of a music icon. So much information to absorb. I will DEFINITELY listen to it again.
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- tru britty
- 11-16-15
Good Rockin' Tonight!
This is the book on Sam Phillips, Sun Records, Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and on and on that I've been waiting for. I spent a credit for this one and I would've spent a hundred.
Peter Guralnick is best known for his two bios on Elvis Presley--which are incredible reads on the rise (what goes up) and fall (must come down) of the '50s rock 'n' roll legend. Get em.
But also get this one. In fact, get this one first. As Guralnick writes in the author intro, he was invested in the Elvis and the Sam Cooke books, but he was personally involved in the Sam Phillips bio because he knew the producer for 25 years. All Sam asked Guralnick to do when writing his life's story was to "tell the truth."
And it's a remarkable truth and remarkably well told. Sam Phillips opened a recording studio in Memphis at just the right moment, in 1950, right before the rock 'n' roll explosion. He grew up in the South with ears that heard genius blues musicians where others' eyes only saw black men and women. Memphis Recording Service (later renamed Sun Studio) opened its doors to these blues masters, who were sometimes veteran guitar pickers but as often as not raw young talents still trying to find their sound.
Howlin' Wolf, Ike Turner and B.B. King recorded at the Memphis studio. Scads more. (BTW, you can pick up a compilation album of Sun Records' blues artists, which you might want to have playing as you roll through this book. You can also get Elvis and Cash albums devoted to their Sun work. Probably for some others as well--Perkins, Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis--but I haven't checked.) One priceless tidbit about B.B. King that Guralnick adds is that when B.B. recorded with Sam he was a young guitarist and hadn't yet perfected the art of playing his guitar and singing at the same time. Even legends have to start at the beginning.
Guralnick spends a good chunk of the early chapters on the blues. And that's a great thing because popular history tends to shove that story aside to get to 1954 when Elvis Presley, a greasy-haired kid from every wrong side of every wrong track, worked up the nerve to pester Mr. Phillips for a recording session.
Sam put him together with guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, who were anything but virtuosos. That first session has become mythic it's been talked about so much. Guralnick blows away the cobwebs. He takes us back into the stuffy room for the all-nighter that was going nowhere until, in an off moment, Elvis started horsing around with an Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup tune, "That's Alright (Mama)."
Sam heard something in that cut up nobody else would've. This is what made him a genius producer and a central figure in the genesis of '50s rock 'n' roll. And this is what makes Guralnick's book so damn good: that the author is able to expose how chancy a recording session is, how uncertain the creative act, and how a really good producer can help an artist throw out the common and elevate the original.
Musicians, recording engineers, music producers and music buffs will want to delve in this book and read between the lines. Even though this is a book about outdated recording technology and "ancient" music, it's also about finding diamonds in the coarsest stone. Guralnick gives example after example. Like when Johnny Cash wanted to chuck his lead guitarist. Luther Perkins struggled to pick out every note. Cash was getting frustrated. But Sam said, no, you want to keep Luther because it's his inexperience that is helping to create that fresh boom chicka boom sound.
Sam took chances on artists who didn't have money, who didn't have looks (Elvis wasn't as pretty then as he'd become later), who didn't already have fan bases. They weren't always great musicians and their songwriting needed some arranging. But he created a space in his studio where talent could be developed and could take its time--though these artists were itching to run.
And, yeah, Guralnick also tells the personal side of Sam's story. You get to know him about as well as Guralnick did, as well as you can from a book. But you'll want to get this book for the magic, and the magic is in the music.
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17 people found this helpful
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- Matt R.
- 03-02-20
Too Long
This book has everything you want in it! But it is so long that at times, the author gets carried away on emotions and feelings.
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