It all started on a hot July night in Memphis in 1954. A 19-year-old Elvis Presley stepped into Memphis’ Sun Studio, nervous and unsure, and changed the world. With Scotty Moore on guitar and Bill Black on bass (AKA The Blue Moon Boys! IYKYK!)They launched into an impromptu version of Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup’s “That’s All Right”. Uprising Producer Sam Phillips heard it, his ears lit up, and history was made. That single moment sparked a wildfire that would become rock and roll as we know it…and Elvis Mania begins!
As a fan and a rock and roll DJ, I’ll tell you straight: Elvis Presley’s “That’s All Right” wasn’t just a hit, t was a cultural explosion. When the Great Dewey Phillips played it on a Memphis radio station, WHBQ, the phones lit up like a jukebox on fire. Kids called in begging to hear it again. Adults didn’t know what hit them. It was blues, country, gospel, and pure electricity rolled into one. And it had a name: Elvis Presley.
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