Related to Marsh by many of the people who were actually there, "Sun Records" offers a compelling oral history of the legendary Memphis record label where country, blues, and pop merged into rock and roll. Illustrated throughout with historic photos.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In his introduction to the inaugural volume in a new series of rock oral histories, series editor Dave Marsh writes, "For the Record isn't concerned with the most obvious stars; exploring the stories untold and half-told which need to be properly retold constitutes our mission." The problem is the first-person accounts of a handful of session musicians fortunate enough to witness history (Roland Janes, Scotty Moore, Jim Dickinson) and a few hopefuls that fame would pass by (Billy Lee Riley, Malcolm Yelvington) will give neophytes, at least, little sense of the importance of the legendary Memphis record label that offered first breaks to the likes of Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison, not to mention the young Elvis Presley. By sidestepping the admittedly well-trodden paths of The King's meteoric rise or Jerry Lee's fall from grace, it's hard to grasp the importance of what Sam Phillips created and the command he had of popular American music. Fans of Marsh's music journalism are justified to expect more of his characteristic vigor and immodesty. Perhaps other inaugural volumes on less well-covered subjects (soul shouters Sam and Dave and British goth metal progenitors Black Sabbath) will be more straightforward.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
About the Author
Dave Marsh was a founding editor of Creem and an editor at Rolling Stone, where he created The Rolling Stone Record Guide. He is a music critic at Playboy, publisher of Rock & Rap Confidential, and a prolific author of books about music and pop culture. His Before I Get Old is the definitive biography of The Who, and Glory Days and Born to Run, both about Bruce Springsteen, were bestsellers. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
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This review is from: Sun Records: An Oral History (For the Record) (Paperback)
I started reading this book in Memphis and finished it in New Orleans so geographically, my environment enabled me to get a flavor for the books' content. This book is quite conversational and easy to follow. Anyone interested in the personalities of the artists or other decision makers of this period will find it worth their time to get a copy. Some of the interviewees are quite philosophical as they put things in perspective in retrospect. Consider these comments: This is an insightful book. In any human actions, relationships are important. This issue is addressed as a description of Sam Phillips' handling of artists is given, when we're told, "I think the most important thing I learned from being around Sam was, the thing I was most amazed by, was his ability to handle people, to the get the most our of people, to put people ata ease and get the most out of them." You can see large portions of the interviews are written just as people responded, without editing. That keeps the material lively and conversational.
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