On this day in music history: July 5, 1954 - Elvis Presley records “That’s All Right” at Sun Studios in Memphis, TN. Presley is signed to Sun Records by label owner Sam Phillips, after the then eighteen year old truck driver visits the studio in August of 1953 to record an acetate disc as a birthday gift for his mother. Believing that Elvis has the potential to become a major star, they struggle for several months to find the right song for his debut release. Paired with guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black, they are in the studio again going over material when during a break, Elvis begins singing the rhythm and blues number “That’s All Right”. Moore and Black immediately fall in behind Presley, and all realize that they are on to something. “That’s All Right” is written and originally recorded by Arthur “Big Boy” Crudup in 1946, a Mississippi born laborer and sharecropper turned musician. Elvis records the released version of the song in just a few takes. The single is backed by a cover version of bluegrass legend Bill Monroe’s “Blue Moon Of Kentucky”, recorded two days later on July 7, 1954. Released as Sun 209 on July 19, 1954, it quickly becomes a local hit in Memphis . Local Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips at WHBQ (no relation to Sam Phillips), immediately begins playing the record, spinning it fourteen times in one evening. Though the record does not chart nationally, it is a sizeable regional hit, selling over 20,000 copies, and marks the beginning of Elvis Presley’s iconic career. “That’s All Right” and “Blue Moon Of Kentucky” are reissued as a limited edition 7" in April of 2010 for Record Store Day, packaging it in a picture sleeve, and including a free mp3 download of both tracks. "That’s All Right" is inducted into the Grammy Hall Of Fame" in 1998.
with thanks to the most excellent Behind The Grooves by Jeff Harris
with thanks to the most excellent Behind The Grooves by Jeff Harris
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