Just cross everything else off of your Christmas list and buy these two things for every music lover you know: Peter Guralnick’s upcoming biography of rock ’n’ roll pioneering studio owner/engineer/producer Sam Phillips, and the companion double album: Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll (Yeproc). The album comprises 55 songs, chosen by Guralnick himself, that represent the greatness and the significance of Phillips musical legacy.
The collection includes the gutty blues recordings by artists such as Howlin’ Wolf, B.B. King and Joe Hill Louis who inspired Phillips to start his Memphis Recording Service, as well as the young stars that put it on the map: Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and, of course, Elvis Presley. This deep and beautiful collection also displays Phillips’ affinity for the religious music he grew up with, as well as early country, rockabilly, jump blues, etc. This is a collection of songs that belong in every record collection, produced by the man who revolutionized the music industry in his time.
