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4.0 

Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll

By Peter Guralnick
Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll by Peter Guralnick digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

From 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.

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11 Reviews

4.0
Smiling Face with Heart-Eyes“Sam's speech to the Music Monitor Network Covention of Independent Music Labels alone is worthy of a 5 star rating. The title of this book isn't literal. The statement came from one of the many people Sam Phillips touched throughout his career. It's what they believed to be true. Whether the reader of this biography agrees or not is irrelevant. Sam Phillips irrevocably and unapologetically changed music history with his imagination and ingenuity. To showcase the life of this brilliant and remarkable man seems impossible to encapsulate in 763 pages. Yet somehow, Peter Guralnick manages to pull it off. I'd recommend this book in a heartbeat to anyone with a passion for history. Especially music history. My new favorite quote: "I am an impeccable enemy of bullshit." Peter Guralnick”

About Peter Guralnick

Peter Guralnick's books include the prize-winning two-volume biography of Elvis Presley, Last Train to Memphis and Careless Love. He is a recent inductee in the Blues Hall of Fame. Other books include an acclaimed trilogy on American roots music, Sweet Soul Music, Lost Highway, and Feel Like Going Home; the biographical inquiry Searching for Robert Johnson; the novel, Nighthawk Blues, and Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke. His most recent book is Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll.

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