|
|
Sun Recording Studios For the most part, the early rock and roll sound came from one room. Sun studios is still a functioning studio. When we were there (August 2005) they would record any hairbag wanna be rock geniuses for only $50 per hour. Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Rufas Thomas, Johnny Cash all loved the music being played on Beale Street. They refined and recorded their style in this non-descript building a few miles from downtown Memphis. The tour starts upstairs in a cramped memorabilia room. We learned a lot, heard some very cool stories, and the guide played samples of early recordings. The second half of the tour is downstairs in the recording room itself. Sam Phillips owned Sun Studios and engineered the early recordings. There were no fancy effects or multi-track recorders then. The "sound" of the early rock recordings are actually the "sound" of this room. Notice the ceiling in the second picture (to the left) the tiles are vaulted to create uneven surfaces. There were hard linoleum floors and tiles in this pattern on the ceilings and walls. Other than that, there is no other magic. Keep that in mind next time you build a recording studio. Was
it Worth It? The only bummer was that they don't take you into the studio control room (where the mixer board and all of the other techno-geek stuff is). I suppose if you had $50 you and your hairbag band could see the control room for one hour. Next: Going to Elvis' Birthplace; Tupelo >>
|
 |
All photos
and words |
