Word: orbison
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DIED. SAM PHILLIPS, 80, prime impresario of rock 'n' roll; of respiratory failure, in Memphis, Tenn. In the '50s Phillips' Sun Records in Memphis was the home of raw genius, both black (Howlin' Wolf, B.B. King) and redneck (Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and that holy hellion of rockabilly, Jerry Lee Lewis). One day an 18-year-old Elvis Presley went to Sun's studio to record two songs for his mother and was soon vamping on the Arthur Crudup tune That's All Right. Phillips legendarily remarked, "That's a pop song, just 'bout...
...Died. Sam Phillips, 80, godfather of rock 'n' roll who launched the careers of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison; in Memphis. Working at a time of deep racial divides in the American south, Phillips recorded black and white artists alike, and his Sun Records studio in Memphis was a crucible for melding R. and B. with country-and-western music. In 1951 he produced Rocket 88, often called the first rock-and-roll single, performed by Ike Turner and his Kings of Rhythm. Sun released Elvis Presley's first five singles, including That's All Right...
...history of pop music, there is exactly one great song about winning: We Are the Champions, by Queen. Otherwise, from Orbison to Springsteen to Eminem, losers and loners have ruled the school. Kathleen Edwards, an alt-country singer from Ottawa, has titled her jangly debut album Failer, so clearly she has been paying attention to market trends...
...soon had another rockabilly prodigy, Carl Perkins, whose "Blue Suede Shoes" kicked some serious chart butt: #1 country & western, #2 pop and rhythm 'n blues. Johnny Cash, the Arkansas gent with a grave voice and a lifer's stare, recorded "I Walk the Line": #1 country, #17 pop. Roy Orbison, who would not fully flower till the '60s, did an early stretch at Sun, recording some goofy rockers and writing a hit song (for the Everly Brothers) about his girl friend Claudette. Charlie Rich came in as a staff songwriter and soon had his own smash, "Lonely Weekends...
...Jerry Lee wasn't the only rock star to endure or sow tragedy. Elvis's twin brother died at birth; Berry was convicted of having sex with a 15-year-old (not his wife) and served three years in jail; Orbison married the 15-year-old Claudette Frady, who died 11 years later in a motorcycle crash. But Jerry Lee had such a run of misfortune that the frequency and enormity of the misfortunes begin to seem ... unseemly...