Samuel Cornelius Phillips (5 January 1923 – 30 July 2003), better known as Sam Phillips, was an American record producer who played an important role in the emergence of rock and roll as the major form of popular music in the 1950s. He was a producer, label owner, and talent scout throughout the 40s and 50s. He is most notably attributed with the discoveries of Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, and is associated with several other noteworthy rhythm and blues and rock and roll stars of the period.
Phillips was a native of Florence, Alabama and a graduate of Coffee High School. He was exposed to blues and became interested in music by African-American workers on his father's cotton farm.
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Phillips launched radio station WHER on October 29, 1955. Each of the young women who auditioned for the station assumed there would only be one female announcer position, as was the case with other stations at that time. Only a few days before the first broadcast did they learn of the "All Girl Radio" format. It was the first all girl radio station in the nation, as almost every position at the station was held by a woman.[1]
Through savvy investments, Phillips soon amassed a fortune. He was one of the first investors with Roy Scott in Holiday Inn, a new motel chain that was about to go national; he became involved with the chain shortly after selling the rights to Elvis Presley to RCA for $35,000 which he multiplied many times over the years with Holiday Inn. He would also create two different subsidiary recording labels—Phillips International and Holiday Inn Records. Neither would match the success or influence of Sun, which Phillips ultimately sold to Shelby Singleton in the 1960s.
He also owned the Sun Studio Café in Memphis. One location was in the Mall of Memphis.
Phillips and his family founded Big River Broadcasting Corporation which owns and operates several radio stations in the Florence, Alabama, area, including WQLT-FM, WSBM, and WXFL.[2]
In 1986 Sam Phillips was part of the first group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and his pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He was the first ever non-performer inducted. In 1987, he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. He received a Grammy Trustees Award for his lifetime achievements in 1991. In 1998, he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, and in October 2001 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Phillips died of respiratory failure at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee on July 30, 2003, only one day before the original Sun Studio was designated a National Historic Landmark. He is interred in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Memphis.
He is portrayed by Charles Cyphers in the 1979 film Elvis, Trey Wilson in the 1989 film Great Balls of Fire! and by Dallas Roberts in the 2005 film Walk the Line. Tim Guinee also portrayed Phillips in the 2005 CBS miniseries Elvis. He was portrayed by Gregory Itzin in a 1993 episode of Quantum Leap entitled "Memphis Melody."
He was also portrayed in the 1981 movie This Is Elvis by son Knox Phillips.
   | npr.org - Lost and Found Sound: The Stories |
| | Elvis Presley at Sun Studio - Sam Phillips - Sam Phillips of Sun Studios |
| | Sun Studio official website - Welcome. The Official Site for Sun Studio. The Birthplace of Rock N' Roll and Home to the "Million Dollar Quartet" - Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins. |
| | Interview with Sam Phillips - Sam Phillips: Sun Records - The Man Who Invented Rock & Roll - Elvis Articles, By: Elvis Australia |
| | Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum - RALPH S. PEER | Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum | Nashville, Tennessee |
| | Ownership Report for Commercial Broadcast Stations (BOA-19991130ABY) - CDBS Account Login |
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