One of the finest documentaries on Sam Phillips, the founder of Sun Records, is this one, directed by Morgan Neville and written by Peter Guralnick. Produced for the U.K.'s Biography Channel, Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll first aired in 2000, and Peter went on to write a brilliant biography of Phillips published in 2016 with the same title (go here). [Photo above courtesy of the Phillips family]
Though Phillips didn't invent rock 'n' roll, he happened to own a record label in Memphis just as poor young white musicians in the region named Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and others were looking for a way to make it big and leave town. All were passionate about black blues, gospel, R&B, folk and country, and all wanted to stand out by combining the forms they loved best.
Whether you care about early rock 'n' roll or not, this documentary will captivate you in the opening minutes and hold you throughout. In the end, you will have a finer sense of how Sun Records and Memphis rock 'n' roll surfaced at a specific moment in time and why everyone underestimated its power nationwide. A fascinating and informative film about music that would change the course of music and, for the first time, empower teenagers.
Here's Part 1...
Here's Part 2...
