Sun Records

Sun Records, a division of Sun Entertainment Corporation, is an American independent record label founded in Memphis, Tennessee, which began operations on March 27, 1952.

Founding and history

Founded in 1952 by Sam Phillips, who also founded the recording studio Sun Studio at the same time, Sun Records discovered and first recorded such influential musicians as Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. Presley's recording contract was eventually sold to RCA Victor Records for $35,000 in 1955 to relieve the financial difficulties that Sun was going through. Prior to those records, Sun Records had concentrated on mainly recording African-American musicians, because Phillips loved rhythm and blues and wanted to bring black music to a white audience. Sun record producer and engineer Jack Clement discovered and recorded Jerry Lee Lewis while Phillips was away on a trip to Florida. The original Sun Records logo was designed by John Gale Parker, Jr., a resident of Memphis and high school classmate of Phillips's.

Sun Records (other companies)

Sun Records has been the name of multiple 20th century record labels, most famously Sun Records, a Memphis-based music label.

Jazz saxophonist Frank Wright also started Sun Records (jazz) while living in Paris, France.

History

The first "Sun Records" in Europe were single-sided disc records put out by The Crystalate Gramophone Record Manufacturing Company Ltd. of Tonbridge, Kent, England, from about 1905 to 1910. (The same company would later produce records under the name Imperial Records).

A nearly contemporaneous label was produced in the United States by the Leeds & Catlin company, about 1905–1907. The third "Sun Records" was produced by the Sun Record Company of Toronto, Canada in the early 1920s. Many or all of the masters pressed were leased from the USA based Okeh Records. There were as many as eight other record companies that preceded and/or were contemporary with the Memphis label Sun Records run by Sam Phillips, the most famous of the companies by that name.

Sun Records (jazz)

Sun Records was a jazz record label created by Sébastien Bernard in 1971, in order to distribute the label Center of the World Records, begun by the Free Jazz Quarter Center of the World. Center of the world was a quartet including saxophonist Frank Wright, bassist Alan Silva, Bobby Few piano, and the drummer Muhammad Ali.

Discography

See also

References

External links