Rockabilly
J.M. VanEaton was the house drummer for a little recording company in Memphis that began one of the centers of the birth of rock and roll. Sun Records was formed by Sam Philips in 1951 and was put on the map when Elvis Presley began his career at Sun Records. Just a few months after Elvis left for...
Wanda Jackson has been performing as an entertainer and singer worldwide for over 50 years. Known affectionately as the “Queen of Rockabilly”, she began her career as a teenage country singer with her own radio show in Oklahoma City and was “discovered” by legendary country singer Hank Thompson who...
Sonny Burgess was known as the wild man of rock and roll who brought a driving guitar style to early Sun recordings (the label that launched Elvis Presley). Among those recordings were “We Wanna Boogie” and “Feelin’ Good.” Sonny’s early days with Sam Phillips, the founder of Sun Records, were at...
Kern Kennedy tickled the ivories on a number of early rock and roll and rockabilly recordings back in the 1950s. It was the heyday for Sun Studios in Memphis right after the success of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis. Founder, Sam Phillips often called on Kern when a piano player was...
Bobby Crafford still has his first snare drum, the one he played when he recorded early Rockabilly songs for Sun Records in Memphis, TN. In 1957 he joined the Pacers, the band behind Sonny Burgess. Being part of the roots of rock and roll has always been a source of pride for him. Sonny split up...
Fred Douglas recalled picking up his first Fender Precision Bass when he was hired to record as a member of the Pacers. The Pacers were the band behind the “wild man of rock and roll” Sonny Burgess. The band recorded early Rockabilly songs for the Sun label out of Memphis, years before Elvis...
Junior Brown is a performer/inventor who dreamed of a sound to offset his rockabilly and blues styles. He designed a slide guitar and an electric guitar into one unit that did not require putting one down to play the other. The Git-Steel Guitar is now in production. It is his lead instrument in his...
Scotty Moore set a date and time on July 4, 1954, to get together with a young singer who wanted to record with Sam Philips at Sun Records in Memphis. Sam asked Scotty, who had recorded with several bands on Sun, to call this kid and work out a few songs. This was his first meeting with Elvis...
DJ Fontana drove down to Houston in a pink Cadillac with Elvis Presley after being hired as the then unknown singer’s first drummer. They pulled up to Herbie Brodstein’s Drum Shop (Herb would later form Pro-Mark Drum Sticks) to buy a kit. After playing on all of the sets Herb had out on display,...
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