Our Day at the Sun Studio in Memphis, TN

What do you do when you find yourself in Memphis, TN? Of course, you pay a visit to the birthplace of “rock n roll’. For those of you who don’t know, that location would be Sun Studios the record label of the likes of Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, B.B King, and others.
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Not everyone knows about Sun Studios. Back in the days, it was the Def Jam of the music industry, and I was lucky enough to satiate my curiosity about the location Elvis recorded his first song. The whole experience was something that I don’t think I will ever forget.

Apart from gaining an insight into the life of the musicians that helped shape the music industry, you get to feel the music that these artists lived for. The studio was built in the 1950s, and every wall of this studio told a little story of the period that the artists lived in. The collection of rock n roll paraphernalia is the largest I’ve ever seen. The microphone used by Elvis for his recording sessions was also present for our viewing pleasure.

We had a helpful guide who fed us snippets of knowledge about the various memorabilia lining the walls of the studio. The stories told by the guide I believe cannot be said better elsewhere. I could almost breathe the music as I came across the various items that these music legends had made use of in honing their craft.

Another major plus of this tour was getting to listen to snippets of conversations these artists had during recording sessions I almost had a feeling that the likes of Johnny Cash were still within the within room trying to record another record-smashing song to get me dancing again. Before the tour, I thought I already knew what I needed to know about these artists but after, I gained a greater appreciation for them and all the effort they put into making music that we know and love.

Some of the highlights you can look forward to during the tour include Dewey Philip’s station room, broken records (a signature move by Dewey when the music wasn’t quite to his tastes), Elvis Presley’s very own guitar (although I’m quite sure he must have owned a lot in his lifetime), pictures of the artists depicting various milestones in their careers, and instruments used to create some of the music we embrace.

There is a gift shop within the studio, so if you feel like keeping a memento of the trip, something is sure to catch you fancy over there. The tour in total took about an hour. We spent over 45 minutes on the actual tour thanks to goofing around and pictures that we were shooting. The other 15 minutes was spent browsing the gift shop and also taking more photos of the place.

As a fan of music, visiting Sun Studios was an eye-opening experience, and hopefully, I can go back another day to appreciate the history.

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