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 ...
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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.
Sam Phillips wanted to attend law school. However, because he did not have the money, he went to school for broadcasting and became a radio DJ. In the 1940s, Phillips worked as a DJ for Muscle Shoals, Alabama radio station WLAY (AM). According to Phillips, this radio station's "open format" (of...
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