TV Debut: Elvis

The 1955-56 era released from the cage the rock & roll heavyweights like Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Sam Cooke, Ray Charles and of course Elvis Presley.

The dark horse, who can be credited with defining rock & roll as a mainstream genre, was drummer Earl Palmer.

… was originally, according to Billboard Magazine, Rhythm & Blues music. This was until Producer Sam Phillips (Sun Records), the ‘inventor’ of Rock & Roll, started promoting little known artists in the 1950s, who had an original, imperfect sound. He had an ear for great music, away from the comme...

... were recorded by producer Sam Phillips of Sun Label including Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis among other stalwarts.

The tunes were mostly rebellious, catering to the teen crowd, and the ‘Marginal Americans’, those living in the ghettos or doing lowly jobs....