Rise and Fall
of
Sun Studios
of
Sun Studios
Recorded at Sun in 1951 by Jackie Brenston and Ike Turner, this automotive-themed track is widely considered the first rock and roll record.
What is Rocket 88
"Good news"! B.B. King got his musical start singing in this genre of church vocal groups before transitioning to secular blues.
What is Gospel.
In the 1930s, a young Howlin' Wolf learned his foundational guitar showmanship and heavy blues style directly from this "Father of the Delta Blues."
Who is Charley Patton
Although his Graceland estates is at home in Memphis, TN Elvis was born in this Mississippi town in 1935.
What is Tupelo
Johnny Cash was famous for beginning nearly all of his live concerts by stepping up to the microphone and delivering this iconic four-word introduction.
What is "Hello. I'm Johnny Cash"
Before pivoting to rockabilly, Sam Phillips focused on Black blues icons, famously calling this "Moanin' at Midnight" singer his greatest discovery.
Who is Howlin' Wolf
In the late 1940s, B.B. King worked as a singer and radio disc jockey at this historic Memphis radio station, where he originally earned his famous "Blues Boy" nickname.
What is WDIA
In addition to his thunderous electric guitar playing, Wolf was a master of this small woodwind-and-metal instrument, using it to punctuate his raw vocals on tracks like "Smokestack Lightning."
What is a harmonica (Also accept: What is a mouth harp)
In July 1954, Elvis broke through to stardom when Memphis DJ Dewey Phillips played this Arthur Crudup blues cover on WHBQ radio.
What is That's Alright
In 1955, Cash scored his very first hit single on Sun Records with this secular, driving track after Sam Phillips rejected his initial gospel songs.
What is "Cry! Cry! Cry!"
Before starting Sun Records, Sam Phillips licensed his early Memphis recordings to independent labels located in this specific Midwestern blues hub.
What is Chicago
King famously named all of his Gibson guitars this female name after rescuing his instrument from a burning dance hall.
What is Lucille?
Wolf maintained a famously fierce, decades-long professional and personal rivalry with this other iconic, deep-voiced Chicago blues titan.
Who is Muddy Waters
Released in 1956, this melancholic track about a lonely place at "the end of Lonely Street" became Elvis's very first number-one single on the Billboard pop charts.
What is Heartbreak Hotel?
Cash wrote his famous song "I Walk the Line" while stationed in this European country as a radio intercept operator for the U.S. Air Force.
What is Germany?
Including his foundational work as a talent scout, this musician played the distorted intro chords on "Rocket 88" before later finding pop fame with his wife, Tina.
Who is Ike Turner
This 1969 track, originally recorded by Roy Hawkins, became B.B. King's signature song and won him a Grammy in 1971.
What is The Thrill is Gone
This hypnotic 1956 track, named after a train's exhaust and featuring Wolf's eerie falsetto howls, became his ultimate signature song.
What is Smokestack Lightning
This 1957 musical drama features Elvis as an incarcerated convict who leads a highly choreographed cellblock dance routine to the title song.
What is Jailhouse Rock?
In 1968, Johnny Cash completely revitalized his career by recording a legendary, chart-topping live album inside this maximum-security California prison.
What is Folsom State Prison?
The street number address on Memphis's Union Avenue where the original Sun Studio building stands.
What is 706
Before finding musical fame, a young Riley King worked this strenuous agricultural job on a Mississippi plantation.
What is a sharecropper
For over 20 years, Wolf's blistering electric guitar solos were provided by this brilliant, fiercely loyal, and soft-spoken blues guitarist.
Who is Hubert Sumlin
Though their musical arrangements and underlying meanings were completely different, both Big Mama Thornton in 1953 and Elvis Presley in 1956 scored massive, chart-topping hits with this exact same Leiber and Stoller song.
What is Hound Dog
Echoing the terrifying visions of the Book of Revelations, Jun Carter, Cash's wife, wrote this epic and eerie song about the burning hell of her early attraction to an addicted Johnny Cash.
What is "Ring of Fire"?