Published On: 01.05.18 | 

By: 9316

On this day in Alabama history: Sam Phillips was born in Florence

Jan 5 feature

Sun Records Studio, Memphis, 2008. (Carol M. Highsmith's America, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division)

January 5, 1923

Sun Records founder Sam Phillips was born in Florence. Considered by many to be a founder of rock ā€˜nā€™ roll music, Phillips began his career as the radio host of a religious music program in Muscle Shoals. He later founded the Memphis Recording Studio and Sun Records, where he launched the careers of artists such as Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley. Phillips is the only person to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

For more on Alabamaā€™s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.