The sounds of the world教案

july 18, 1953
elvis presley, then earning his keep as a truck driver, drops by the memphis recording service, home of sun records. he privately records two songs ("my happiness"/"that's when your heartaches begin") for the sum of $4, leaving with a ten-inch acetate. office manager marion keisker jots a note for owner sam phillips: "good ballad singer."
january 4, 1954
a young elvis presley visits the memphis recording service to record "casual love affair" and "i'll never stand in your way" and meets sun records owner sam phillips.
june 27, 1954
after several fruitless recording sessions, sam phillips pairs elvis presley with guitarist scotty moore and bass player bill black. he hopes the singer might find his voice by rehearsing with other musicians cut from the same country, pop, gospel and r&b cloth.
july 5, 1954
rock and roll history is made when elvis presley, scotty moore and bill black spontaneously perform bluesman arthur "big boy" cruddup's "that's all right" in romping, uptempo style. the next day, bluegrass pioneer bill monroe's "blue moon of kentucky" is given a similarly playful treatment. on july 19th, the two songs are released as elvis presley's first single, which bears the legend "sun 209."
july 19, 1954
sun releases "that's all right" and "blue moon of kentucky" by elvis presley, backed by guitarist scotty moore and bassist bill black.
july 20, 1954
elvis presley makes his first public appearance, performing on a flatbed truck in memphis. this inaugurates a period of wildly performed and riotously received concerts that will be interrupted only by presley's induction into the u.s. army.
august 15, 1955
elvis presley signs a management contract with "colonel" tom parker, whose other clients included country-music stars eddy arnold and hank snow. the relationship with parker will continue till presley's death.
november 1, 1955
despite presley's growing popularity, his five sun singles fail to make a dent on the national charts. phillips sells his contract to rca records for $35,000.
november 20, 1955
elvis presley's contract with sun records, including all previously released and recorded material, is sold to the new york-based rca label for $35,000.
january 27, 1956
elvis presley's debut single for rca, "heartbreak hotel," is released. the first of presley's 17 number one hits, it holds down the top spot for eight weeks. "heartbreak hotel" establishes elvis presley and rock and roll itself as national phenomena.
january 28, 1956
elvis presley makes his first appearance on network tv as a guest on stage show, hosted by jazz bandleaders tommy and jimmy dorsey. throughout 1956, presley's biggest year, he will also appear on the milton berle show, the steve allen show and the ed sullivan show.