prerelease it. That was the only time I had ever pushed
the recording button in the studio with Elvis, but I had worked with him on some shows and night clubs. He always came by Sun be- cause it was a homing instinct. He always called Sam “Mr. Philips.” He would drop by periodically, and that was when he came to town and he was there a good bit of the time. He liked to jam.” The SUN Studio tour guide was great at his
job, and even having read Good Rockin’ Tonight: SUN Records and the Birth of Rock and Roll, I still managed to learn a lot from him. All these years I thought I was hearing a snare drum on Cash’s “I Walk the Line” and early classics, it wasn’t a drum at all. The tour guide showed us how Cash put a dollar bill or piece of paper between the guitar strings and the fret board to create a percussive sound when strummed. Amazing. He said the rea- son for it was that there were no drums al- lowed on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry until 1974! Wow. There are lots of interesting displays and
history surrounding SUN founder Sam Phillips, and standing in the room where Elvis recorded. the guide pointed out three X’s on the floor. It was where Elvis stood, as well as guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black. There in Elvis’ spot stood a mic stand with one of the original old style microphones like Elvis used. I must admit, it was kind of a thrill when he allowed us to pose for a picture with E’s microphone, standing where he stood to record “That’s Alright Mama,” a song I have performed hundreds of times over the years. I just love history, and the tourguide told us
all about Sam’s brother, Dewey Phillips, who was a popular DJ in Memphis at WHBQ. Ap- parently Dewey was theatrical, and known to drag the needle across a record he didn’t like and then smash it to pieces on the console. Phillips was the original “wild man,” and our guide played us a clip of Dewey playing
“That’s Alright Mama” for the first time, talk- ing over parts of it and then playing it over and over because everyone was raving so over it.
Downstairs, you can grab a snack, a bever-
age or a fabulous malted milkshake, made the old fashioned way, by hand. Both Craig and I had a chocolate one. I regretted it later (good- bye diet!), but it sure was good at the time!
The world famous Peabody Ducks
THE PEABODY We left SUN and checked into paradise,
The Peabody Hotel, our home base for the next few days. The Peabody is loaded with history, and who hasn’t heard about the marching ducks? Every morning at 11 AM the Duckmaster leads them from the roof to the lobby fountain, and at 4 PM they return. It is a show, believe me, and the current Duck- master is a really nice, entertaining young man with a vast knowledge of the hotel’s rich history. The Peabody has entertained every sitting President of the United States since Harry Truman, as well as any star you can think of from Stevie Wonder to Michael Jack- son, Gregg Allman to Robert Duvall. The place is beautiful. A wonder to behold.
We checked in with the help of a lovely young girl by the name of Topaz. She was my first clue that every girl working there is drop- dead gorgeous. It would become a recurring
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