Samuel cornelius phillips biography of rory

(b. 5 January 1923 in Florence, Alabama; d. 30 July 2003 in Memphis, Tennessee), record producer and owner of Sun Records, often called the inventor of rock and roll.

Phillips, the youngest of eight children of poor tenant farmers, was born on a farm outside Florence.

From an early age he had a desire to study radio engineering and sound production, but he dropped out of Florence Alabama High School in 1941 to support his aunt and his widowed mother.

Samuel cornelius phillips biography of rory and dean

He later managed to attend the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, but only for one year, and his brief education included audio training. Along the way employment in the grocery business and at a funeral home failed to hold his interest.

After brief stints at a number of rural radio stations, in 1945 he went to work for WREC in Memphis, where he hosted a radio program that mixed all types of music. His show from the Skyway Room of the Peabody Hotel brought a musical renaissance to postwar Memphis.

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