Today a thousand radio stations around the world played a single recording to mark an important anniversary in the history of rock & roll and global popular culture.
Why is "That's All Right, Mama" by Elvis Presley so important?
They're paying this tribute because that recording, the happy child of absentminded noodling between Elvis and bass player Bill Black, is widely credited with launching rock 'n' roll as we know it.Nailing down the "first rock 'n' roll record" is like trying to perform an appendectomy with an eggbeater, but "That's All Right, Mama" gets a spot in any discussion. Even though it was only a modest regional hit, it launched Elvis, who in turn brought this new rock 'n' roll critter to the masses.
Rock 'n' roll's components were all teed up. Elvis put them together in a way, and in a package, that went where his predecessors could not have taken them. For a variety of reasons, some of them frustrating, Willie Mae Thornton's "Hound Dog" was never going to get out of the rhythm-and-blues room. Once Elvis got hold of it - with Black, guitarist Scotty Moore and drummer D.J. Fontana behind him - he not only opened the door, he kicked it clean off the hinges.
Nor was Elvis - who on July 5, 1954, was a $1-an-hour electrician - simply the messenger. His voice had both power and an almost ethereal lightness. He had a deep appreciation for R&B, country, gospel, pop and blues. He didn't just sing the music, he helped shape it.
"He listened," says Fontana. "He was open to ideas. And when he got what he wanted, he knew it. He wasn't looking for perfection. He wanted the right feel."
That's why there's no need to intellectualize too much about Elvis -- it was always about the feeling.
For those who don't remember...
• MemphisWeb has some really good articles here, here, and here.
• Elvis.com should not be missed.
• Sun Studio is holding a party
• The single is being released in Great Britain for the first time.