In February 1952, Sam Phillips launched Sun Records at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee - the site of his Sun Studio, previously known as Memphis Recording Service. Two years later, the visionary entrepreneur signed Elvis Presley, and then opened the doors to such other legendary talents as Johnny Cash, Jerry Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich, and more. The Sun Records rockabilly sound incorporated rhythm and blues, country, rock and roll, and gospel, forever changing the
What do Brian Wilson, MC Lyte and Sam Phillips have in common? All three are among the artists and producers represented on Omnivore Recordings’ trio of delicious vinyl offerings for this April 18’s upcoming Record Store Day! Sessions ’64!! is so exciting that no less than two exclamation points will do!! This groovy 10-inch slab of translucent gold vinyl transports listeners back to 1964. It includes nine tracks produced by Brian Wilson and Jimmy Bowen for the Warner Bros. and
Fall apparently wasn’t arriving early enough for the folks at Starbucks, so the international coffee giant moved it up – to this past August 25 – with the early arrival of its familiar fall drinks. But when ordering up that pumpkin spice latte, you might want to check out two recent musical offerings, both curated with the Starbucks Entertainment label’s customary care. The simply-titled British Folk emphasizes the current crop of troubadours who currently follow in the footsteps of Nick
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yUKPRPWCDHg] That change in the air pressure you're probably feeling around your favorite indie record store can only mean one thing: Record Store Day 2014 is coming your way. April 19 will see a host of beloved major and independent labels celebrating the good old resilient brick-and-mortar store with various titles sold exclusively at participating stores. And the beloved cratediggers at Omnivore Recordings have four exciting titles prepared for the big
Wow! Was it just over a year ago when a rather dubious report began circulating (that, shockingly, was picked up by many otherwise-reputable publications) that proclaimed the death of the CD was secretly scheduled by the major labels for 2012? Well, 2012 has come and (almost) gone, and it might have been the most super-sized year in recent memory for reissues, deluxe and otherwise, from labels new and old. Here at the Second Disc, we consider our annual Gold Bonus Disc Awards a companion
Here at The Second Disc, the holiday season is the perfect time to do what we love to do best: share the gift of music. For the second year in a row, we have we reached out to some of our favorite reissue labels and we’ve teamed with them to play Santa Claus to our awesome and faithful readers. It’s called – what else? – Second Discmas, and it’s going on now through Christmas! The sixth day of Second Discmas spotlights a truly original singer/songwriter: Sam Phillips! Thanks to the great folks
Today is the day for a 2-CD/1-DVD set of previously unissued live performances from the band Incubus. Celebrating their twentieth year together, Incubus is launching a 4-week, 18-city tour co-headlining with Linkin Park. The tour kicks off tonight in Boston, Massachusetts, but the performances on Incubus HQ Live date from one year ago, recorded in West Hollywood, California. That was when the band set up shop at a storefront on La Brea Avenue for seven special nights of performances. HQ Live
To call the career of Sam Phillips a varied one is a colossal understatement. The singer and songwriter born Leslie Ann Phillips has played a mute terrorist opposite Bruce Willis, placed several singles in the contemporary Christian Top 10, and today can be found scoring the exploits of a headstrong dancer and her imperious mother-in-law on ABC Family’s drama Bunheads. Though Phillips has hardly slowed down in the intervening years, fans still hold close the creative period she shared with
America, Perspective/In Concert (BGO) Two out-of-print albums from Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell circa 1984 and 1985 are now available as a two-for-one CD from the U.K.’s BGO label! Read more here. Donny Hathaway, Live + In Performance (Shout! Factory) The Shout! Factory label combines two of the late soul man’s live albums (the first, from 1972, and the second, a posthumous set from 1980) in one package, newly remastered by Steve Hoffman. Read more here. Elton John vs. Pnau, Good
How to describe the career trajectory of Sam Phillips? Leslie Ann Phillips first made a splash in the music world recording contemporary Christian pop in 1983, took the name “Sam,” moved to the mainstream in the late 1980s with then-husband T Bone Burnett at the production helm, and even threatened Bruce Willis as an onscreen nemesis (albeit a mute one!) in Die Hard with a Vengeance! Sam Phillips continues to write and record today, focusing her efforts on a digital subscription service of new