Sun Studios...The Birthplace of Rock 'n Roll

Sun Studio
Location: Memphis, TN


Sun Studios was one of the coolest places I've visited in a really long time. Maybe part of the reason I like it so much is because it's something Memphis can be proud of...and we Memphians really can't say that too often. Yes, Memphis is the home of Elvis and blues, but more noticeably it's the home of one of the highest per capita homicide rates in the US and just some crappy city development in general. So to visit a Memphis tourist attraction that I can claim proudly is truly a happy moment for me.




From the outside, Sun Studio doesn't really look like much. It's just a little building on Union Avenue that I passed many times on my way home from downtown. I knew it was famous, and I knew you could tour it, but visiting it had just never been a priority on my list. It was actually my little brother who prompted me to visit Sun Studio. We wanted to have a little bit of brother/sister bonding time, and my mom suggested we go visit Sun Studio together. And thus began a very wonderful museum experience.

When you walk into Sun Studio, you don't actually walk into the studio or a museum-like lobby, but instead a quaint diner...souvenir shop included. Diner may be a bit of a stretch. The restaurant connected to Sun Studio is more of a gift shop that also serves coffee and sodas. It used to be a restaurant back when Sun Studio first started, and it remains pretty much in it's original form.

As you enter Sun Studio, you walk into this diner/gift shop and purchase your tickets for a guided tour. Tours leave every half hour. My brother and I got there with about 15 minutes to spare before the next tour, but we had no trouble keeping ourselves occupied until our tour started. Between the t-shirts, cds, and Elvis sunglasses, you can keep yourself pretty busy. And when all else failed, my brother and I resorted to an intense round of tic-tac-toe. (Did I mention that my brother's only 11?)

The tour begins in the back of the gift shop, where your friendly guide leads you up a set of stairs to the museum above the diner. Museum is a bit of an overstatement. It's a decently sized room with display cases around the entire perimeter. The guide takes you through each display case, giving you the history behind how Sun Studios started. This was actually really interesting and informative, and it only made the actual studio so much cooler when we finally did get to tour it. Sun Studios is the birthplace of rock n' roll, and it was really exciting to be there where it all started. I learned about Sam Philips, who started the studio, and the many famous musicians who came through that studio including Elvis and Johnny Cash. There was also a copy of a program from one of Elvis's high school talent shows. That was very cool to see.

After you're done with the museum, the guide leads you down a different set of stairs and into the actual studio. The studio has miraculously remained unchanged through the years, despite the fact that Sun Studios didn't occupy the building for a large chunk of time. During the years when the studio was not in existence, there was a scuba shop there instead. Luckily the owners of the scuba shop realized the historical importance of the old studio and didn't change anything about its interior. Thus, you can visit the studio today in its original and authentic state.



In the studio there are markers on the ground designating important spots such as the actual birthplace of rock n' roll...that is, where Elvis stood and recorded his first song. At the end of the tour, they also bring out an 1950s style authentic microphone that you can pose with just like Elvis. There are no roped off areas or display cases in the studio. It is a real, and still functioning studio, which I think makes it even more awesome to visit. Although tours of Sun Studio are offered during the day, at night you can still record there for a rate of $85 an hour. Sun Studio is not only a monument to the history of music but also a place where the future of music is being discovered all the time. I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to Sun Studio and would recommend it for anyone. Plus, I got a really great t-shirt from it.