Sun King: The Life and Times of Sam Phillips, The Man Behind Sun Records

Music producer Sam Phillips and his seminal studio, Sun Records, occupy a singular position in the history of rock 'n' roll – indeed, many argue that rock 'n' roll as we recognise it didn't exist before Phillips recorded 'Rocket 88' by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats in 1951. Phillips is simultaneously celebrated as the man who discovered Elvis Presley and criticised as the man who sold the same artist to RCA for a seemingly paltry $35,000. The roll call of musical legends who walked through the doors of Sun Records is simply astonishing, encompassing BB King, Ike Turner, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many more.

Sun King peels back the glossy layer of legend surrounding the Phillips story – a narrative, much like his signature sound, that owed a great deal to his own careful construction – to reveal a man who, from a very young age, perceived a musical sound that eluded everyone else. Complete with a comprehensive Sun Records discography, Sun King stands as an indispensable document in the history of rock music.