Ode to Sun Records
By: Wayne Brown
It was little Sun Records in Memphis Tennessee
In the early 50’s, Memphis was the place to be
Rock-A-Billy and Rock n’ Roll were the coming thing
But no one knew just how much it would bring
Tell ‘em to play it sharp and edgy, Sam
Tell ‘em to play it tight
Keep playin’ that rock n roll, Sam
We wanna hear it all night
There was Carl Perkins paying his rock-a-billy dues
With royalties from songs like ‘Blue Suede Shoes’
And Johnny Cash was looking mighty tall and lean
With his chick-a-boom beat and ‘Teenage Queen’
Jerry Lee Lewis, the wild one, arrived on the scene
Playin’ a hot piano that was bluesy and mean
His music was the hottest thing on the wire
When he hit that keyboard on ‘Great Balls of Fire’
Tell ‘em to play it sharp and edgy, Sam
Tell ‘em to play it tight
Keep playin’ that rock n roll, Sam
We wanna hear it all night
Roy Orbison, the crooner, stepped to the stage
With a voice never heard and became all the rage
He used orchestras and minor flat musical notes
To dress up the words of the songs that he wrote
But the home boy from Tupelo, took the big prize
His on stage gyrations were a shock to the eyes
He sang some Country and that new Rock n’ Roll
But when Elvis sang gospel; it was a joy to behold
Tell ‘em to play it sharp and edgy, Sam
Tell ‘em to play it tight
Keep playin’ that rock n roll, Sam
We wanna hear it all night
Sam Phillips had them all singing in that little studio
Cutting those new records; making some dough
Soon their names were all common household
As they stood on stage and performed rock n’ roll
Now that was a time in music and in music history
The likes again of which we’ll probably never see
Witnessed by throngs of Baby Boom boys and girls
When little Sun Records brought rock to the world
Tell ‘em to play it sharp and edgy, Sam
Tell ‘em to play it tight
Keep playin’ that rock n roll, Sam
We wanna hear it all night
©Copyright WBrown2011. All Rights Reserved.
