Sam Phillips

Record producer Sam Phillips, the head of Sun Records in the 1950s, was an important figure in the early era of rock and roll. He is credited with discovering Elvis Presley.

Phillips started his career as a radio DJ in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, an early "open format" station (meaning that it played music from both white and black musicians). He opened his own recording studio in 1950 in Memphis, Tennessee, where he recorded what is widely considered to be the first rock and roll record: "Rocket 88" by Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats, a band that featured a young Ike Turner. In 1952, Phillips founded Sun Records

After recording some early tracks with Elvis, Phillips would go on to record with many more notable early rock and roll performers, including Charlie Rich, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and BB King.

Phillips company did not see any genuine financial success, however, until the 1955 Carl Perkins song "Blue Suede Shoes," which became a nationally-popular hit.

• 1923: Born

• 1945: Worked for WREC Radio in Nashville, Tennessee

• 1950: Memphis Recording Service

• 1951: Recorded Ike Turner and his band featuring Jackie Brenston

• 1951: Recorded Howlin Wolf

• 1952: Recorded Johnny London

• 1953: Signed Elvis Presley

• 1955: Sold Elvis's contract to RCA Records for $35,000

• 1969: Sold the Sun catalog to Shelby Singleton

• 1986: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

• 1987: Inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame

• 1991: Received a Grammy Trustees Award for his lifetime achievements

• 1998: Inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame

• 2001: Inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame

• 2003: Died of Respiratory Failure