Rob Grayson

In its mission statement, the United States Department of Defense accepts responsibility “for providing the military forces needed to deter war and protect the security of our country.” In the 1958 to ‘60 era, the US had a small contingent of “advisors” in Vietnam. The only actual armed deployments were Marines to the Lebanon Crisis in 1958, military aid to “Papa Doc” in Haiti in ‘59, and Marine protection for US nationals following the Cuban revolution in ‘59 and ‘60.

As the decade of the 1950‘s came to a close, the Memphis recording scene was in transition. Many of the big name players had moved on. Johnny Cash signed with Columbia records, as did Carl Perkins. Following the success of “Blue Suede Shoes”, Carl had four more charted records, “Boppin’ The Blues” and “Your True Love” on Sun, “Pink Pedal Pushers” and “Pointed Toe Shoes” on Columbia. Jerry Lee Lewis recorded for Sun until the early 60‘s. He hit the top ten with “Breathless” in 1958.

Memphis became a regional hub of recording activity due to a number of factors, not the least of which was the availability of talent. Additionally, from Clarence Saunders and Kemmons Wilson to Fred Smith and beyond, Memphis has been blessed with entrepreneurs not afraid to take a chance with a good idea. Sam Phillips was just such a visionary, and turned his idea to harvest the abundance of Mid-South musical talent via records into Memphis Recording Service and the Sun label.

In early 1958, the introduction of army induction suddenly threw everything into fast forward for Elvis Presley and those in his immediate circle. During his time in the service, there would be a two-year hiatus in Presley‘s ability to create new product, but contracts still committed Elvis to four singles and an album per year owed to RCA. The clock was ticking on his 90-day deferment, and much of the calendar was already tied up with the filming of King Creole.

The Elvis Presley story is full of “what ifs” that were trumped by manager Col. Tom Parker dictating “what is”. By 1957, the Colonel had reportedly turned down at least two movie opportunities, basically because the producers couldn’t guarantee the requisite million dollars upfront. One was a serious role opposite Burt Lancaster in The Rainmaker. Another would have been a shot in the musical comedy The Girl Can‘t Help It.