Mid-South Features

Memphis, TN – The two East Coast born California dwellers for whom Elvis Presley had earned thousands of dollars, but whom Elvis had never met, were waiting. The waiting room was the studio at Radio Recorders in Hollywood where "Big Mama" Thornton had recorded their song Hound Dog. The occasion on that Tuesday, April 30, 1957 was the initial recording session for the movie Jailhouse Rock, for which the reluctant songwriters had been commissioned to create musical magic.

By Gary Pitts

Murray, KY –
Were he still alive, today would have been Bill Monroe's 100th birthday. Monroe was born September 13, 1911 in Rosine, Kentucky, and is considered by most to be the "Father of Bluegrass Music."

While the bluegrass sound may not have been the same without Lester Flatt on guitar, Chubby Wise on fiddle and Earl Scruggs on banjo, the genre may have never come about without Bill Monroe's hard driving mandolin style.

By Rob Grayson

By Rob Grayson

By Rob Grayson