Descriptions of some of the letters.
July 29, 1954 Sam Phillips of Sun Record Company letter to Philadelphia, created three days after Elvis signs with Sun, two pages
This letter to Sam Hodge of Paramount Record Manufacturing in Philadelphia, PA is devoted entirely to Sun 209. Phillips fairly pleads with Hodge to “please get on this record up there… both sides are hitting, and in every category: Pop, R&B and Hillbilly… this record has the potential to sell in any territory in the country… it is definitely going to be one of the biggest records of the year, and you know we can use the business.”
What’s hilarious and remarkable about this particular letter is that nowhere, not once in this two-page letter, does Phillips mention the words “Elvis,” “Presley,” “That’s All Right” or “Blue Moon of Kentucky”! That’s because Elvis was a total nobody, an absolute zero at this point, so why bother mentioning him? Phillips just kept calling it “this record” and “209.” How funny & historic is that?
Sun Records office manager Marion Keisker added a customary “SCP:mk” at the very end of this one (meaning, of course, dictated by Sam C. Phillips, typed by Marion Keisker).
August 6, 1954 Sam Phillips of Sun Record Company letter to Chicago, created the week after Elvis signs with Sun.
This letter from Sam Phillips to Al Benson of Bronzeville Distributors in Chicago finds Phillips hyping the distributor, after “That’s All Right” and “Blue Moon of Kentucky” had started to create quite a stir in Memphis: “Al, this Presley thing is tremendous! In Memphis there was never a record like it for sales, plays and listener-demand. It hit so hard and so fast and so spontaneously that everybody… is still amazed! So ride it, Boy, and we’ll have it made!” Just remarkably colorful language.
What’s funny and odd about this particular letter is that nowhere, not once, does Phillips mention the words “Elvis,” “That’s All Right” or “Blue Moon of Kentucky”! That’s because Elvis was a total nobody, an absolute zero at this point, so why bother mentioning him? Phillips refers to him twice as just “Presley,” with no hint of the magic the name “Elvis” would someday become. How funny & historic is that?
This exact artifact was displayed at the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art's “Rock 'N Roll 1939-1959” exhibit in Paris, France in the summer and fall of 2007. The exhibit was a lavish affair, with a Grand Opening attended by Little Richard, Tina Turner, Wanda Jackson, Jerry Lieber of Lieber & Stoller, etc.
August 10, 1954 Sam Phillips of Sun Record Company letter to Miami, created two weeks after Elvis signs with Sun, two pages
This letter from Sam Phillips to Marvin Leiber of Pan American Distributors in Miami really delves into the lingo of the day pertaining to radio formats and racial divides in the South, in pleading for people to pay attention to Elvis’s first single: “…please make sure that all the R&B and Hillbilly Jockeys have a copy of the record… also all the pop boys that cater somewhat to the ‘cat’ trend on their pop shows… it is being bought by operators for ALL locations, white and colored… one leading retail store called to tell us, everybody from white teenagers to old colored people are buying it with equal zest.”
And: “Here in Memphis… BOTH sides are being played daily on every DJ show on every station. As soon as they hear it, they buy it. We’ve got a big one; don’t let it get away!”
What’s hilarious and remarkable about this particular letter is that nowhere, not once in this two-page letter, does Phillips mention the words “Elvis,” “Presley” or “Blue Moon of Kentucky”! That’s because Elvis was a total nobody, an absolute zero at this point, so why bother mentioning him? Phillips just kept calling it “this record” and “209,” and just once mentions “That’s All Right,” a song that would change the world. How funny & historic is that?
This exact artifact was displayed at the Cartier Foundation for Contemporary Art's “Rock 'N Roll 1939-1959” exhibit in Paris, France in the summer and fall of 2007. The exhibit was a lavish affair, with a Grand Opening attended by Little Richard, Tina Turner, Wanda Jackson, Jerry Lieber of Lieber & Stoller, etc.
In addition, Cartier published a large, gorgeous, massively expensive, 400-page coffee-table book, with hardshell slipcase, to commemorate the event. The book contains many of photographer Alfred Wertheimers’ famous 1956 photos of Elvis (because Alfred was part of the exhibit), and they gave this exact artifact a full-color full page all to itself, on pg. 252.