First off, please pardon some of the dark pictures. Flash photography was prohibited inside the studio and the lighting inside was dark with no windows. Being that we had already visited Graceland (Elvis Presley's home) on our last trip to Memphis a few years ago, I decided to try something new.
WHAT IS IT? Sun Studio is a legendary recording studio that opened in 1950 by the musical pioneer Sam Philips. He was a pioneer because he took risks with musical genres that were rather edgy for his time, such as the blues and, of course, rock n' roll. Yet another thing that made him so notable was the fact that he, a white man, happily recorded African American artists, which was a huge deal in the segregated South at the time. Sun Studio's claim to fame is that it was the first place that recorded Elvis Presley and was the sounding board for his iconic career. Other musical legends like Johnny Cash, Howlin' Wolf, and B.B. King also recorded here. With so much musical mojo, this place was a must visit for us.
LOGISTICS: You can only see the studio via a guided tour, which costs $12 and take place at the bottom half of each hour (i.e 10:30 a.m and 1:30 p.m) between 10:30 a.m and 5:30 p.m. We got there around 11:00 a.m on a Saturday and took the 11:30 a.m tour. Even though we got there pretty early, it didn't take but 15 minutes before the entire lobby was filled with tourists. Case in point, be ready for plenty of tourists, as this place is famous (and for good reason). The tour itself takes roughly an hour, give or take. Photography is allowed, but no flash or recording.
PARKING: There is free parking behind the studio. However, a word of caution, it is extremely small and cramped, so be careful and know that you can enter from the back of the studio as well as through a small street right in front of the entrance (you can see it in the picture above).
THE TOUR: Our tour group was rather big, which was slightly annoying given the fact that the first part of it, which is a room filled with memorabilia from the 1950s, wasn't that spacious. That being said, our tour guide was fantastic and did a good job of making our experience pleasant. Despite the number of people, we did manage to nab some good snapshots and learn a thing or two along the way. The second part of the tour was my favorite because it was the actual recording studio complete with the original flooring and ceiling that musical legends recorded in. It was pretty cool when our tour guide pointed to an X on the floor and declared that Elvis Presley had stood in that exact spot on those exact tiles to record his songs. This was made all the more awesome when she brought out the microphone that The King and other legends had sung into. Overall, I would highly recommend Sun Studio, it's truly a unique place to visit and not you average historic landmark.
Best Wishes,
The Pseudo Southerner
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