Various Rockabilly Portrait (CD)

(Sun Record Company) 12 tracks - original Sun master

Rockabilly— the blending of 'hillbilly' or country music with rhythm and blues and pop music. A basic sound of jazzy riffs from a single guitar, a heavy slapped bass and frantic pounding drums. SUN Records in Memphis, Tennessee, is where rock 'n roll was born. In the 1950's, this small, historical label broke the music world wide open with records that changed the way America, and later the world, felt about popular music.

The singers were white, but they were singing black music, and doing it with the kind of rockin' energy that shook up teenagers across the country. Artists came to SUN from a variety of backgrounds, The cross-section that followed. reflected the different musical styles that went to make up the great sound, "rockabilly". The "SUN sound" is still a music industry catchphrase, suggesting a raw, sparse production long on feel and short on design.

Johnny Cash - When the barriers that separated pop and country music began to crumble in the wake of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash was one of the first young country artists to take a place in the pop charts. Ironically, as hillbilly music slicked itself up in search of the wider market, Cash broke through with a sound that was sparse and underproduced. Born 2/26/32 in Kingsland, Arkansas, Voted Entertainer of the Year by the Country Music Association and elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Jerry Lee Lewis - A true stylist and a born entertainer with the ability to take most any song and mold it into an expression of his own personality. Lewis's early recordings at SUN exemplified the virtue of simplicity and a sparse backing of just drums, guitar and piano and his enthusiasm communicated excitement on record. Born 9/29/35 in Ferriday, Louisiana. He was one of the first to become a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Lame.

Carl Perkins - His SUN Records are a landmark of pure, carefree rock 'n roll. Essentially a rural poet, Perkins had a rich and varied heritage to draw upon and his best music was always rooted in the western Tennessee barrooms that spawned him. Unself-consciously he mixed and matched all the different elements, coming up with a fresh, exciting new sound that brought a country sensibility to rhythm and blues. Born 4/9/32 near Tiptonville, Tennessee, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Roy Orbison - Although he was not a pure country star by any means, his impact was felt in country as well as pop music. Orbison exists in that mythical region somewhere between country and rock; indeed, though he has recorded and been successful in both genres, he is most famous for his early sixties pop ballads that exist in their own special world, propelled by his operatic, unearthly singing voice. Born 4/23/36 in Vernon, Texas, and is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.