Elvis Presley: The Searcher Page #6

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to get where he wanted to.

He was a very driven man.

Every two months,

he was releasing

another single

at Sun Records.

Robertson:

Sam knew what to ask for,

what to push for,

and all of those pieces,

the way they fit together,

it was like Sam Phillips

was the other member

of that group.

(train whistle blows)

Springsteen:

The Sun space was

pretty indicative

of most small recording

studios of the era.

You know, they were intimate.

They were small.

You were up close

with everybody and everything.

Harris:

And those early records,

they almost knock you

off your heels,

because all that big sound

is coming from so little.

Springsteen:

I think people

make the mistake

that when they think

of rock and roll,

they think of drums.

Elvis:

Oh, baby, baby, baby

Springsteen:

If you listen to a lot

of the early rock and roll,

rhythm came out

of the slap bass,

rhythmic hitting

of the guitar,

and the swing

of the singer's voice.

Elvis:

Come back, baby,

I wanna play house with you

Jon Landau:

There was only a couple

of microphones.

It was-- it was pretty

straightforward.

Elvis:

You may have

a pink Cadillac

But don't you be

nobody's fool

Now, baby, come back

Porter:

You could feel the true

artistry in that period,

because there was not

a lot of recording equipment

to sonically make records

sound a certain kind of way.

Elvis:

I say meet me in a hurry

behind the barn

Lauterbach:

Elvis listened to everything

that came his way.

Sam was the same way,

only he was...

he was into

the technical aspect of it,

but very much a natural.

Elvis:

I heard the news

Lauterbach:

He didn't want to

overproduce anything.

He wanted to capture raw sound.

In Elvis, he found

a combination

of rawness with that vision.

The drive of the black music,

you can hear just as well,

the twang on the

white side of music.

Landau:

Scotty Moore,

he and Bill Black

and DJ Fontana

were an enormous

blessing for Elvis

and the coherence of the

records they made together.

Elvis:

Well, if I had

to do it over

Moore:

I tried to play what

I thought would fit

the way he was

singing the song.

Tried to do solos

and fills that--

that made sense

on that song.

Elvis:

Baby, trying to get to you

Petty:

Scotty is brilliant,

one of the great

musicians of all time.

Never plays

unless it's necessary.

Elvis:

Could keep me

away from you

When your

loving letter told me

Petty:

Bill Black, the bassist,

the way he pops the strings,

it's him plucking

the bass string,

rather than just striking it.

(Petty imitates bass strumming)

Pretty fierce stuff.

(laughs)

Elvis:

Brought me through

Robertson:

But the basic setup,

when it was just

Elvis, Scotty, Bill

and a beautiful

echo tape delay,

it was all you needed.

With that voice,

you could do anything.

Elvis (echoing):

Blue moon

You saw me standing alone

Without a dream in my heart

Springsteen:

Elvis's early recordings are

marked by, one of the things,

the freedom of not having

heard yourself very often.

So, they're very,

very un-self-conscious.

Elvis:

Blue moon

You knew just

what I was there for

You heard me saying...

Springsteen:

Elvis's voice has

plenty of space

and beautiful

geography to it.

Elvis:

Someone I really

could care for

Springsteen:

And the way he was

recorded by Sam Phillips

is tremendously pure.

(Elvis vocalizing)

You know, there's a looseness,

as there usually is,

in your early recordings.

You're excited about

a sudden discovery of self...

of your powers,

your abilities,

and what you can

do with them.

Elvis:

You saw me standing alone

Without a dream

in my heart

Without a love of my own

Springsteen:

I hear all that on

the Sun sessions.

(Elvis vocalizing)

Elvis:

Without a love of my own

(song fades)

(man speaking)

(Elvis speaking)

(man speaking)

(Elvis speaking)

(typewriter clacking)

(typewriter bell dings)

Vernon Presley:

In 1955,

Colonel Parker was booking

shows down through Florida.

People like Hank Snow,

Marty Robbins.

(audience cheering)

(Colonel Tom Parker speaking)

(audience screaming)

Mike Stoller:

He knew he had

something very special

and he knew from

the audience reaction.

He promoted him.

He dropped his other artists

and devoted himself

entirely to Elvis.

Elvis:

Keep my eyes on you

Schilling:

The Colonel, he's a very

hard guy to understand.

His past was complicated.

I think there was

a real respect

between Elvis

and the Colonel,

but he was a promoter,

he wasn't a creative guy.

He was a brilliant promoter.

Jorgensen:

There was a big tour

in February '55.

Hank Snow was the headliner,

and Colonel Parker

had managed

as a favor and a plot,

to get Elvis on as

an extra added thing.

Being on a Hank Snow show

was a real big step forward.

The Colonel planned it

to be a big step forward.

He wanted to see

how far Elvis could go.

Elvis:

Gimme, gimme, gimme

all the love you got

Jorgensen:

Just three months later,

they realized that

the star, Hank Snow,

couldn't close

the show anymore.

After Elvis had performed,

people left.

From June of '55,

you know, basically a year

into Elvis's stay at Sun,

people are making offers

to buy Elvis's contract.

The Colonel was afraid

that if Elvis became

much more successful

than he already was,

that he was eventually

not gonna be able

to take over his management.

He would be so big

that he was no longer needed

to bring it further.

So over the next month,

he actually starts

manipulating everything.

And after that,

it became obvious

between the management

of Bob Neal

and Sam's little independent

record company,

they couldn't

push a record

the way the big

companies could.

Elvis starts worrying

about that element.

Mae Axton:

A lot of my listeners

have seen you

and they've heard

your records,

and they think

they're very wonderful.

And of course, you really

skyrocketed to fame

on "That's All right, Mama,"

wasn't that the one?

Elvis:

Well, yes, ma'am.

That was the one

that got me on my way

and everything.

I wasn't very

well-known down here.

I mean, you know,

I'm just with a small company,

and, uh, my records

don't have the distribution

that they should have,

but, uh...

Axton:

Oh, of course that--

that's coming, you know.

It takes a little bit

of time for that

and to get distribution

all over the United States,

but I think you are one of

the fastest rising young stars

perhaps in the field.

Do you know what

I can't understand,

is how you keep that leg

shaking just as-- just at...

Schilling:

Elvis, he knew,

"I've got to make a choice."

He and Sam spoke the same

language creatively.

And they loved each other.

But he knew

that Colonel Parker

was about national,

about movies,

and about television.

And that if he chose

Colonel Parker,

Sam would be gone.

Priscilla:

Sam Phillips saw in Elvis

what Elvis dreamed of

and no one else

could understand.

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