Editing Sun Studio (section)

{{Short description|Historic recording studio in Memphis, Tennessee, United States}}
{{About|the recording studio|the software development tool suite|Sun Studio (software)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name                 = Sun Record Company, Memphis Recording Service
| nrhp_type            = nhl
| image                = File:Sun studio memphis.jpg
| caption              = Sun Studio in 2013
| location             = 706 Union Avenue, [[Memphis, Tennessee]], U.S.
| coordinates          = {{coord|35|8|21.29|N|90|2|15.64|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin             = Tennessee#USA
| built                = 1950
| architect            =
| architecture         =
| designated_nrhp_type = July 31, 2003<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=-1610892873&ResourceType=Building|title=Sun Record Company, Memphis Recording Service|access-date=2009-09-01|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090509213250/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=-1610892873&ResourceType=Building|archive-date=2009-05-09}}</ref>
| added                = July 31, 2003<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref>
| area                 = less than one acre
| refnum               = 03001031
}}

'''Sun Studio''' is a recording studio opened by rock-and-roll pioneer [[Sam Phillips]] at 706 Union Avenue in [[Memphis, Tennessee]], on January 3, 1950. It was originally called '''Memphis Recording Service''', sharing the same building with the [[Sun Records]] label business. The Sun label that was housed within the studio played a large role in [[Elvis Presley]]'s early career.

Reputedly the first [[rock and roll]] single, Jackie Brenston and his Delta Cats' "[[Rocket 88]]" was recorded there in 1951 with song composer [[Ike Turner]] on keyboards, leading the studio to claim status as the birthplace of rock & roll. [[Blues]] and [[R&B]] artists like [[Howlin' Wolf]], [[Junior Parker]], [[Little Milton]], [[B.B. King]], [[James Cotton]], [[Rufus Thomas]], and [[Rosco Gordon]] recorded there in the early 1950s.

[[Rock and roll]], [[country music|country]], and [[rockabilly]] artists, including [[Johnny Cash]], [[Elvis Presley]], [[Carl Perkins]], [[Roy Orbison]], [[Charlie Feathers]], [[Ray Harris]], [[Warren Smith (singer)|Warren Smith]], [[Charlie Rich]], and [[Jerry Lee Lewis]], recorded there throughout the mid-to-late 1950s until the studio outgrew its Union Avenue location. Sam Phillips opened the larger Sam C. Phillips Recording Studio, better known as [[Phillips Recording]], in 1959 to replace the older facility. Since Phillips had invested in the Holiday Inn Hotel chain earlier, he also recorded artists starting in 1963 on the label [[Holiday Inn Records]] for [[Kemmons Wilson]]. In 1957, [[Bill Justis]] recorded his [[Grammy Hall of Fame]] song "[[Raunchy (song)|Raunchy]]" for Sam Phillips and worked as a musical director at Sun Records.

In 1969, Sam Phillips sold the label to [[Shelby Singleton]], and there was no recording-related or label-related activity again in the building until the September 1985 ''[[Class of '55]]'' recording sessions with Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Johnny Cash, produced by [[Chips Moman]].

In 1987, the original building housing the Sun Records label and Memphis Recording Service was reopened by Gary Hardy as "Sun Studio," a recording label and tourist attraction that has attracted many notable artists, such as [[U2]], [[Def Leppard]], [[Bonnie Raitt]], and [[Ringo Starr]].