Saturday, December 31, 2011

D. A. Hunt and Sam Phillips

Sun Records owner Sam Phillips is best known for his role in promoting the emerging style of rock and roll in the 1950s.  The Sun sound which fused rhythm and blues with country was exemplified by stars like Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Charlie Feathers, Jerry Lee Lewis and Roy Orbison as well as slew of other less famous musicians who recorded equally great records at the Memphis studio.  Phillips started his career by recording blues artists for the Modern and Chess labels.  When business with those labels dried up he opened the Sun Studio and eventually began pressing his own records.

Like other southern studios, Sun recorded a range of artists and genres taking advantage of the abundant and diverse local talent of the time. Some went on to impressive recording careers and some, such as D.A. Hunt, remained obscure.   As far as we know, Hunt recorded exactly two blues sides "Greyhound Blues" and "Lonesome Old Jail" released in 1953 as Sun 183.  You can check them out on YouTube:




For more information on Sam Phillips see: http://alabamamusicoffice.com/artists-a-z/p/1521-phillips-sam

For more information on D.A. Hunt see: http://www.alabamamusicoffice.com/artists-a-z/h/1085-hunt-da

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