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He may not have known it at the time, but an 18-year-old Memphis teenager changed music history forever when he visited a local studio on this day, 73 years ago.
July 18 is a significant date in the music landscape. On this day, 66 years ago, Brenda Lee's "I'm Sorry" topped the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Sixty years ago today, The Beach Boys released one of their signature songs, "The Beach Boys."
It was also on this day, 73 years ago, that a young man named Elvis Presley visited the Memphis Recording Service (now Sun Studio) to complete his first music recordings.
Presley graduated from L. C. Humes High School in Memphis on June 3, 1953. Six weeks later, he paid $3.98 to record "That's When Your Heartache Begins" and "My Happiness" at Memphis Recording Service, per Joel Moore of WWBT.
Studio owner Sam Phillips was absent during Presley's first recording. His assistant, Marion Keisker, made history as the first person to record Presley's music. Impressed with what she heard, Keisker suggested that Phillips call in Elvis for more recordings.
According to SunRecords.com, Presley returned to the studio on Jan. 4, 1954, to record "I'll Never Stand In Your Way" and "Casual Love Affair." Phillips took Presley's phone number, and the rest is history.
Elvis Presley Went on to Sell an Estimated 500 Million Records
Phillips cemented himself as one of the greatest music producers ever by launching music icons like Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Jerry Lee Lewis.
Presley was the golden goose of the Sun Studio musicians, though. "The King of Rock and Roll" has sold an estimated 500 million albums, according to Reuters.
Forty-nine years after his untimely passing, Presley's music is still as popular as ever. On Spotify, his music still garners more than 23.38 million listeners.
