A Million Dollar Jam Session
The story of rock and roll is often reduced to a happy mix of rhythm and blues and country music, but it is actually a far richer and more complicated comingling of styles, genres, instruments, cultures and people. For our Rock and Roll Night School last night, my colleagues and I researched a rather famous moment in rock and roll history featuring some of its greatest musicians playing together at an impromptu jam session at Sam Phillips’ Sun Studios in Memphis on December 4, 1956. Coined the “Million Dollar Quartet” by local journalist Bob Johnson who stopped by to chronicle the session, I was struck by the versatility of these legends and the diverse repertory they had in their wheelhouse.
Earlier that day, rockabilly king Carl Perkins had recorded some songs with Sun newcomer Jerry Lee Lewis on piano. Former Sun superstar (and then RCA recording artist) Elvis Presley was home for the holidays and dropped by with his girlfriend. Johnny Cash swung by for a time as well. As the musicians began to play together, Phillips placed a microphone in the middle of the room and pressed record. What followed were hours of musical exchange, experimentation, improvisation, imitation, nostalgia and fun.
Listen to "Just a Little Talk with Jesus"
Just as diverse as each ingredient that makes up rock and roll, the infamous jam session (released 2006 on SonyBMG) mixed gospel, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, country, holiday, rhythm and blues, boogie woogie and doo wop. In various incarnations, the artists sing Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Dominoes, Ink Spots, Clara Ward, Bill Monroe and Hank Snow songs, demonstrating their versatility and acquaintance with popular and traditional music; each grew up in relatively humble environs, entrenched in church music but listening to shows such as the Grand Ole Opry and the Louisiana Hayride on their radios. Elvis affects different accents and styles in his vocal timbre (à la Jackie Wilson and Hank Snow) and guitar style and Perkins and Lewis harmonize beautifully. Each musician knows all of the lyrics of a vast repertory. Their chatter and banter back and forth reveal unique insight about their careers and their fame as they talk about songs they recently recorded or songs that they passed over and were later recorded by Pat Boone, for example. They talk about artists they admire (Billy Ward’s Dominoes, Chuck Berry) and they easily slip into bluegrass classics by Bill Monroe.
I was astounded to listen to these young recording artists, some new, some already stars, who could so comfortably jam with each other, giving us, more than a half century later, a unique window into such a finite moment in time and clearly illustrating the roots vital to the evolution of rock and roll. It’s absolutely thrilling, and I heartily recommend taking a listen. And if you really want to experience these musicians, swing by Cleveland’s PlayhouseSquare to see a musical celebration of the Million Dollar Quartet take the stage.
Related: Sun Studios exhibit at the Rock Hall
