Our local PBS station just aired an American Masters program about Sun Records (first shown last November) and I am blissed out. Has anyone else seen this? -- Comments?
Better even than the old films of Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and many lesser-known Sun musicians were the performances by those they inspired, from Paul McCartney to Mark Knopfler to Nine Inch Nails. Some included the original musicians -- Jerry Lee Lewis looking catatonic but his hands on the keyboard with a life of their own....
I cut my teeth (well, my second teeth) on "Rhythm & Blues," back when it was still called "race music" by the establishment, and never much liked those white boys' attempts to rock, but after all this time I have to admit that this Memphis rock 'n' roll is a lot of fun. And the contemporary covers are purely wonderful, and introduced me to some performers I'd missed (being pretty well stuck in the '80's.)
There is way too much footage of the old farts sitting around reminiscing, and Sun's founder Sam Phillips has way too much scope for his big ego and big mouth. But I forgive it all for Live's haunting performance, in a dark minor key, of I Walk the Line.
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