0:00:03 > 0:00:09At number 706 Union Avenue, Memphis, better known as Sun Studio,
0:00:09 > 0:00:12technicians and musicians are setting up
0:00:12 > 0:00:14for a unique musical tribute.
0:00:14 > 0:00:1960 years ago today, on the 5th of July, 1954,
0:00:19 > 0:00:25a teenage Elvis Presley recorded his first single, That's All Right.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27It may have only lasted two minutes,
0:00:27 > 0:00:32but the song made Elvis one of the most famous names on the planet.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35Without That's All Right, there'd be no Heartbreak Hotel,
0:00:35 > 0:00:39no Hound Dog, no Graceland, no Comeback,
0:00:39 > 0:00:40no legend.
0:00:40 > 0:00:42# Blue moon... #
0:00:42 > 0:00:45We've invited a variety of artists from different musical backgrounds
0:00:45 > 0:00:49to Sun Studio, to record classic Elvis tracks.
0:00:49 > 0:00:54The songs are also going to be broadcast live into BBC Radio 2.
0:00:54 > 0:00:57There'll be performances from the likes of Candi Staton,
0:00:57 > 0:00:58The Pierces
0:00:58 > 0:01:00and Laura Bell Bundy.
0:01:00 > 0:01:02And we'll be telling Elvis' story,
0:01:02 > 0:01:04talking to the people who knew him best.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06I said, "Wow! Man, that guy can sing.
0:01:06 > 0:01:09"He can play that guitar, too." I was totally impressed.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11# Well, bless my soul... #
0:01:11 > 0:01:13As a musician and actor based in Nashville,
0:01:13 > 0:01:17I'm hugely influenced by American music and culture.
0:01:17 > 0:01:20I love Elvis' distinctive sound and style.
0:01:20 > 0:01:24Bob Dylan once said that hearing Elvis for the first time
0:01:24 > 0:01:26was like busting out of jail.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Hundreds of thousands of people were part of that jailbreak.
0:01:29 > 0:01:33He walked that thin line of where the girls loved him, because he was
0:01:33 > 0:01:37he was a pretty face and all that stuff, but the guys wanted to be him.
0:01:37 > 0:01:38And he was really hot.
0:01:38 > 0:01:40And all of it looked so good!
0:01:40 > 0:01:43Before him, there was just nothing like that.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47Every rebellious part that you have in you was on that stage.
0:01:47 > 0:01:49When the first album came out,
0:01:49 > 0:01:52I can't imagine how incendiary that sleeve would have look
0:01:52 > 0:01:54to a whole generation.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57That little impromptu jam session
0:01:57 > 0:01:59turned into the record that changed the world.
0:01:59 > 0:02:03# ..any way you do... #
0:02:07 > 0:02:09FANS SCREAM
0:02:09 > 0:02:14The way Elvis happened so quickly, so almost overnight...
0:02:17 > 0:02:20# Dreaming of your tender... #
0:02:20 > 0:02:26In August 1953, a young Memphis truck driver spent 4 recording
0:02:26 > 0:02:29a song he told the producer was a present for his mother.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31It was a lie.
0:02:31 > 0:02:32He had bigger ambitions.
0:02:36 > 0:02:41'When I was driving a truck, every time a big shiny car drove by,
0:02:41 > 0:02:43'it started me, sort of, daydreaming.
0:02:43 > 0:02:45'I always felt that someday, somehow,
0:02:45 > 0:02:48'something would happen to change everything for me.'
0:02:50 > 0:02:55The owner of the recording studio, Sam Phillips, liked what he'd heard.
0:02:55 > 0:03:01He had a type of forlorn, lonesome sound about his voice.
0:03:01 > 0:03:06A very lonesome-natured, introspective individual.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09Sam's business partner, Marion Keisker,
0:03:09 > 0:03:11liked the young man's voice even more.
0:03:11 > 0:03:14The hair began to prickle on the back of my neck,
0:03:14 > 0:03:15which is a very strange sensation.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18A very exciting sensation.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22A few months later, Sam Phillips invited the truck driver back
0:03:22 > 0:03:29and, on the 5th of July, 1954, Elvis Presley stood on this very spot
0:03:29 > 0:03:32and made a record that would change the history of popular music.
0:03:35 > 0:03:38Each of our performers has chosen an Elvis song
0:03:38 > 0:03:40to pay tribute to his genius.
0:03:40 > 0:03:45First, one of the hottest country singers around - Laura Bell Bundy.
0:03:45 > 0:03:49She's chosen the classic country ballad, Blue Moon Of Kentucky,
0:03:49 > 0:03:52that became the B-side for That's All Right.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55Well, I chose Blue Moon Of Kentucky for obvious reasons.
0:03:55 > 0:03:58I'm from Kentucky, but I also love this version
0:03:58 > 0:04:00of Blue Moon Of Kentucky,
0:04:00 > 0:04:02I love Elvis' version.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04# Blue moon of Kentucky... #
0:04:04 > 0:04:09The song was first a hit for Bill Monroe in 1946 and sung as a waltz.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11# Blue moon Blue moon... #
0:04:11 > 0:04:15When Elvis covered it in July '54, Sam Phillips encouraged him
0:04:15 > 0:04:19to speed it up, until he declared, "That's a pop song, now."
0:04:20 > 0:04:24It's a classic bluegrass song, essentially.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27But he, kind of, made it a rockabilly version of a bluegrass song,
0:04:27 > 0:04:29which I love.
0:04:32 > 0:04:36# Blue moon
0:04:36 > 0:04:40# Blue moon
0:04:40 > 0:04:46# Blue moon, keep shinin' bright
0:04:47 > 0:04:51# Blue moon, keep on shinin' bright
0:04:51 > 0:04:55# You're gonna bring my baby back home tonight
0:04:55 > 0:05:02# Blue moon, keep shinin' bright
0:05:02 > 0:05:07# I said blue moon of Kentucky keep on shinin'
0:05:07 > 0:05:10# Shine on the one that's gone and left me blue
0:05:10 > 0:05:14# I said, blue moon of Kentucky keep on shinin'
0:05:14 > 0:05:18# Shine on the one that's gone and left me blue
0:05:18 > 0:05:20# Well, it was on one moonlight night
0:05:20 > 0:05:22# Stars shinin' bright
0:05:22 > 0:05:24# Whispered on high
0:05:24 > 0:05:26# Love has said goodbye
0:05:26 > 0:05:29# I said blue moon of Kentucky keep on shinin'
0:05:29 > 0:05:33# Shine on the one that's gone and left me blue
0:05:33 > 0:05:34# Let it shine!
0:05:48 > 0:05:51# Well, it was on one moonlight night
0:05:51 > 0:05:53# Stars shinin' bright
0:05:53 > 0:05:54# Whispered on high
0:05:54 > 0:05:56# Love has said goodbye
0:05:56 > 0:06:00# Oh, I said, blue moon of Kentucky keep on shinin'
0:06:00 > 0:06:04# Shine on the one that's gone and left me blue
0:06:04 > 0:06:08# Blue moon of Kentucky keep on shinin'
0:06:08 > 0:06:12# Shine on the one that's gone and left me blue
0:06:12 > 0:06:15# Shine on the one that's gone and left me blue
0:06:15 > 0:06:21# Shine on the one that's gone and left me
0:06:21 > 0:06:28# Blue
0:06:28 > 0:06:32# I said blue moon of Kentucky keep on shinin'
0:06:32 > 0:06:34# Shine on the one that's gone and left me blue
0:06:34 > 0:06:36# Left me blue
0:06:36 > 0:06:39# Blue moon of Kentucky keep on shinin'
0:06:39 > 0:06:43# Shine on the one that's gone and left me blue
0:06:43 > 0:06:46# Shine on the one that's gone and left me blue
0:06:46 > 0:06:49# Oh, shine on the one that's gone and left me blue. #
0:06:49 > 0:06:50Come on!
0:06:56 > 0:06:59The day before Elvis recorded That's All Right,
0:06:59 > 0:07:01he rehearsed at the house of a guitarist
0:07:01 > 0:07:05Sam Phillips had recommended, called Scotty Moore.
0:07:05 > 0:07:08After hearing the 4 audition the previous year,
0:07:08 > 0:07:10supposedly for Elvis' mother,
0:07:10 > 0:07:14Sam had asked Marion Keisker to make a note of the boy's name.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17She misspelled it, and added a note of her own.
0:07:20 > 0:07:22# How I long to be... #
0:07:22 > 0:07:25But the magic wasn't there that night -
0:07:25 > 0:07:27the rehearsal didn't go well.
0:07:27 > 0:07:29Scotty said afterwards to Sam Phillips,
0:07:29 > 0:07:32"With work, the kid might amount to something."
0:07:34 > 0:07:39So, where did this quirky-looking singing truck driver come from?
0:07:39 > 0:07:42And where did he get his love of music?
0:07:42 > 0:07:46# In my father's house... #
0:07:46 > 0:07:51Elvis was born in Tupelo, Mississippi on January 8th 1935,
0:07:51 > 0:07:55in a house his father Vernon built himself.
0:07:55 > 0:07:59Elvis' twin brother Jesse died stillborn.
0:07:59 > 0:08:04While Vernon worked as a labourer, his wife Gladys looked after Elvis.
0:08:04 > 0:08:06Vernon once said...
0:08:07 > 0:08:08"I'll never deny that..."
0:08:13 > 0:08:16Sam Bell was a neighbour of the young Elvis.
0:08:16 > 0:08:20Together they used to sneak into the local segregated cinema.
0:08:20 > 0:08:22It was upstairs and downstairs.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25The blacks weren't allowed downstairs,
0:08:25 > 0:08:28but it was partition upstairs, it was split half and half.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31But you could go upstairs to the white side,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34and you'd climb over the partition.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36And you'd be on the black side.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39So we'd sit up at the aisle, sit-down aisle,
0:08:39 > 0:08:41and watch the movie.
0:08:41 > 0:08:42Now, we'd buy the popcorn.
0:08:42 > 0:08:45We thought cos we'd buy some popcorn, it was all right.
0:08:45 > 0:08:47If we buy the popcorn.
0:08:47 > 0:08:4910 cent a bag!
0:08:50 > 0:08:54Even aged ten, Elvis had a fascination with music,
0:08:54 > 0:08:58and entertained his friends by using a broom as a guitar.
0:08:58 > 0:09:00He'd play the big end of the broom back here
0:09:00 > 0:09:03and make a sound with his mouth.
0:09:03 > 0:09:05And sometimes, we'd just stop, during our playtime,
0:09:05 > 0:09:09and we'd, kind of, gather round and we sang church songs, you know.
0:09:09 > 0:09:10Old church songs.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13We thought we could, we really couldn't, you know.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18Elvis may have wanted a real guitar,
0:09:18 > 0:09:21but he also wanted something with a bit more edge.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Just before his 11th birthday,
0:09:23 > 0:09:29Elvis headed to Tupelo main street in search of a .22 calibre rifle.
0:09:29 > 0:09:35His mom brought him down to our store to visit and see Forrest Bobo.
0:09:35 > 0:09:40Mr Bobo had worked for my grandfather for 20 years.
0:09:40 > 0:09:46And when they saw Forrest, Elvis, of course, asked to see a rifle.
0:09:46 > 0:09:51Mr Bobo showed him the rifle and Gladys was not too pleased,
0:09:51 > 0:09:54so Forrest looked around and thought,
0:09:54 > 0:09:57"Well, maybe a young boy would like a guitar."
0:09:57 > 0:10:01They looked at the guitar and pulled it out of this counter right here -
0:10:01 > 0:10:04this was our music counter, at the time.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06Forrest got a little box for him to sit on
0:10:06 > 0:10:10and he strummed on the guitar and seemed to like that.
0:10:10 > 0:10:12And after a while, they convinced Elvis
0:10:12 > 0:10:17that a guitar would be a better choice for a birthday present
0:10:17 > 0:10:19than the rifle.
0:10:19 > 0:10:22So that's, kind of, the way history was made in Tupelo Hardware -
0:10:22 > 0:10:24the beginning of rock'n'roll.
0:10:30 > 0:10:36# The steps that lead to any church... #
0:10:36 > 0:10:39The Presleys were a religious family,
0:10:39 > 0:10:41regular members of the Assembly of God in Tupelo
0:10:41 > 0:10:44and, later, in Memphis.
0:10:44 > 0:10:46Elvis, in particular, loved gospel.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51We've invited one of America's quartets,
0:10:51 > 0:10:55Brian Free & Assurance, to perform for us at Sun.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58He was raised in a Christian home,
0:10:58 > 0:11:02so the first music he was introduced to was church music.
0:11:02 > 0:11:03- Quartet music.- Yeah.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08Elvis loved the gospel quartets, he loved the vocalists,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12he loved their charisma, their style and their accomplishments -
0:11:12 > 0:11:15you know, their vocal accomplishments.
0:11:15 > 0:11:18We may now think of gospel as black music,
0:11:18 > 0:11:20but, in fact, it crossed divides.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24In Elvis' church, too, the quartets were superstars,
0:11:24 > 0:11:28and just a few weeks before he recorded That's All Right,
0:11:28 > 0:11:31Elvis was invited to join a gospel quartet.
0:11:31 > 0:11:33He was sorely tempted.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35What we know about rock'n'roll now, you'd think,
0:11:35 > 0:11:37well, of course Elvis would go for rock'n'roll.
0:11:37 > 0:11:38Why sing for a gospel group?
0:11:38 > 0:11:40But at that time, I mean, it was gospel music
0:11:40 > 0:11:43and the Blackwood Brothers that were really dominant -
0:11:43 > 0:11:44they're making a lot of money.
0:11:44 > 0:11:47They have their own tour bus - first group to have their own tour bus.
0:11:47 > 0:11:50They sell out huge auditoriums all around the south.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53And then you've got this black "race music",
0:11:53 > 0:11:54as they called it at the time -
0:11:54 > 0:11:57and he's a white guy trying to sing this stuff.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00I mean, that wasn't the sure option at that time.
0:12:00 > 0:12:02# And the night... #
0:12:02 > 0:12:05Brian's quartet are going to sing Peace In The Valley,
0:12:05 > 0:12:08a gospel song that was a favourite of Elvis
0:12:08 > 0:12:12and was performed by the so-called Million Dollar Quartet
0:12:12 > 0:12:16of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash
0:12:16 > 0:12:21in a jam session in this very studio in December 1956.
0:12:21 > 0:12:26I believe that his heart just really showed through so much in his gospel.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30He just loved what he did in his rock'n'roll,
0:12:30 > 0:12:32but the gospel was HIM.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35It brought him back home, brought him back to his roots.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Him back to the stuff he initially loved.
0:12:38 > 0:12:42# Well, I'm tired
0:12:42 > 0:12:45# And so weary
0:12:45 > 0:12:50# But I must go along
0:12:50 > 0:12:57# Till the Lord comes and calls
0:12:57 > 0:13:02# Calls me away, oh, yes
0:13:02 > 0:13:08# Well, the morn is so bright
0:13:08 > 0:13:13# And the Lamb is the light
0:13:13 > 0:13:20# And the night, night is as black
0:13:20 > 0:13:26# As the sea, oh, yes
0:13:26 > 0:13:32# There will be peace in the valley
0:13:32 > 0:13:38# For me, someday
0:13:38 > 0:13:46# Oh, there will be peace in the valley for me
0:13:46 > 0:13:50# Oh, Lord, I pray
0:13:50 > 0:13:56# There'll be no sadness, no sorrow
0:13:56 > 0:14:02# No trouble, trouble I see
0:14:02 > 0:14:08# There will be peace in the valley
0:14:08 > 0:14:14# For me.
0:14:14 > 0:14:20# Well, the bear will be gentle
0:14:20 > 0:14:26# And the wolves will be tame
0:14:26 > 0:14:32# And the lion shall lay down
0:14:32 > 0:14:35# By the lamb,
0:14:35 > 0:14:37# Oh, yes
0:14:37 > 0:14:43# Where the beasts from the wild
0:14:43 > 0:14:49# Shall be led by a child
0:14:49 > 0:14:52# Then, I'll be changed
0:14:52 > 0:15:00# Changed from this creature that I am, oh, yes
0:15:00 > 0:15:07# There will be peace in the valley
0:15:07 > 0:15:13# For me, someday
0:15:13 > 0:15:19# Oh, there will be peace in the valley
0:15:19 > 0:15:21# For me
0:15:21 > 0:15:24# Oh, Lord, I pray
0:15:24 > 0:15:31# And there'll be no sadness, no sorrow
0:15:31 > 0:15:37# No trouble, trouble I see
0:15:37 > 0:15:45# There will be peace in the valley for me
0:15:45 > 0:15:53# For me. #
0:16:01 > 0:16:05In November, 1948, the Presleys moved 100 miles,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08from Tupelo, Mississippi, to Memphis, Tennessee,
0:16:08 > 0:16:13to Lauderdale Courts - a housing complex run by the city council.
0:16:13 > 0:16:16They had been living in a single room,
0:16:16 > 0:16:19so the Courts must have seemed spacious by comparison.
0:16:20 > 0:16:23There was a basement where Elvis would rehearse songs
0:16:23 > 0:16:26and he'd sit on the steps with his guitar
0:16:26 > 0:16:28and play for the neighbourhood girls.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31The housing authority received complaints and,
0:16:31 > 0:16:33unbelievably now, he was asked to...
0:16:36 > 0:16:39When I first met Elvis, we were at high school,
0:16:39 > 0:16:41and he was living at Lauderdale Courts.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44We were in a music class together and the music teacher said,
0:16:44 > 0:16:46"Next week, instead of studying music,
0:16:46 > 0:16:48"we're going to do Christmas carols."
0:16:48 > 0:16:50And Elvis raised his hand - her name was Miss Mormon -
0:16:50 > 0:16:54and he said, "Miss Mormon, could I bring my guitar and sing?"
0:16:54 > 0:16:57And there were a few little laughs in the class,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59because it wasn't cool in 1948
0:16:59 > 0:17:03for a 12-year-old to bring his guitar to school and sing.
0:17:03 > 0:17:05So, she said, "Sure, Elvis." So, he came and sang two songs.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07He sang - I'll never forget,
0:17:07 > 0:17:09he was on the left-hand side of the room,
0:17:09 > 0:17:11I was over on the right-hand side of the room,
0:17:11 > 0:17:13and he sang Cold, Cold Icy Fingers,
0:17:13 > 0:17:16which was a big hit by Teresa Brewer back in the day, a pop song.
0:17:16 > 0:17:19And then he sang Old Shep, which he later recorded.
0:17:19 > 0:17:22And I said, "Wow! Man, that guy can sing.
0:17:22 > 0:17:25"He can play that guitar, too." I was totally impressed.
0:17:25 > 0:17:28But that was my first impression of Elvis.
0:17:32 > 0:17:36In downtown Memphis, the teenage Elvis started to be exposed
0:17:36 > 0:17:40to the blues music spilling out of the many bars and clubs
0:17:40 > 0:17:42on Beale Street.
0:17:42 > 0:17:46It wasn't against any rules to go to Beale Street for white people,
0:17:46 > 0:17:49but still a lot of people didn't go, White people didn't go.
0:17:49 > 0:17:52But occasionally we would go down there
0:17:52 > 0:17:54and you'd see these guys on the street singing
0:17:54 > 0:17:56and then you could hear them through the wall
0:17:56 > 0:17:59and upstairs, singing out the window at clubs and stuff.
0:18:01 > 0:18:02He was a music fan
0:18:02 > 0:18:06and he didn't see any boundaries between black or white music -
0:18:06 > 0:18:08which was the main boundary
0:18:08 > 0:18:11at a time when you still had the R&B chart and the country chart,
0:18:11 > 0:18:14and those songs weren't allowed to be in the pop chart.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17'..fixed to bring you the hottest thing in the country...'
0:18:17 > 0:18:20He listened to the R&B stations that were here.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22Elvis was a big black music fan.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24# I got a woman... #
0:18:24 > 0:18:29One of Elvis' favourite black artists was Ray Charles.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33Elvis covered his song I Got A Woman on his first album.
0:18:33 > 0:18:35#..when I'm in need... #
0:18:35 > 0:18:38It's that track that acclaimed Nashville artists
0:18:38 > 0:18:42Amy Stroup and Trent Dabbs, better known as Sugar & The Hi Lows,
0:18:42 > 0:18:44have chosen to perform today.
0:18:44 > 0:18:46We both thought
0:18:46 > 0:18:50that that song has enough...swag - that's the term,
0:18:50 > 0:18:53I don't know why I said that, but I'm just going with "swag".
0:18:53 > 0:18:54Um...
0:18:54 > 0:18:57That kind of represents what we do.
0:18:57 > 0:19:00We thought we could interpret it pretty well.
0:19:00 > 0:19:02It just has a fun feel to it.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05So that's, kind of, what we do in our own music.
0:19:07 > 0:19:09You know, everyone knew that Ray Charles sang that song
0:19:09 > 0:19:13and he, kind of, raised the bar and said, "I'm going to sing it, too."
0:19:13 > 0:19:15It's such a high-energy song,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18and I think it captures his charisma of, you know,
0:19:18 > 0:19:22he was bringing something new to the world, and wasn't scared to do it.
0:19:22 > 0:19:25And you, kind of, have to step in some bigger shoes
0:19:25 > 0:19:28to cover such a well known song, so...
0:19:28 > 0:19:32Does that mean that we're stepping in those shoes?
0:19:32 > 0:19:34# Well
0:19:34 > 0:19:35# I got a woman
0:19:35 > 0:19:39# Way across town that's good to me
0:19:39 > 0:19:42# Oh, oh, oh, yeah
0:19:42 > 0:19:45# I said I got a woman, way across town
0:19:45 > 0:19:48# That's good to me
0:19:48 > 0:19:50# Oh, yeah
0:19:50 > 0:19:52# She give me money
0:19:52 > 0:19:54# When I'm in need
0:19:54 > 0:19:58# Whoa, she's a kind A kind, a kind friend, indeed
0:19:58 > 0:20:03# I said, I got a woman Way across town
0:20:03 > 0:20:04# That's good to me
0:20:04 > 0:20:06# Oh, oh, oh, yeah
0:20:06 > 0:20:10# She sends her lovin' early in the morning
0:20:10 > 0:20:13# Just for me
0:20:13 > 0:20:15# Oh, oh, oh, yeah
0:20:15 > 0:20:19# She sends her lovin' early in the morning
0:20:19 > 0:20:21# Just for me
0:20:21 > 0:20:23# Oh, yeah
0:20:23 > 0:20:27# She sends her lovin' just for me
0:20:27 > 0:20:31# Oh, she loves me so tenderly
0:20:31 > 0:20:35# Said, I got a woman Way across town
0:20:35 > 0:20:37# That's good to me
0:20:37 > 0:20:38# Oh, oh, oh, yeah
0:20:38 > 0:20:40# Woo!
0:20:56 > 0:20:58# She's there to love me
0:20:58 > 0:21:00# Both day and night
0:21:00 > 0:21:02# Never grumbles nor fusses
0:21:02 > 0:21:05# Just treats me right
0:21:05 > 0:21:07# Never wanders in the streets
0:21:07 > 0:21:09# Leavin' me alone
0:21:09 > 0:21:11# She knows that a woman's place
0:21:11 > 0:21:13# Is right there in that home
0:21:13 > 0:21:16# I got a woman, way across town
0:21:16 > 0:21:18# She's good to me
0:21:18 > 0:21:21# Oh, oh, oh, yeah
0:21:21 > 0:21:24# I said, I got a woman Way across town
0:21:24 > 0:21:26# That's good to me
0:21:26 > 0:21:28# Oh, yeah
0:21:28 > 0:21:31# Well, she's my baby
0:21:31 > 0:21:33# And I'm her man
0:21:33 > 0:21:34# Oh, she loves me
0:21:34 > 0:21:36# I'm a lovin' man
0:21:36 > 0:21:40# I said, I got a woman Way across town
0:21:40 > 0:21:42# That's good to me
0:21:42 > 0:21:44# Oh, oh, oh, yeah
0:21:44 > 0:21:47# Don't you know she's all right? Yeah!
0:21:47 > 0:21:49# Don't you know she's all right?
0:21:49 > 0:21:50# Don't you know she's all right?
0:21:50 > 0:21:53# Don't you know she's all right?
0:21:54 > 0:21:56# I got a woman
0:21:56 > 0:21:59# Over town
0:21:59 > 0:22:03# That's good to me
0:22:04 > 0:22:05# Yeah! #
0:22:17 > 0:22:19At 7pm, on the evening of the 5th of July,
0:22:19 > 0:22:23guitarist Scotty Moore, double bass player Bill Black and Elvis
0:22:23 > 0:22:24showed up here at Sun.
0:22:24 > 0:22:28The rehearsal the night before hadn't gone too well,
0:22:28 > 0:22:29so Sam Phillips told Scotty
0:22:29 > 0:22:31to not bother bringing the rest of the band,
0:22:31 > 0:22:35because there was "no use in making a big deal about it," he said.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39# Well, you've heard 16 tons and blue suede shoes... #
0:22:39 > 0:22:43Sam Phillips had made his reputation recording rhythm and blues singers
0:22:43 > 0:22:46and country artists, both Black and White.
0:22:46 > 0:22:49"I wasn't out to change the world," Sam said once...
0:22:53 > 0:22:58Sam had grown up in Alabama, the son of a poor tenant farmer,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01and often had to help by picking cotton in the fields.
0:23:01 > 0:23:05His musical instincts were evident, even then.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08He had made comments to me several times that,
0:23:08 > 0:23:13when he was picking cotton
0:23:13 > 0:23:16the black pickers had a much different rhythm
0:23:16 > 0:23:19just about their picking than the white guys did -
0:23:19 > 0:23:21not necessarily any better or any worse,
0:23:21 > 0:23:25but a completely different rhythm thing,
0:23:25 > 0:23:27and I think he was all about feel - I mean,
0:23:27 > 0:23:29he was totally about the feel,
0:23:29 > 0:23:31and if you listen to some of his records, there's mistakes,
0:23:31 > 0:23:38there's distortion in some of them, especially those blues records.
0:23:38 > 0:23:40# Well, I was raised... #
0:23:40 > 0:23:43But overall, it's just all about feel.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47Sam Phillips was very important.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49He was an important guy.
0:23:49 > 0:23:51He put this - he had a great ear for music.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53He could select the right song,
0:23:53 > 0:23:55and he could get the right mixes on it,
0:23:55 > 0:23:58and he knew what was good and bad, but the main thing he knew
0:23:58 > 0:24:00was what was commercial and was not commercial.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03He had no interest in doing anything that anybody else had ever done
0:24:03 > 0:24:06in any part of his life, not just in music, but in anything at all,
0:24:06 > 0:24:11and he was the most unique individual I've ever met.
0:24:11 > 0:24:15God gave me something - maybe not the greatest brain in the world,
0:24:15 > 0:24:20but he sure gave me a good ear and a feel of people, things,
0:24:20 > 0:24:21and, through music,
0:24:21 > 0:24:25one of the most brilliant careers any man could have.
0:24:27 > 0:24:32Sam Phillips' studio went on to host some of music's most famous names.
0:24:32 > 0:24:36Next up in our session is one of their musical descendants -
0:24:36 > 0:24:39the legendary Southern singer Candi Staton.
0:24:39 > 0:24:42One of her big hits was In The Ghetto,
0:24:42 > 0:24:45a song that was also a hit for Elvis, in 1969.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48# On a cold and grey Chicago morning
0:24:48 > 0:24:53# A poor little baby child is born in the ghetto... #
0:24:53 > 0:24:55In The Ghetto was a really important record for Elvis,
0:24:55 > 0:24:57because it was his first message song.
0:24:57 > 0:25:00I think he'd gone out of his way to say that he didn't want to say
0:25:00 > 0:25:04what he thought of the Vietnam War or civil rights.
0:25:04 > 0:25:08He wanted to just let his music speak for itself.
0:25:08 > 0:25:09That was hugely significant for him.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13It was his biggest hit for several years in America.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17I was in the studio with my ex-husband -
0:25:17 > 0:25:19Clarence Carter, it was actually his session -
0:25:19 > 0:25:23and he'd just come off of a big record called Patches.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27And Mac Davis, the writer of In The Ghetto, was there -
0:25:27 > 0:25:29and Rick Hall, who was a producer.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32And I'm sitting up there scanning through magazines, you know,
0:25:32 > 0:25:36doing girl things, and Mac said, "Rick..."
0:25:36 > 0:25:40And Rick looked around, he says, "You know what?
0:25:40 > 0:25:44"A woman has never recorded In The Ghetto."
0:25:44 > 0:25:45He said, "You know what?
0:25:45 > 0:25:49"I believe a woman could really bring this song home."
0:25:50 > 0:25:55Rick says, "Hmm. I never thought about that."
0:25:55 > 0:25:57He says, "Why don't you let Candi try it?"
0:25:57 > 0:26:00Now, you gotta understand, it was Clarence's session,
0:26:00 > 0:26:03and so I'm like, "Oh, God!"
0:26:03 > 0:26:06# Cos if there's one thing that she don't need... #
0:26:06 > 0:26:10So, Clarence okayed me to do it, and he played behind me.
0:26:10 > 0:26:16And so, that year, it became a big hit for me
0:26:16 > 0:26:19and it was also nominated for a Grammy award that year.
0:26:33 > 0:26:35# As the snow flies
0:26:39 > 0:26:42# On a cold and grey Chicago morn
0:26:42 > 0:26:45# A poor little baby child is born
0:26:45 > 0:26:48# In the ghetto
0:26:50 > 0:26:52# And his mama cries
0:26:56 > 0:27:00# Cos if there's one thing that she don't need
0:27:00 > 0:27:03# It's another hungry mouth to feed
0:27:03 > 0:27:04# In the ghetto
0:27:07 > 0:27:10# People, don't you understand
0:27:10 > 0:27:13# The child needs a helping hand
0:27:13 > 0:27:18# Or he'll grow to be an angry young man someday
0:27:19 > 0:27:22# Take a look at you and me
0:27:22 > 0:27:25# Are we too blind to see?
0:27:25 > 0:27:31# Do we simply turn our heads and look the other way?
0:27:32 > 0:27:36# Well the world turns
0:27:39 > 0:27:42# And a hungry little boy with a runny nose
0:27:42 > 0:27:45# Plays in the street as the cold wind blows
0:27:45 > 0:27:48# In the ghetto
0:27:50 > 0:27:52# And his hunger burns
0:27:56 > 0:28:00# So he starts to roam the streets at night
0:28:00 > 0:28:03# He learns how to steal he learns how to fight
0:28:03 > 0:28:05# In the ghetto
0:28:07 > 0:28:14# Then one night in desperation the young man breaks away
0:28:14 > 0:28:21# Buys a gun, steals a car tries to run, but he don't get far
0:28:23 > 0:28:25# And his mama cries
0:28:28 > 0:28:31# As a crowd gathers round an angry young man
0:28:31 > 0:28:34# Face down on the street with a gun in his hand
0:28:34 > 0:28:36# In the ghetto
0:28:38 > 0:28:42# And as her child dies
0:28:45 > 0:28:48# On a cold and grey Chicago morn
0:28:48 > 0:28:52# Another little baby child is born
0:28:54 > 0:28:56# In the...
0:28:56 > 0:28:58# In the ghetto
0:29:04 > 0:29:07# And his mama cries
0:29:11 > 0:29:13# In the ghetto. #
0:29:20 > 0:29:24Sun Studio has now been recording artists for over 60 years.
0:29:24 > 0:29:27Musicians are still drawn to the magic of the place.
0:29:29 > 0:29:31And, almost uniquely,
0:29:31 > 0:29:35here, artists can be recorded on an old analogue mixing desk,
0:29:35 > 0:29:39lovingly restored by Sun's modern-day Sam Phillips,
0:29:39 > 0:29:4227-year-old Matt Ross-Spang.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46Basically, the studio's stayed the same since it opened in 1950.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49All the tiles, acoustically, it's the same.
0:29:49 > 0:29:51I just added some gear and the control net
0:29:51 > 0:29:53was more representative of what Sam used in the '50s.
0:29:53 > 0:29:57It's actually, basically, his entire 1956 set-up.
0:29:57 > 0:30:01Live to analogue tape, cutting vinyl - all that good stuff.
0:30:02 > 0:30:07That has been the guy that has wanted to go back to recording mono,
0:30:07 > 0:30:09wanting to bring bands in there,
0:30:09 > 0:30:12to make them play, like, "You have to play, guys.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16"We got one chance, one track.
0:30:16 > 0:30:17"Let's go, let's play."
0:30:19 > 0:30:21Jerry Philips is a hero of mine
0:30:21 > 0:30:23and he told me I had a lot of Sam in me,
0:30:23 > 0:30:26and that's coming from a guy that's got a lot of Sam in him,
0:30:26 > 0:30:30so to get that compliment from him meant a lot to me.
0:30:32 > 0:30:34Nashville-based Sarah Zimmermann
0:30:34 > 0:30:38and Justin Davis, collectively known as Striking Matches,
0:30:38 > 0:30:42are making a name for themselves as leading singer-songwriters.
0:30:42 > 0:30:46Their choice of song for our Elvis tribute is his 1962 hit,
0:30:46 > 0:30:48Can't Help Falling In Love.
0:30:48 > 0:30:54We chose four or five and started to learn them all,
0:30:54 > 0:30:55started to dig in
0:30:55 > 0:30:57about what it would mean for us to play...
0:30:57 > 0:30:59- Which was a lot of fun. - Yeah, it was super fun.
0:31:00 > 0:31:04But I think as soon as we played that one, we knew instantly,
0:31:04 > 0:31:05like, this is the right one.
0:31:20 > 0:31:23# Wise men say
0:31:26 > 0:31:31# Only fools rush in
0:31:34 > 0:31:38# But I can't help
0:31:39 > 0:31:45# Falling in love with you
0:31:47 > 0:31:52# Shall I stay
0:31:54 > 0:31:59# Would it be a sin
0:32:02 > 0:32:05# If I can't help
0:32:07 > 0:32:13# Falling in love with you
0:32:15 > 0:32:19# Like a river flows
0:32:19 > 0:32:22# Surely to the sea
0:32:23 > 0:32:25# Darling, so it goes
0:32:25 > 0:32:32# Some things are meant to be
0:32:33 > 0:32:37# Take my hand
0:32:39 > 0:32:44# Take my whole life, too
0:32:47 > 0:32:51# For I can't help
0:32:51 > 0:32:58# Falling in love with you
0:33:30 > 0:33:34# Like a river flows
0:33:34 > 0:33:37# Surely to the sea
0:33:38 > 0:33:41# Darling, so it goes
0:33:41 > 0:33:48# Some things are meant to be
0:33:50 > 0:33:54# Take my hand
0:33:56 > 0:34:01# Take my whole life, too
0:34:03 > 0:34:09# For I can't help
0:34:09 > 0:34:16# Falling in love with you
0:34:18 > 0:34:24# No, I can't help
0:34:24 > 0:34:32# Falling in love with you. #
0:34:51 > 0:34:53In September, 1954,
0:34:53 > 0:34:56a blues singer named Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup
0:34:56 > 0:35:00was sitting having a drink in a bar in Mississippi
0:35:00 > 0:35:02when someone put a dime in the jukebox.
0:35:02 > 0:35:05Elvis' That's All Right filled the room.
0:35:05 > 0:35:09Arthur ran to a phone, this was his song,
0:35:09 > 0:35:11and he wanted to know two things,
0:35:11 > 0:35:13one, who was this guy singing his song?
0:35:13 > 0:35:16And two, when was he going to get paid?
0:35:16 > 0:35:18# Well, now That's all right now, Mama
0:35:18 > 0:35:21# That's all right for you... #
0:35:21 > 0:35:23Despite Arthur's best efforts
0:35:23 > 0:35:26he initially only got a royalty cheque for a dollar or two.
0:35:26 > 0:35:30By the '60s, he was forced to become a farmer to survive.
0:35:30 > 0:35:35Only in the 1970s did Arthur finally get paid what the song was worth.
0:35:37 > 0:35:40Elvis had never planned to record That's All Right
0:35:40 > 0:35:44during that historic session on the 5th of July, 1954.
0:35:44 > 0:35:48Astonishingly, the recording happened by accident.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50That was what you call
0:35:50 > 0:35:54one of the most beautiful accidents in the world.
0:35:55 > 0:35:58Scotty, Bill and Elvis tried two songs,
0:35:58 > 0:36:01Harbour Lights and I Love You Because.
0:36:01 > 0:36:03But there'd been no creative spark.
0:36:05 > 0:36:08Close to midnight, they were all tired
0:36:08 > 0:36:11and they all had work the next morning.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16There was no air conditioning in Sun back in those days,
0:36:16 > 0:36:18so it must have been pretty stifling.
0:36:18 > 0:36:21Sam Phillips told the trio to go and take a break
0:36:21 > 0:36:25and, in that break, Elvis started messing around with a song.
0:36:25 > 0:36:27Through this door,
0:36:27 > 0:36:31Sam Phillips heard the sound of something quite amazing.
0:36:31 > 0:36:35Elvis was singing Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup's That's All Right.
0:36:35 > 0:36:38Scotty Moore told me he didn't know the song.
0:36:38 > 0:36:40And Bill Black, the bass player, didn't know it.
0:36:40 > 0:36:42But they were good enough musicians they could fake it.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44They call it "fake it" in the music business.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47So, they faked it and they were just jamming, having a good time.
0:36:47 > 0:36:50Sam's opened the door and said, "What you guys doing out there?"
0:36:50 > 0:36:54They said, "Well, Sam, we're just goofing around, just jamming."
0:36:54 > 0:36:57Sam said, "Goofing around sounds pretty good.
0:36:57 > 0:36:59"I'm going to put that down." They said, "What?!"
0:36:59 > 0:37:01"We don't know the words, Sam." He said,
0:37:01 > 0:37:04"Oh, Elvis knows the words, just follow him."
0:37:05 > 0:37:07There were some false starts.
0:37:07 > 0:37:12Then, Elvis joining Scotty on guitar, sang too loud.
0:37:12 > 0:37:14# Well, that's all right, Mama... #
0:37:14 > 0:37:16Sam motioned to them to stop.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21But finally they got it right.
0:37:21 > 0:37:23# Well, that's all right, now, Mama... #
0:37:23 > 0:37:27With Elvis trying to remember what he could of Arthur Crudup's lyrics,
0:37:27 > 0:37:30at one point, forgetting them altogether.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33# De-de-de, I need your loving... #
0:37:33 > 0:37:36The trio knew they'd made something different.
0:37:36 > 0:37:39Bill Black shouted, "Well, that's fine.
0:37:39 > 0:37:41"But, good God, they'll run us out of town!"
0:37:42 > 0:37:45Prior to That's All Right (Mama) being recorded, nobody had made
0:37:45 > 0:37:48a record that crossed country and blues
0:37:48 > 0:37:51in quite the same way - certainly not a white performer.
0:37:51 > 0:37:54That's really why it was revolutionary.
0:37:54 > 0:37:57Sam Phillips was looking for a white singer who had a black sound.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59He'd said that out loud
0:37:59 > 0:38:01and Elvis was exactly what he was looking for.
0:38:01 > 0:38:04That little impromptu jam session turned into the record
0:38:04 > 0:38:06that changed the world.
0:38:10 > 0:38:13The task of singing her version of That's All Right,
0:38:13 > 0:38:16on the spot where it was recorded exactly 60 years ago,
0:38:16 > 0:38:20has fallen to British singer-songwriter Lucie Silvas.
0:38:20 > 0:38:22It's blowing my mind to even be in that room.
0:38:22 > 0:38:26To walk in and certainly the fact that I'm about to sing a song
0:38:26 > 0:38:29in there that was one of the original recordings that Elvis did
0:38:29 > 0:38:34is actually something I can't get my head around.
0:38:34 > 0:38:36When he sang, he was such an individual.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39And he sang from his heart. It wasn't contrived,
0:38:39 > 0:38:40it was very authentic,
0:38:40 > 0:38:44so if I can just be myself and be authentic and sing it in
0:38:44 > 0:38:48the way that I feel at that moment then I'll be happy enough with that.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59# Well, that's all right, Mama
0:38:59 > 0:39:01# That's all right for you
0:39:01 > 0:39:04# That's all right, Mama
0:39:04 > 0:39:05# Anyway you do
0:39:05 > 0:39:07# Well, that's all right
0:39:07 > 0:39:09# That's all right
0:39:09 > 0:39:12# That's all right now, Mama
0:39:12 > 0:39:14# Anyway you do
0:39:18 > 0:39:22# Mama she done told me, Papa done told me too
0:39:22 > 0:39:26# "Son, that gal your hangin' with, she ain't no good for you"
0:39:26 > 0:39:28# But, that's all right
0:39:28 > 0:39:29# That's all right
0:39:31 > 0:39:33# That's all right now, Mama
0:39:33 > 0:39:35# Anyway you do
0:39:59 > 0:40:01# Well, I'm leaving town, baby
0:40:01 > 0:40:03# I'm leaving town for sure
0:40:03 > 0:40:07# Well, then you won't be bothered by me hanging 'round your door
0:40:07 > 0:40:09# Well, that's all right
0:40:09 > 0:40:11# That's all right
0:40:11 > 0:40:14# That's all right now, Mama
0:40:14 > 0:40:17# Anyway you do
0:40:20 > 0:40:22# Ah, dee-dee-dee
0:40:22 > 0:40:25# Ah, da-da-da
0:40:25 > 0:40:27# Hey
0:40:28 > 0:40:30# That's all right
0:40:30 > 0:40:32# That's all right
0:40:32 > 0:40:34# Well, that's all right now, Mama
0:40:34 > 0:40:38# Anyway will do
0:40:41 > 0:40:42# That's all right
0:40:42 > 0:40:44# Well, that's all right
0:40:44 > 0:40:46# Well, that's all right
0:40:46 > 0:40:48# That's all right
0:40:48 > 0:40:50# Well, that's all right
0:40:50 > 0:40:52# That's all right
0:40:52 > 0:40:54# That's all right, Mama
0:40:54 > 0:40:56# That's all right
0:41:00 > 0:41:02# Oh, yeah. #
0:41:11 > 0:41:13Soon after cutting That's All Right
0:41:13 > 0:41:16Sam Phillips played it to his family at home.
0:41:16 > 0:41:20His son Jerry, although only six at the time, remembers it well.
0:41:20 > 0:41:22I knew something was up.
0:41:24 > 0:41:30That he had felt like all he had done was coming into being,
0:41:30 > 0:41:32what he was chasing.
0:41:32 > 0:41:35Any time he ever had any kind of thing he was excited about,
0:41:35 > 0:41:39he would get a certain look about him that, for me, was a compliment.
0:41:39 > 0:41:42MAN ON RADIO: It's getting summertime, you know...
0:41:42 > 0:41:46A couple of days later, Sam gave a copy of That's All Right to Memphis'
0:41:46 > 0:41:51coolest radio DJ Dewey Phillips, who had a late night show on WHBQ,
0:41:51 > 0:41:53called Red Hot and Blue.
0:41:53 > 0:41:57..and tell 'em Phillips sent you from Red Hot and Blue!
0:41:57 > 0:42:01The station operated from the lobby of the Hotel Chisca downtown.
0:42:03 > 0:42:04DEWEY: Here's a record that's getting hot.
0:42:04 > 0:42:06# Well, that's all right, Mama... #
0:42:06 > 0:42:08Dewey instantly fell in love with That's All Right
0:42:08 > 0:42:10and played it non-stop.
0:42:10 > 0:42:15Elvis hid in a movie theatre, so he didn't have to hear it.
0:42:15 > 0:42:19"I thought people would laugh at me," he said later.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22George Klein was working for Dewey at WHBQ.
0:42:22 > 0:42:25He said, "Come here, I want you to hear something."
0:42:25 > 0:42:27I went into the control room and he put a record on,
0:42:27 > 0:42:30but he put his hand over the label where I couldn't see it.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32He said, "Who is that?" And he played it.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34I said, "I don't know who that is."
0:42:34 > 0:42:37He said, "You should know, man, you went to high school with him."
0:42:37 > 0:42:39I said, "You mean Elvis? He got a record out?"
0:42:39 > 0:42:42He said, "Yeah. Sam Phillips brought it up last night.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46"I think the kid's got a hit, man. I think he's got something here."
0:42:46 > 0:42:48# Mama, she done told me... #
0:42:48 > 0:42:50Things began to move fast.
0:42:50 > 0:42:55Within days, Sun Records received orders for 6,000 copies.
0:42:55 > 0:42:58Scotty, Bill and Elvis began to perform gigs.
0:42:58 > 0:43:01At first, when girls screamed when he moved his hips,
0:43:01 > 0:43:03he thought they were laughing at him.
0:43:03 > 0:43:06Elvis soon realised the opposite was true.
0:43:08 > 0:43:10Next to sing their tribute to Elvis
0:43:10 > 0:43:13are Los Angeles-based duo The Pierces,
0:43:13 > 0:43:15sisters Allison and Catherine.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18We are going to sing Blue Moon today
0:43:18 > 0:43:22and we chose that just cos it's such a beautiful song and there's
0:43:22 > 0:43:24so many renditions of it,
0:43:24 > 0:43:27but we really love Elvis' version.
0:43:27 > 0:43:30- And it's good for harmony. - It's great for harmony.
0:43:30 > 0:43:34It's just heart-wrenching in the beginning and then happy in the end.
0:43:34 > 0:43:36And it can't get much better than that.
0:43:50 > 0:43:55# Blue moon
0:43:55 > 0:44:01# I saw you standing alone
0:44:02 > 0:44:07# Without a dream in my heart
0:44:09 > 0:44:14# Without a love of my own
0:44:18 > 0:44:24# Blue moon
0:44:24 > 0:44:29# You knew just what I was there for
0:44:31 > 0:44:36# You heard me saying a pray for
0:44:37 > 0:44:43# Someone I really could care for
0:44:48 > 0:44:54# And suddenly appeared before me
0:44:55 > 0:45:00# The only one my arms will ever hold
0:45:02 > 0:45:08# I heard somebody whisper "adore me"
0:45:10 > 0:45:17# And when I looked up the moon was gone
0:45:17 > 0:45:20# Blue moon
0:45:22 > 0:45:27# Now I'm no longer alone
0:45:29 > 0:45:34# Without a dream in my heart
0:45:37 > 0:45:41# Without a love of my own
0:45:47 > 0:45:54# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
0:45:54 > 0:46:00# Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
0:46:02 > 0:46:05# Blue moon
0:46:06 > 0:46:12# Now I'm no longer alone
0:46:14 > 0:46:19# Without a dream in my heart
0:46:20 > 0:46:26# Without a love of my own
0:46:28 > 0:46:33# Without a love of my own
0:46:35 > 0:46:42# Without a love of my own. #
0:46:52 > 0:46:57# Well, there's a leak in this old building... #
0:46:57 > 0:47:01By April, 1957, Elvis had made enough money from his recordings
0:47:01 > 0:47:03to go up in the world.
0:47:03 > 0:47:07His parents found a mansion on the outskirts of Memphis.
0:47:11 > 0:47:13Graceland.
0:47:13 > 0:47:15It looked like something out of the Civil War,
0:47:15 > 0:47:18but was actually only 18 years old when Elvis purchased it.
0:47:22 > 0:47:27# You know, the landlord rang my front doorbell... #
0:47:27 > 0:47:30Within days of buying Graceland, Elvis started refurbishing it,
0:47:30 > 0:47:34competing with Sam Phillips, who had also just bought a big new house.
0:47:34 > 0:47:37# And asked him to tell me what's on his mind
0:47:37 > 0:47:38# He said
0:47:38 > 0:47:40# Money, honey... #
0:47:40 > 0:47:45Over the years, Graceland's decor changed repeatedly.
0:47:45 > 0:47:47Now, the house is frozen in time,
0:47:47 > 0:47:50how it was when Elvis died, in August, 1977.
0:47:53 > 0:47:56Over here in the corner is this - his jukebox.
0:47:56 > 0:48:00And this can hold 100 different singles,
0:48:00 > 0:48:02which, back in the day, was a lot of singles.
0:48:02 > 0:48:05And also, it transmitted the sound all around the house.
0:48:07 > 0:48:10Elvis had 14 different TVs in the house.
0:48:10 > 0:48:11But three right here,
0:48:11 > 0:48:14he wanted to watch three different American football games
0:48:14 > 0:48:17at the same time. Nothing wrong with that.
0:48:22 > 0:48:25Here we are in the world-famous Jungle Room.
0:48:26 > 0:48:30Originally, Elvis and his family just referred to it as the "den".
0:48:30 > 0:48:32But then, it got a little bit of character,
0:48:32 > 0:48:37when, one night, Elvis purchased all this fantastically-crazy, eclectic
0:48:37 > 0:48:42furniture in the middle of the night from a furniture store in Memphis.
0:48:42 > 0:48:44Apparently, it reminded him of his time in Hawaii
0:48:44 > 0:48:47and the movies he used to make out there.
0:48:47 > 0:48:48# You think you're gonna win
0:48:48 > 0:48:51# You think she's giving in... #
0:48:51 > 0:48:53With the carpet on the ceiling,
0:48:53 > 0:48:55Elvis realised the room had a fantastic acoustic
0:48:55 > 0:48:59and actually used it to record a majority of his last album here.
0:48:59 > 0:49:03# She's a complicated lady, so colour my baby moody blue... #
0:49:03 > 0:49:06There's a clue in the Jungle Room to Elvis' state of mind
0:49:06 > 0:49:08in his final years.
0:49:08 > 0:49:11He used a series of cameras to check who was in the house
0:49:11 > 0:49:13before he came downstairs.
0:49:14 > 0:49:17Fame didn't bring Elvis peace of mind.
0:49:17 > 0:49:19# We're caught in a trap
0:49:20 > 0:49:23# I can't walk out... #
0:49:23 > 0:49:27The overweight Vegas Elvis, for whom Graceland became a place to hide,
0:49:27 > 0:49:30has skewed our view of him.
0:49:30 > 0:49:33What he achieved in a short space of time is remarkable.
0:49:33 > 0:49:38And some of his early songs, in particular, are ground-breaking.
0:49:38 > 0:49:42It's my turn to perform at Sun Studio and live into Radio 2.
0:49:42 > 0:49:44MAN ON RADIO: How are you feeling about today?
0:49:44 > 0:49:46Oh, I'm absolutely ecstatic.
0:49:46 > 0:49:50I mean, we're here in Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee, my first time...
0:49:50 > 0:49:53And I've chosen one of those lesser-known early songs.
0:49:53 > 0:49:56As Long As I Have You, from my favourite Elvis film,
0:49:56 > 0:49:591958's King Creole.
0:50:15 > 0:50:18# Let the stars fade and fall
0:50:20 > 0:50:23# And I won't care at all
0:50:24 > 0:50:29# As long as I have you
0:50:31 > 0:50:34# Every kiss brings a thrill
0:50:36 > 0:50:38# And I know that it will
0:50:40 > 0:50:45# As long as I have you
0:50:46 > 0:50:50# Let's think of the future
0:50:51 > 0:50:55# Forget the past
0:50:55 > 0:50:58# You're not my first love
0:50:59 > 0:51:02# But you're my last
0:51:02 > 0:51:05# Take the love that I bring
0:51:07 > 0:51:09# Then I'll have everything
0:51:11 > 0:51:16# As long as I have you
0:51:33 > 0:51:38# Well, let's think of the future
0:51:38 > 0:51:40# Forget the past
0:51:42 > 0:51:45# You're not my first love
0:51:46 > 0:51:49# But you're my last
0:51:49 > 0:51:52# Take the love that I bring
0:51:53 > 0:51:56# Then I'll have everything
0:51:58 > 0:52:05# As long as I have you
0:52:05 > 0:52:07# As long
0:52:09 > 0:52:17# As long as I have you. #
0:52:27 > 0:52:30I'd like to welcome you to Elvis Presley Graceland.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32My name is Mary.
0:52:32 > 0:52:35I want to give you a little brief history about the mansion
0:52:35 > 0:52:36before you begin your tour.
0:52:36 > 0:52:40# You can shake an apple off an apple tree
0:52:40 > 0:52:42# Shake, shake, sugar
0:52:42 > 0:52:43# But you'll never shake me.
0:52:43 > 0:52:45# Uh-uh-uh... #
0:52:45 > 0:52:49More than 19 million tourists have visited Graceland
0:52:49 > 0:52:53since it first opened its door to the public in 1982.
0:52:53 > 0:52:56For some, it was their grandparents who were blown away
0:52:56 > 0:52:59when they first heard Elvis on the radio.
0:52:59 > 0:53:04What started on July 5th, 1954 had a profound effect on the world.
0:53:04 > 0:53:07Especially in Britain, where, at the time,
0:53:07 > 0:53:09the music scene was rather tame.
0:53:09 > 0:53:12# Mexico... #
0:53:12 > 0:53:16Before Elvis, we were still living in a post-war pop world.
0:53:16 > 0:53:19Not much had changed since the late '40s.
0:53:19 > 0:53:21There were a lot of ballads in the charts.
0:53:21 > 0:53:24In America, you had people like Eddie Fisher.
0:53:24 > 0:53:26In Britain, people liked Dickie Valentine.
0:53:26 > 0:53:28It was all very gentle and the subject matter would be...
0:53:28 > 0:53:30things like Twenty Tiny Fingers, by Rosemary Clooney,
0:53:30 > 0:53:32about having families and babies.
0:53:32 > 0:53:36I mean, there's a certain innocence to it and, looking back,
0:53:36 > 0:53:39at the time, it would have driven you nuts, if you were young.
0:53:39 > 0:53:43I think it was safe for the mums and dads,
0:53:43 > 0:53:46but we didn't like it, young people didn't like it.
0:53:46 > 0:53:49They were fun records, but they were just fun records,
0:53:49 > 0:53:51there was nothing, none of that in there.
0:53:51 > 0:53:55It was ripe for someone to come along and do something exciting
0:53:55 > 0:53:58and turn everything upside down, which is exactly what Elvis did.
0:53:58 > 0:54:00The first Elvis record that anybody would have heard in Britain
0:54:00 > 0:54:02was Heartbreak Hotel.
0:54:02 > 0:54:04# Well, since my baby left me
0:54:04 > 0:54:07# I found a new place to dwell... #
0:54:07 > 0:54:09The BBC wouldn't play it.
0:54:09 > 0:54:12The head of light music on BBC Radio said that Elvis
0:54:12 > 0:54:14and Bill Haley were freaks.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17So, there was not much chance he was going to play their music.
0:54:17 > 0:54:20All we had in Britain was photos.
0:54:20 > 0:54:24Every other guy in the street, if he had the right kind of hairstyle,
0:54:24 > 0:54:27he could grow sideburns, he could pull his collar up
0:54:27 > 0:54:30and look a bit menacing. Everyone wanted to be Elvis.
0:54:30 > 0:54:32We all did. I did.
0:54:32 > 0:54:36I used to watch the way he moved, how he sung, the way he looked,
0:54:36 > 0:54:38what he dressed in.
0:54:38 > 0:54:42Those cheekbones were to die for.
0:54:42 > 0:54:45The nose was to die for.
0:54:45 > 0:54:49The mouth, with those great kissable lips.
0:54:49 > 0:54:52Very warm, intelligent and kind eyes.
0:54:52 > 0:54:55Great hair. Is that enough?
0:54:55 > 0:54:57# Well, it's one for the money
0:54:57 > 0:54:59# Two for the show
0:54:59 > 0:55:00# Three to get ready
0:55:00 > 0:55:01# Now go, cat, go... #
0:55:01 > 0:55:05When the first album came out, I can't think how incendiary
0:55:05 > 0:55:07that sleeve would have looked.
0:55:07 > 0:55:10Even 20-odd years later The Clash used the same
0:55:10 > 0:55:12kind of sleeve for London Calling
0:55:12 > 0:55:14and it looked revolutionary then.
0:55:14 > 0:55:18It's just the most exciting-looking record sleeve I've ever seen.
0:55:18 > 0:55:21Before him, there was just nothing like that.
0:55:21 > 0:55:23He was free.
0:55:23 > 0:55:27Every rebellious part that you have in you was on that stage.
0:55:27 > 0:55:30# You were always on my mind... #
0:55:30 > 0:55:35From his childhood in Tupelo through to his teenage years in Memphis,
0:55:35 > 0:55:38Elvis was on a musical mission.
0:55:38 > 0:55:41When he first walked into Sun Studio, Marion Keisker,
0:55:41 > 0:55:45sitting here, asked Elvis who he sounded like.
0:55:45 > 0:55:47"I don't sound like nobody," he said.
0:55:47 > 0:55:49And you've got to love that confidence.
0:55:49 > 0:55:52It's as if he knew he had something different, something unique.
0:55:52 > 0:55:55Marion and the rest of the world soon realised
0:55:55 > 0:55:57he was absolutely right.
0:55:59 > 0:56:02We're going to end our tribute to Elvis
0:56:02 > 0:56:06and That's All Right with a song Sam Phillips felt was the greatest
0:56:06 > 0:56:08he ever recorded with Elvis.
0:56:08 > 0:56:11A song he co-wrote - Mystery Train.
0:56:12 > 0:56:15# Train I ride
0:56:15 > 0:56:18# 16 coaches long
0:56:21 > 0:56:24# Train I ride, yeah
0:56:24 > 0:56:27# 16 coaches long
0:56:30 > 0:56:36# Well, that long black train got my baby and gone, gone, gone
0:56:38 > 0:56:40# Train I ride
0:56:40 > 0:56:43# Comin' 'round the bend
0:56:43 > 0:56:45# Oh, yeah
0:56:45 > 0:56:48# Train, train
0:56:48 > 0:56:51# Comin' 'round the bend
0:56:53 > 0:56:59# Well, it took my baby, but it never will again
0:56:59 > 0:57:01# No, no
0:57:01 > 0:57:04# Train, train
0:57:04 > 0:57:06# Comin' down the line
0:57:09 > 0:57:12# Train, train
0:57:12 > 0:57:15# Comin' down the line
0:57:17 > 0:57:22# Well, it's bringin' my baby, cos she's mine, all mine
0:57:22 > 0:57:23# She's mine, all mine
0:57:40 > 0:57:43- # Train, train - Train, train
0:57:43 > 0:57:45# Comin' 'round the bend
0:57:48 > 0:57:51- # Train, train - Train, train
0:57:51 > 0:57:54# Comin' 'round the bend
0:57:54 > 0:57:56# 'Round the bend, yeah
0:57:56 > 0:58:02# Well, it took my baby, but it never take her again
0:58:02 > 0:58:04# No, no, no
0:58:04 > 0:58:06# Train, train
0:58:06 > 0:58:08# Comin' 'round the bend
0:58:10 > 0:58:12# Never again
0:58:14 > 0:58:16# Oh, never again
0:58:16 > 0:58:18# No, no
0:58:18 > 0:58:20# Never again
0:58:20 > 0:58:22# Never again
0:58:22 > 0:58:24# Train, train
0:58:27 > 0:58:29- # Train, train - # Train, train
0:58:29 > 0:58:31- # Train, train - Train, train
0:58:31 > 0:58:33- # Train, train - Train, train
0:58:33 > 0:58:35- # Train, train - Train, train
0:58:35 > 0:58:37- # Train, train - Train, train
0:58:37 > 0:58:39- # Train, train - Train, train
0:58:39 > 0:58:41# Train, train. #