A young Johnny Cash signs autographs following a 1955 performance at Stantonville, Tennessee.
All Shook Up: Music that Rocked
the World
Midcentury West Tennessee and North Mississippi were ground zero for seismic cultural shifts that forever altered the landscape of American music. Towering musical talents like Elvis Presley and Carl Perkins came of age in the region, separated by a 100 mile strip of asphalt known as U.S. Highway 45. 706 Union Avenue, in nearby Memphis, is considered the site of rock 'n' rolls "big bang" moment since Sun Records owner, Sam Phillips, was the first to make it commercially available, but the music was born and grew up in surrounding rural countryside.
W.S. "Fluke" Holland, the original drummer for Perkins and longtime bandmate of Johnny Cash explained, "[45] has now been officially named Rockabilly Highway due to the significance it played in the music we created. From the Madison County line (Jackson) on the North to Tupelo [Mississippi] on the south Highway 45, in those days, was dotted with numerous night clubs and honky-tonks. It was in these clubs many rock, country and rockabilly artists honed their craft and played night after night. This is where rockabilly music was born and where its popularity and worldwide influence originated."
Rockabilly is what happens when postwar kids grow up listening to the Grand Ole Opry and R&B records, appreciating both in equal measure. It's what happens when pioneering DJs like Dewey Phillips, flout social convention to integrate the airwaves with the sounds of white and black artists played back to back. It is the fusion of two musical forms that could only have happened midway between Memphis and Nashville; an infectious synthesis of blues and country that influenced every brand of popular music that followed. Or as Sir Paul McCartney succinctly stated it, "If there were no Carl Perkins, there would be no Beatles."
"Daddy-O" Dewey Phillips in his element on WHBQ's controversial Red, Hot & Blue radio program.
Daddy-O Dewey Phillips & the Birth
of Rock 'n Roll
Rock 'n' rolls undisputed first DJ, "Daddy-O" Dewey Phillips, was born in Crump, and raised in eastern McNairy County where he attended Adamsville High School, remaining a lifelong Cardinals basketball fan. After a hitch in the Army, Phillips moved to Memphis becoming an influential music tastemaker on the groundbreaking WHBQ radio program, Red, Hot, and Blue. The controversial show became one of the most popular radio programs of the era, shattering broadcast norms and racially integrating the Southern airwaves. "Daddy-O Dewey" boldly spun blues, country, pop, and R&B records back to back, punctuated with Phillips's manic hillbilly performance played for comedy. It was a winning combination with advertisers was well as a growing audience of postwar youth who tuned in daily, hanging on every word and eagerly purchasing the records Phillips played on the program. Phillips was the first to play the records of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee, and Johnny Cash, launching their careers and forever altering the landscape of American culture. Read Dewey Phillips's full induction biography on the Hall of Fame's class of 2013 page.
of Rock 'n Roll
Rock 'n' rolls undisputed first DJ, "Daddy-O" Dewey Phillips, was born in Crump, and raised in eastern McNairy County where he attended Adamsville High School, remaining a lifelong Cardinals basketball fan. After a hitch in the Army, Phillips moved to Memphis becoming an influential music tastemaker on the groundbreaking WHBQ radio program, Red, Hot, and Blue. The controversial show became one of the most popular radio programs of the era, shattering broadcast norms and racially integrating the Southern airwaves. "Daddy-O Dewey" boldly spun blues, country, pop, and R&B records back to back, punctuated with Phillips's manic hillbilly performance played for comedy. It was a winning combination with advertisers was well as a growing audience of postwar youth who tuned in daily, hanging on every word and eagerly purchasing the records Phillips played on the program. Phillips was the first to play the records of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee, and Johnny Cash, launching their careers and forever altering the landscape of American culture. Read Dewey Phillips's full induction biography on the Hall of Fame's class of 2013 page.
A 19 year old Elvis Presley backstage at Overton Park Shell, July 30, 1954, just weeks before his first road performance at Bethel Springs School.
The King at Bethel Springs
In September 1954, Elvis Presley's star was on the rise. He had only one Sun release under his belt, but with the help of Daddy-O Dewey Phillips at WHBQ, "That's All Right/Blue Moon of Kentucky" (Sun 209) was the hottest single on Mid-South radio. Presley's management knew he had to get out of Memphis to promote the record and connect with a growing regional fandom. The first live performance of the King's storied career was booked at Bethel Springs School, September 17, 1954. The historic show was attended by a small but enthusiastic local audience, which included a hungry young guitarist and songwriter named Carl Perkins. Perkins, who had heard Presley's single on the radio, sensed a kindred spirit in the artist some were calling the "Hillbilly Cat." The music Presley and Perkins pioneered would come to be known as rockabilly, but the night they met in the parking lot of rural schoolhouse, these icons of American music were just two ambitious kids with big dreams. And the rest, as they say, is history. Read more about Bethel Springs School on the Hall of Fame historic places page, or the full report on the Bethel Springs concert at Arts in McNairy's folklife page.
In September 1954, Elvis Presley's star was on the rise. He had only one Sun release under his belt, but with the help of Daddy-O Dewey Phillips at WHBQ, "That's All Right/Blue Moon of Kentucky" (Sun 209) was the hottest single on Mid-South radio. Presley's management knew he had to get out of Memphis to promote the record and connect with a growing regional fandom. The first live performance of the King's storied career was booked at Bethel Springs School, September 17, 1954. The historic show was attended by a small but enthusiastic local audience, which included a hungry young guitarist and songwriter named Carl Perkins. Perkins, who had heard Presley's single on the radio, sensed a kindred spirit in the artist some were calling the "Hillbilly Cat." The music Presley and Perkins pioneered would come to be known as rockabilly, but the night they met in the parking lot of rural schoolhouse, these icons of American music were just two ambitious kids with big dreams. And the rest, as they say, is history. Read more about Bethel Springs School on the Hall of Fame historic places page, or the full report on the Bethel Springs concert at Arts in McNairy's folklife page.
Carl Perkins with Bethel Springs songstress, Marie King, ca. 1952 around the time he made his first recordings with Stanton Littlejohn at Eastview.
The Littlejohn Sessions: Rockabilly in Its Infancy
When a lanky young guitarist named Carl Perkins ambled into Stanton Littlejohn's makeshift, Eastview studio, no one could have known the pair would make music history. The amateur sound recordist was the first to train a microphone on Perkins performing R&B tunes with a West Tennessee twang; a sound that we now call rockabilly music. It would be many years before the rest of the world heard the Littlejohn recordings, but they unequivocally corroborate Carl Perkins's lifelong claim that rockabilly wasn't an Elvis Presley invention, or a feat of Sun Records magic, rather an outgrowth of a new generation of artists exploding artificial boundaries between black and white music traditions in the rural South. Read Littlejohn's Hall of Fame biography here, and Perkins's induction remarks here.
When a lanky young guitarist named Carl Perkins ambled into Stanton Littlejohn's makeshift, Eastview studio, no one could have known the pair would make music history. The amateur sound recordist was the first to train a microphone on Perkins performing R&B tunes with a West Tennessee twang; a sound that we now call rockabilly music. It would be many years before the rest of the world heard the Littlejohn recordings, but they unequivocally corroborate Carl Perkins's lifelong claim that rockabilly wasn't an Elvis Presley invention, or a feat of Sun Records magic, rather an outgrowth of a new generation of artists exploding artificial boundaries between black and white music traditions in the rural South. Read Littlejohn's Hall of Fame biography here, and Perkins's induction remarks here.
2023 Mural "Always Lift Him Up, and Never Knock Him Down" by artist Brian Tull, in downtown Selmer, Tennessee.
Music in Color, Stories in Art
Three high profile murals in downtown Selmer visually interpret the region's rich music history. The vibrant "Rockabilly Highway Mural 1," at Court Avenue and 2nd Street, depicts a high energy rockabilly band in action, while the more contemplative, "Rockabilly Highway Mural 2," at Court and Front Street, is a nod to rockabilly's country music roots. "Always Lift Him Up, and Never Knock Him Down" at 3rd and Houston Avenue, highlights African American influences in the development of rockabilly music.
All three works were commissioned by Arts in McNairy and completed by sought-after muralist Brian Tull. Tull, a McNairy County native, is a working artist with gallery representation in Naples, Florida, and Nashville, Tennessee where he lives and works. A Tennessee Music Pathways marker at Court Avenue and Front Street details Selmer's public art initiative and its connection to the region's music history.
Three high profile murals in downtown Selmer visually interpret the region's rich music history. The vibrant "Rockabilly Highway Mural 1," at Court Avenue and 2nd Street, depicts a high energy rockabilly band in action, while the more contemplative, "Rockabilly Highway Mural 2," at Court and Front Street, is a nod to rockabilly's country music roots. "Always Lift Him Up, and Never Knock Him Down" at 3rd and Houston Avenue, highlights African American influences in the development of rockabilly music.
All three works were commissioned by Arts in McNairy and completed by sought-after muralist Brian Tull. Tull, a McNairy County native, is a working artist with gallery representation in Naples, Florida, and Nashville, Tennessee where he lives and works. A Tennessee Music Pathways marker at Court Avenue and Front Street details Selmer's public art initiative and its connection to the region's music history.
Detail of Rockabilly Highway Mural I by artist, Brian Tull
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Rockabilly Highway: Take the Drive, Feel the Vibe
Rockabilly Highway (US 45 South) stretches from I-40 in Jackson, Tennessee to the state line in southern McNairy County, proceeding to Tupelo, Mississippi as Rockabilly Way. The Rockabilly Highway initiative recognizes the communities where the music was born and nurtured to become a worldwide sensation. Cruise down Rockabilly Highway and you'll see what we mean when we say take the drive, feel the vibe . Learn more below. |
Rockabilly Highway Mural II by artist, Brian Tull.
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