1956: Elvis Presley, along with his companion Marilyn Evans, drops in to the Sun Studios. He interrupts a session featuring Carl Perkins with Jerry Lee Lewis backing him on piano. That trio is then joined by Johnny Cash, who also drops by unannounced.
The four begin an impromptu jam session, mostly featuring Gospel music they all know. Fortunately for us all, Sun Records founder, Sam Phillips has the foresight to turn on a tape recorder.
The tape sits unreleased (!) in the vaults until the 1980’s when it’s finally released as “The Million Dollar Quartet.”
This event in rock ‘n’ roll history has also inspired a Broadway show of the same name, centered around a fictional version of this legendary recording session.
