Knox Phillips Died
Knox Phillips, son of Memphis Recording Service and SUN Records Sam Phillips, lost the battle with cancer. He was 74.
Growing up Rock ’N’ Roll took hold at Sun, where Elvis Presley recorded his first hit in 1954. "In those days, Elvis would come over to our house at midnight and we'd stay up all night. My mother would cook breakfast for him at dawn and then they'd leave," said Knox. "That was normal to me. So we didn't have the usual restrictions that most teenagers rebelled against."The long shadow of Sun Records founder Sam Phillips would have been a hard thing for any son to escape. But Knox Phillips found a way to bring his own beatific light to Memphis. For six decades, Knox was a pivotal presence behind the scenes in Bluff City music: as an engineer, producer, studio owner, community organizer and unwavering supporter of original artistry.
“I don’t think anyone was more passionate about Memphis music or had greater faith that it was always going to endure,” said author Peter Guralnick, the celebrated biographer of Elvis Presley and Sam Phillips.
(Source: Memphis Mansion / Anthony Stuchbury on Facebook / Commercial Appeal)