On October 30, 2015 Yep Roc will release ‘Sam Phillips: The Man Who Invented Rock ‘n’ Roll,’ a companion release to Peter Guralnick’s forthcoming biography of the same name, and a personal, idiosyncratic survey of one of the most important bodies of work in recording history. The 2CD/3LP set features songs hand-selected by Guralnick, who also wrote an exclusive track-by-track essay for the release. Mostly spanning the years 1950 – 1961, the set shines a light on Phillips’ unique approach to recording, his cosmic genius, and revolutionary role in the evolution of blues, country, r&b, gospel and the birth of rock ‘n’ roll.Featuring big hits, near misses, and never-even-close tracks by Elvis Presley, Howlin’ Wolf, Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Charlie Rich, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, and scores of other singular artists, ‘Sam Phillips’ delivers, in his own words, “individualism in the extreme.”
“Sam believed most of all in perfect imperfection,” Guralnick writes, adding “every track on this collection celebrates, whether intentionally or not, the diversity and beauty and rawness, the grandness and intimacy and comic and tragic drama of the human experience.”
