The Million Dollar Quartet: Jerry Lee, Carl, Elvis & Johnny

by Stephen Miller

The spontaneous get-together of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis at Sun Records in Memphis took place on December 4, 1956. Elvis was the only bona fide superstar having already left the label and its owner Sam Phillips for RCA records and Hollywood. Perkins was trying to capitalise on his hit 'Blue Suede Shoes' while Cash and Lewis were yet to attain major fame and notoriety. Presley dropped in during a Perkins session featuring Lewis on piano, and, with the exception of Cash who joined them but did not sing, they started performing the kind of songs they loved - three young guys making music for themselves. Phillips recorded the spontaneous session and eventually the tape would surface in the 1970s to become the subject of many a legal wrangle before achieving an official release. As a result we can now hear the music, but this book is surely as close as anyone will ever come to being a fly on the wall of Sun Studios during that historic jam session over half a century ago.