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Mann had his biggest commercial success with a rocking 1959 version of ‘Mona Lisa.’Carl Mann, the rockabilly singer and pianist who was one of the last of the original rockers championed by Sam Phillips at Sun Records, died on December 16 at the age of 78. Mann, described in a 2012 book as the Last Son of Sun, had his biggest commercial success with a rocking 1959 version of “Mona Lisa,” Nat King Cole’s 1950 No.1, which reached No.25 in the US. Mann became a key part of the significant revival of interest in rockabilly that swept Europe in the...

WS “Fluke” Holland, the man who provided the backbeat for some of rock and roll’s most iconic artists and songs, has died. Holland passed away on Wednesday at his home in Jackson, Tenn. following a short illness. He was 85. A native of Middle Tennessee, Holland played drums on Sun Records star Carl Perkins’ historic early recordings, including Blue Suede Shoes,” “Matchbox,” and “Honey Don’t.” He would become most identified with another Sun alumnus, Johnny Cash, playing behind the Man in Black for more than four decades and cementing his own status with his work on classic recordings including “Ring...

TUPELO, Miss. — Rockabilly singer and songwriter Jumpin' Gene Simmons, who worked with Elvis Presley and had a top 20 hit in 1964 with the bouncy "Haunted House," has died. He was 69. He died Tuesday at North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo after a long illness, according to Holland-Harris Funeral Directors. Simmons — not to be confused with the Kiss bassist with the same name — was in show business for more than 50 years, working with such names as Sam Phillips and the Bill Black Combo. More recently, he co-wrote "Indian Outlaw," which became a big hit in...

ROCK 'n' Roll turned 50 this morning when an Elvis Presley recording of That's All Right Mama played simultaneously on at least 1200 radio stations worldwide, organisers said. Stations from the UK to Ukraine and Canada to Mexico carried the song as it was fed from Sun Studios, in Memphis, Tennessee. That is where Presley, a 19-year-old truck driver and two other musicians, recorded what many historians call the first rock 'n' roll song. "It was clearly the Big Bang of Rock 'n' Roll," said Kevin Kane, of the Memphis Convention and Visitor's Bureau. Sun Studios is now a national...

The three-day shoot for the video was about to wrap, and director Mark Romanek needed just one more shot from his singer star, Johnny Cash. As Romanek recalls, "I said to John, 'This is the last take. So if you want to get angry or smash something up, this is your last chance.'" Cash didn't get it. He thought Romanek meant this would be the final shot in the ailing star's life, so he had better make it good. Cash wouldn't, couldn't surrender to such defeatism. "I hope it's not the last take," he said in that baritone growl, which...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Sam Phillips, who discovered Elvis Presley and helped usher in the rock 'n' roll revolution, died Wednesday. He was 80. Phillips died at St. Francis Hospital, spokeswoman Gwendolyn McClain said. No details were immediately available about the cause of death or how long he had been hospitalized. Phillips founded Sun Records in Memphis in 1952 and helped launch the career of Presley, then a young singer who had moved from Tupelo, Miss. He produced Presley's first record, the 1954 single that featured ``That's All Right, Mama'' and ``Blue Moon of Kentucky.'' ``God only knows that we didn't...

MEMPHIS (Reuters) - Recording industry legend Sam Phillips, the Sun Records founder who discovered Elvis Presley and also launched the careers of such stars as Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and B.B. King, has died at age 80, in Memphis. His death was confirmed on Wednesday by Rachel Zurka, spokesperson at the Memorial Park Funeral home. Zurka said that Phillips died at St. Francis Hospital in Memphis. Widely regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th century popular music, Phillips played a major role in bringing the electric blues to a wide audience and in...