IV 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. CON. RES. 12 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES January 8, 2009 Mr. Cohen submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of Congress that the United States Postal Service should issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring Sam Phillips and that the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend to the Postmaster General that such a stamp be issued.

Whereas Sam Phillips was an American record producer who played an important role in the emergence of rock and roll as the major form of popular music in the 1950s; Whereas Sam Phillips was born January 5, 1923, the youngest of 8 children and was raised on a farm just outside Florence, Alabama; Whereas on January 3, 1950, Phillips opened the Memphis Recording Service at 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee, which also served as the studios for Phillips’ own label, Sun Records, through the 1950s; Whereas Phillips recorded what some consider the first rock and roll record: Rocket 88 by Jackie Brenston and the Delta Cats; Whereas as owner of Sun Records and frequent producer of discs at his Sun Studios, Phillips was vital to launching the careers of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Rufus Thomas, and numerous other significant artists; Whereas Phillips helped put together Presley’s band, which led to the production of hits such as Heartbreak Hotel, Hound Dog, and Don’t Be Cruel; Whereas Blues legends B.B. King and Howlin’ Wolf made their first recordings at his studio; Whereas Phillips launched radio station WHER on October 29, 1955, the first All-Girl Radio format; Whereas in 1986, Sam Phillips was part of the first group inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; Whereas Phillips received a Grammy Trustees Award for his lifetime achievements in 1991; Whereas in 1998, Phillips was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and in October 2001 he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame; and Whereas commemorative postage stamps have been commissioned to honor other great contributors to Rock and Roll music: Now, therefore, be it

That it is the sense of Congress that— (1)the United States Postal Service should issue a commemorative postage stamp honoring Sam Phillips; and (2)the Citizens’ Stamp Advisory Committee should recommend to the Postmaster General that such stamp be issued.