[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 21, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S61-S62]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     RECOGNIZING 2004 AS THE ``50TH ANNIVERSARY OF ROCK 'N' ROLL''

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the Senate

[[Page S62]]

now proceed to consideration of S. Res. 285, submitted earlier today.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will report the resolution by 
title.
  The legislative clerk read as follows:

       A resolution (S. Res. 284) recognizing 2004 as the ``50th 
     Anniversary of Rock 'n' Roll.''

  There being no objection, the Senate proceeded to consider the 
resolution.
  Mr. ALEXANDER. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the 
resolution commemorating the 50-year history of rock 'n' roll. Senator 
Frist, the sponsor of this resolution, and myself are both from the 
State where rock 'n' roll was born--Tennessee. On July 5, 1954, Elvis 
Presley recorded his first record, ``That's All Right,'' at the 
legendary Sun Studio in Memphis and rock 'n' roll was officially born.
  Memphis being the birthplace of rock 'n' roll should be of no 
surprise, since rock 'n' roll isn't the first genre of music to be 
officially born there. During the Civil War era another musical 
tradition was born from the sons and daughters who followed freedom up 
the Mississippi River. The soul-wrenching folk melodies of black 
Southerners laid the foundation for what would become the blues. 
Memphis has a vast history of being the center of American musical 
innovation.
  The heart of this music innovation is grounded in the cultural life 
of Beale Street. It was Beale Street where W.C. Handy, a wandering 
black musician and composer, was the first to put down on paper the 
sometimes grim but always hopeful fix of field hollers, gospel songs, 
cotton-baling calls, and African tribal songs. Forty years later, Beale 
Street and those same rhythms infected a young, aspiring musician named 
Elvis Aaron Presley. Elvis Presley came to Sun Records to make a record 
for his mother and ended up forever changing music and society.
  Sun Studios is the place where Sam Philips created his Rockabilly 
dynasty with Carl Perkins, B.B. King, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Jerry 
Lee Lewis and Elvis. Rock 'n' roll evolved in the 1950s from rhythm and 
blues, and was characterized by the use of electric guitars, a strong 
rhythm with an accent on the offbeat, and youth-oriented lyrics. Last 
July, Senator Frist and I joined Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton 
in a singing ceremony, which designated Sun Records recording studio as 
a National Historic Landmark. Sun Records in Memphis, TN, is the true 
home of the blues and the birthplace of rock 'n' roll.
  No other city in the United States can claim equal influence on the 
music of this Nation.
  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the resolution 
be agreed to, the preamble be agreed to, the motion to reconsider be 
laid upon the table, and that any statements relating to the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The resolution (S. Res. 285) was agreed to.
  The preamble was agreed to.
  The resolution, with its preamble, reads as follows:

                              S. Res. 285

       Whereas Elvis Presley recorded ``That's All Right'' at Sam 
     Phillips' Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, on July 5, 1954;
       Whereas Elvis' recording of ``That's All Right'', with Bill 
     Black on bass and Scotty Moore on guitar, paved the way for 
     such subsequent Sun Studio hits as Carl Perkins' ``Blue Suede 
     Shoes'' (1955), Roy Orbison's ``Ooby Dooby'' (1956), and 
     Jerry Lee Lewis' ``Whole Lotta Shakin'' (1957)--catapulting 
     Sun Studio to the forefront of a musical revolution;
       Whereas the recording in Memphis of the first rock 'n' roll 
     song came to define an era and forever change popular music;
       Whereas the birth of rock 'n' roll was the convergence of 
     the diverse cultures and musical styles of the United States, 
     blending the blues with country, gospel, jazz, and soul 
     music;
       Whereas the year 2004 provides an appropriate opportunity 
     for our nation to celebrate the birth of rock 'n' roll, and 
     the many streams of music that converged in Memphis to create 
     a truly American sound known throughout the world: Now, 
     therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the Senate--
       (1) recognizes 2004 as the 50th Anniversary of rock 'n' 
     roll;
       (2) commemorates Sun Studio for recording the first rock 
     'n' roll record, ``That's All Right''; and
       (3) expresses appreciation to Memphis for its contributions 
     to America's music heritage.

  Mr. FRIST. Mr. President, the resolution just agreed to is a 
resolution recognizing the year 2004 as the ``50th Anniversary of Rock 
'n' Roll.'' Indeed, it was 50 years ago in a small recording studio in 
Memphis, TN, that a young Elvis Presley recorded his first record. It 
was called ``That's All Right.'' And at that point, rock 'n' roll was 
born. That recording by legendary producer Sam Phillips at the now 
famous Sun Studio in Memphis paved the way for such subsequent hits 
which titles we all know: Carl Perkins' ``Blue Suede Shoes'' in 1955, 
Roy Orbison's ``Ooby Dooby'' in 1956, and Jerry Lee Lewis's ``Whole 
Lotta Shakin'' in 1957. These early hits catapulted Sun Studio and 
Memphis to the forefront of that musical revolution.
  Throughout the 1950s, the unique sound, tremendous vision, and 
incredible talent coming out of Memphis, TN, with such artists as Elvis 
Presley, the ``King of Rock 'n' Roll,'' B. B. King, Johnny Cash, Jerry 
Lee Lewis, and Carl Perkins, just to name a few, became the hallmark of 
that Sun Studio and later the hallmark of American rock 'n' roll music.
  Indeed, some of the most meaningful contributions to American music 
were made at that Sun Studio. It is where our country, in many ways, 
came together and spoke with a new, a uniquely American voice that was 
and still is heard around the world.
  The fact that rock 'n' roll was born in Memphis is no coincidence. 
That city's location on the banks of the Mississippi River made it a 
place where the diverse cultures and musical styles of our Nation came 
together, where they converged, blending the blues with country and 
with gospel and with jazz. That merging of cultures and styles 
continues today.
  The year 2004 provides the opportunity for our Nation to celebrate 
the birth of rock 'n' roll and those many streams of music that 
converged in Memphis to create a truly American sound known throughout 
the world.

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