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183 acknowledgments I cannot adequately express my gratitude to, nor even here name, all those who have expressed interest in the subject of my Sun years. Hoping I have not omitted anyone, I would like to thank especially those who have read and offered comments on various drafts or chapters, including Frank de Caro, Jim Bennett, Lynn Mitchell, Rick Coleman, Bret Lott, Jack and Jeane Lavin, Will MacCalder, Russell Desmond, June Kost, Bennie Coates, Joanie Penniman, Leon LeJeune, Art and Donna Sterling, Anne Patin, Melvin Shortess, Elizabeth Burns, Michael Holland, Bruce Sharkey, John Stinson, and Mary Ann Sternberg. I also thank my student employees whose support through the years has afforded me time and energy to complete this project. I have relied on the 1975 monograph The Complete Sun Label Session Files (Revised) for the chronology and personnel of studio sessions and acknowledge my great debt to the authors, Colin Escott and Martin Hawkins. Billboard magazine charts and reports were referred to in stating placement of recordings in national rankings and some historical background. Thanks to John Singleton of Sun Entertainment Corporation for permission to use the majority of the graphics in this book, without which my narrative would have lacked a vital component. Added thanks as well to others, especially Robert Dye of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc., and Chelsie Lykens of the Roy Orbison Estate, who have shared visuals for use in the book. I appreciate the efficient and tactful manner in which Margaret Lovecraft and the staff at LSU Press have initiated me into the world of book publishing. I also must express admiration and gratitude to those pioneering students of early rock and of country music whose writings set the tone for the serious consideration of the musical genres Sun artists explored, including Peter Guralnick, Greil Marcus, and Bill Malone. This page intentionally left blank ...

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