Previously on Sun Records...
Your dream.
This is what I have to do!
Becky, I will die in Birmingham.
And I will die here.
A little piece of this, a little piece of that,
before you know it,
you got yourself an empire.
And I think you might just be the perfect partner.
It's time for us to be together.
We love each other.
I'll tell her Saturday night.
Sam and me are gonna have another baby.
Country is built on bets.
Does every bet pay off? 'Course not.
Everybody hits a losing streak, but
my God, this one is endless.
If Arnold or Snow knew, they'd pass out laughin'.
They don't see how cheap their talent is.
Talent hits a target that any fool can hit.
But genius...
Genius hits a target that no one else can see.
That's who the Colonel's after.
How to get out of this hole?
Easy, sugar. How much you in for?
$1,200, compounding. Ooh!
I heard a guys' gettin' rubbed out for less than a grand.
You know what? You should try prayer.
Bet on God?
You should try it.
My papa, he was going into foreclosure.
He prayed, two weeks later,
he sold 200 acres of useless bottom land
to the federal government for that interstate highway.
$1,500!
EasyPop, pops in his own pan
Pick 'em up at your local Easy-Way Food Store.
Give 'em to the kiddies after school
and they'll be...
poppin' with energy till supper.
EasyPop popcorn!
Thanks for the gig, Sam.
Yeah.
Whoa! Fellas.
Hold your horses.
Sam, I got a beer with my name on it.
Now, look here, fellas,
I got Memphis's finest guitar
and bass thumpers right here.
That Gibson sounded hot.
It just so happens we have a couple of hours on the clock.
Aw, Sam, come on, now!
Union contract.
This could be the greatest song
in all of the universe, but you ain't gonna know it
with me or him singing it.
Hmm.
Marion!
Who do we know that can carry a tune?
And get his ass down here on the PDQ.
This here's a hit song.
We get it soundin' real good, we'll pitch it to Red Foley.
Presley.
Yup, he's here.
Boy.
Uh, hello?
Yeah.
Yeah, I'll be right down there.
You okay, son? What's the matter?
I'm gonna get on the records for real, Mama.
Honey, I ain't a bit surprised.
You did so good on the little record.
Don't get took, son. We ain't got another four bucks.
Oh, Daddy, if you get on records,
they pay you.
Elvis, Elvis!
You forgot this.
Pretty nifty song, Sam.
Where'd you get it?
Penitentiary in Nashville
last time I was cuttin' The Prisonaires.
How them fellas doin'?
I'm sellin' a ton of records off of their tour.
Yeah? Oh, yeah!
Tonight they're playin' at cell block three.
Tomorrow, cell block four.
Cyrus, Dusty, Phineas, Burton...
Huh? Willadean,
Mary Beth, Sue Ann.
What the hell are you talking about?
Becky called.
Gave me a list of names for your baby.
She wants to know what I think
because I'm such a trusted family friend. I'm not late, am I?
Howdy, Mr. Phillips.
I hope saved some breath for singin', son.
Saved by the bell. Guys, this here...
Elvis Presley.
Scotty Moore. Bill Black.
Mighty proud to make your acquaintance, fellas.
We're runnin' late. Come on.
About to run in at time-and-a-half, right?
Double-time, more like.
Union contract, Sam.
Well, quit lollygaggin' around then.
All right, stand back six inches.
You know that old pippity-poppity pippitypopbought-a-motor-sickle?
Um... All I'm saying is
don't pop them P's into the mic.
Okay.
Mr. Phillips, am I gonna get on records for real?
I can't promise you will, son,
but if you don't give me somethin' I wanna hear,
I can guarantee you won't. Okay.
All right, you got five minutes to get it down.
Three-four-one.
I could wander the byway
Rewander, too
But it wouldn't be the same
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
He's all nerves.
I got it.
There's a whole world of hurt in this old song, son,
but I ain't feelin' it.
I need to hear one soul reachin' out to another.
Sing like your life is hangin' on it,
'cause it kinda is.
Okay.
How do you make your livin'? Mmm, truck drivin'.
Making deliveries.
There's nothin' wrong with being a truck driver.
Unless...
you were born to be a singer.
And right here, right now is when we figure that out.
Got it? Yes, sir.
Uh... From the top.
Three-four-one.
I could wander the byway
Rewander, too
But it wouldn't be the same
Without you
Stop!
Oh, Sam, come on! Again.
Those familiar old places
Just make me blue
But it wouldn't be the same Aw, hell, take five.
Gimme another chance, Mr. Phillips.
I'll stay here till Christmas.
Next Christmas, even.
That's a lot longer than I'm gonna be sticking around.
Sweet kid, Sam,
but he's just wastin' our time and your money.
Listen, I gotta work early shift tomorrow,
so why don't we cut out and we'll call it half an hour?
Marion, write these fellas a check.
Shine on the one that's gone
And left me blue
Blue moon of Kentucky
Keep on shining
Shine on the one that's gone and left me blue
Blue moon of Kentucky Keep on shining
Shine on the one that's gone and left me blue
Blue moon
Blue moon, blue moon
Keep shining bright
Blue moon Keep on shining bright
You're gonna bring me back my baby tonight
Blue moon Keep shining bright
I said blue moon of Kentucky Keep on shining
Shine on the one that's gone and left me blue
Where the hell is this guy been hidin'?
Sorry, Mr. Phillips.
Oh, hell, no, boy, that's good!
Really? That's different.
I like that. Let's do that.
Scotty. Bill.
Take Elvis's lead. All right, boy, six inches.
Okay. Take it from the top.
Do that. Okay.
Uh, it's in A, guys.
Got a little lead in, boys, but just follow me.
Are you ready, Mr. Phillips?
Let's lay one down.
Blue moon, blue moon
Blue moon
Keep shining bright
Blue moon Keep on shining bright
You're gonna bring me back my baby tonight
Blue moon
Keep shining bright
I said blue moon of Kentucky Keep on shining
Shine on the one that's gone and left me blue
Blue moon of Kentucky Keep on shining
Shine on the one that's gone and left me blue
Yeah!
Well, look who's back.
Yeah, man, I missed this place.
I sure as hell miss the paycheck.
Ad sales landed the Camel sponsorship...
So you cannot go and mangle the copy.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Why you always up my ass, boss man?
You know I'm killing my timeslot, huh?
Yeah, but you are pulling in kids and Negroes
and the sponsors, they do not want either one of them.
That's where you're wrong. Dead wrong.
That's exactly who they want, man.
I mean, why else you bring me back?
Just play these, okay?
Yes, sir, good people, it's Daddy O'Dewey
back from drinkin' senoritas
and having margaritas, boy.
All right, look what we got for you first.
Instrumental.
Oh, boy, time to get your PJs out
and, uh, set your alarm clocks, boy.
Hopefully, I can wake you up on the next one.
Earle. Hey, Sam.
I got it.
Hey!
You remember I told you if found a white boy
who could nail the hell out of a blues Billy,
I would've found a million bucks?
I remember you promisin' me half.
Uh-huh. I got one.
Come on.
Cuz, I'm just back off a suspension.
And I just got back from mortgaging my life away.
Come on, cuz. I need this.
This the one?
The one.
Yes!
All right, good people, rise and shine!
What do you think, Diz?
I think we gonna get fired, partner.
Now, this right here, lookie what we got,
something fresh off the press from Mr. Sam Phillips.
Oh, boy, it's still warm.
Smells like a hit. Don't know who it is
'cause ain't nothin' on the label.
Thank for that, Sam. All right.
Well, let's take a little listen.
Blue moon
Blue moon Well...
Keep shining bright...
Now, that... That... That's...
That's different, cuz. Uh-huh.
It's that old hillbilly, boy.
Red, Hot and Blue.
Who's singin'? Well, darn if I know.
Elvis Presley.
Alvin Presney.
Alvin Presney, boy, go get it.
Elvis... Elvis Presley. Elvis Presney.
Hey, googoo moogoo, boy.
HBQ.
Hey, I'm diggin' it, too, boy!
HBQ.
Man, I'm diggin' it, too, boy! Tell all your friends!
Yeah!
Switchboard... HBQ.
Give me Metro 22913.
I'm diggin' it, too, boy!
Marion,
you listenin' to 'BQ?
Elvis! Where are you?
Elvis!
Oh, sorry, sorry.
Elvis!
Elvis! Yes, Marion?
Your record's on the radio.
Elvis, what is going on? I'm on the radio?
I need you to come with me now.
I'm on the radio! Elvis!
Sorry.
Shh! Uh, sorry, sorry.
I'm on the radio.
Now, don't say nothin' dirty
and don't stop talkin' for even a heartbeat. You got it?
Mention the name of your high school
so they'll know you're white.
Good people, old Elvis Presley now just come in here.
Elvis, son, you either got more relatives than anyone I ever knowed,
or you got the number-one record in Memphis!
Where are you from, son?
Uh... Uh, Tupelo, Mississippi.
Me and my folks come up the fall of '48.
Now, where'd you go to school?
Humes.
We give three cheers for those happy years at Humes High.
Great.
What're you doin' now, 'sides makin' hit records?
Uh, well, I drive for Crown Electric.
Figure they gonna be shocked to find out
they got a recordin' star haulin' for 'em?
Well...
Good people, this is Elvis Presley.
Now you gotta listen to him, boy.
Now it's time for news and weather.
You need to get this fella on the road, cuz.
Make this record a dad-blamed hit!
You hear that? Get your toothbrush,
get your shorts, tell Mama and Papa we're goin' on the road.
Come on, we got a lot to do.
Thank you, Mr. Phillips, I really enjoy your show.
Don't let the door hit you where the Good Lord split you, son.
Dewey, man, I could kiss you.
This is the one.
This is where it all starts goin' right for Sam Phillips.
About damn time, too.
Yes, sir, good people, that was Elvis Presley.
Now, this is gonna be the number-one record
in Memphis for a long time, I can tell you, boy.
This is our office?
I put up a heap of dough to pay your dues at the Sharecroppers Club?
A proper office costs three times as much, okay?
I'm here, you're here, we're doin' business,
what's your problem?
You're not yourself today.
See if we have any checks.
Well, this must have come to the wrong address. It says,
"Andreas van Koo-eee... "
Something or other.
Van... van Kuijk? That's for me.
Who you know in the Netherlands?
Someone was talking to me about a tour.
Oh, Amsterdam? Tour? Really?
Yes, uh, but their money can't leave the country.
We'd have to take payment in cheese and clogs.
I gotta go. What? You just got here.
We gotta talk about the tour.
You said that Opry wasn't paying enough...
Look, all of that can wait for now.
Uh, Rayford, give Mr. Snow a drink.
Okay.
Dearly beloved... And spawns of Satan.
Genesis tell us
that God put Adam in the Garden of Eden
and the Lord God calls the deep sleep to come up on Adam,
took a rib from his side
and created the first woman, Eve.
And intended for her to marry Adam.
Not the serpent.
And Adam said,
"This is now bone of my bones
"and flesh of my flesh."
Okay, now you're sure
the interstate highway goes through here.
The surveyor was there last Tuesday marking the field.
That's a moneymaker.
Cole, just the man I wanted to see.
Okay, here's what we're gonna do.
The money.
Well, that's precisely what I want to talk to you about.
Now, look, I can pay you double what I owe you
in 90 days if you just extend...
Am I hearing straight?
I came here to collect from you,
not loan you a damn dime.
Yeah, but I got a bead on a land deal.
How about if I bury you in it?
Oh, God!
All right.
This is all I got.
That puts me current. Yeah. I'm gettin' real tired
of chasin' you down for "current."
Don't believe that we've been introduced.
Cole Dillard,
business associate of the Colonel's.
Freddie Sampson. Bureau of Land Management.
Bureau of Land Management? That's right.
Mmm.
I've been in this business several years.
First radio, then records.
I have seen 'em come and go, but I have never
seen an artist with...
the potential that I've seen in Elvis.
Now it's time for us to form a team.
To get him where he can go.
This means I need the two of you,
after all the boy's only 19,
to sign this Sun Records exclusive contract.
Let's get this ball rolling.
Mr. Phillips says we gotta go on the road.
I don't know. That Dewey fella's
already playin' Elvis every night on the radio.
And now it's time to get him
on more stations across the country.
What does he make for being on the radio like that?
Nothing. That's promotion.
What's he make for goin' out on the road?
It doesn't work that way.
Gotta sell records to make money.
What about managing? What's that pay?
I could manage him myself,
I've been doin' it 19 years anyway.
Manager gets a part of the fees.
But you just said there wasn't any fees, Mr. Phillips.
Sounds like the boy's gettin'
the short end of the stick on this deal.
Mr. Presley,
I have faith,
unlimited faith,
in Elvis.
More than you can imagine.
But it all takes time.
However,
if you're not happy,
maybe we should all go our separate ways.
Part friends as they say.
Is this what you want, pumpkin?
Oh, more than anythin', Mama.
Now, hold on.
It's important that Mr. Presley
is good with everything.
You just take real good care of our boy, you hear me?
Like he was my own, sir.
You and Jimmy have got to get right,
so I invited him here for the Youth Day Fellowship.
He's a good man and family. Mmm.
Now, after you graduate,
should we stay with Jimmy and Daddy
in the Assemblies of God or maybe go Church of Christ?
Oh, we don't gotta decide right now.
Once we're established, we could start our own flock.
How many children do you want?
Jerry Lee? Two.
You wanna hold the line at two?
Uh, four.
Maybe four. I... I don't know.
Not in public!
Sorry, Peggy.
Hi.
Oh,
honey, no. It... It don't mean nothin'.
Okay? Don't cry. All right?
It don't mean nothing.
Peggy,
you're my special girl.
Okay? Okay. Okay.
I'm tellin' you, "Joltin' Joe's"
about to be jilted
when missus turns Miss Marilyn Monroe again,
and Ol' Dewey Phillips is gonna be right there!
The whole movie was How to Marry a Millionaire,
not How to Marry a Just-Getting-By Regional Disk Jockey.
Oh, it's my scarlet woman.
Oh, remember to mind your manners, Mr. Hutchins.
Well, lookie here!
Looks like we got us a steamy office romance goin' on?
Don't you have ad-copy to review?
No, but I gotta call Hedda Hopper
about you two, give her the scoop...
All right, get out. Oh!
I'd love to, uh,
invite you to the Bon Ton Cafe next week.
I was thinkin' maybe we could invite Sam and his wife.
That would be great, Earle, just not next week.
Actually, I was hoping to get time off.
Station policy is that you show up every day
that you're on air, Marion.
You see, WHBQ listeners look forward to hearing
Miss Scarlett Peabody every morning at 10:10
and so do I.
I could pre-record some shows.
That's clairvoyance, not topical radio.
Look is this a personal matter?
Sam and I are taking Elvis on a promotional radio tour.
Well, what's he need a secretary for?
Doesn't. He needs his associate.
Look, fine...
I'm sorry, Marion, but policy's policy.
Here's the thing, Earle. I'm going to do the tour
and I really hope
my job will still be here when I get back.
But if it's not,
thanks for the opportunity.
I mean that.
All right. All right!
But just one week.
Thanks, Earle.
I'm really lookin' forward to our dinner when I get back.
And what do you say we let Sam and Becky sit this one out?
Good luck, buddy. Atta boy.
Hey, pal. Raise you two bits.
You are one plain dolt luggin' that stupid clock
all the way to Korea...
just to bring it back Stateside.
Yeah, it ain't no stupider than re-enlistin' in the first place!
Right. Ay, pazzo, huh?
So every time that bird cuckoos,
I'll think of you palookas pulling your puds!
How could we miss you if you won't go away?
I'm gonna miss your hillbilly music, not you.
What's this crap?
And you are?
Nordquist. Airman First Class.
This here's Gundersen, Bergen and Larsson.
Jeez. I mean,
is there anybody left in Minnesota?
Hey,
did you hear about the accordion player
and the trumpet player? No.
Both of 'em sentenced to death.
Warden says to the accordion player,
"You get one last wish." What he say?
"Let me play the Beer Barrel Polka
"one last time." Damn right!
Warden asks the trumpet player for his last request.
And what he say?
"Hang me first!"
See you, suckers!
Next time I see you, greaseball, you're dead!
Ciao, boys.
Oh, dear Lord, that's a lot of money.
We must be rollin' in it!
We're goin' full throttle on a dry tank, honey.
Need to spend to make.
Becky,
we get Elvis on more stations,
then the kids go lookin' for the records,
then the stores call the distributors,
then they call us
and then we're rollin' in it.
At least that's the plan,
praise Jesus.
Now... Now you're asking him for help.
Darlin', I'm asking everybody.
And who he doesn't, I do.
Whoo-hoo!
Becky, dear, I've got us lined up
so you'll hardly even notice Sam's gone.
We've got bridge club tonight at Jeanie's,
Ladies Auxiliary luncheon tomorrow,
choir practice after that
and the zoo's got a new tiger.
Mmm, I wish I was stayin'!
I'm gonna miss all the fun.
Mmm!
And, Nadine, I'm gonna miss you.
Toodaloo.
Mmm. Please take me with you.
We'll be back before you know it.
Fruit.
All right, let's start loadin' up.
Bye, Marion. Bye.
Every record I played this afternoon
has 40-45 pieces.
This sounds like three goons in a grain silo.
Not for us, Sam.
This one's for the ladies.
Man, like I was saying, Herman,
you did a helluva job
helping me out with The Prisonaires.
I probably ain't even told you how much I appreciate that.
You ain't showing me, neither.
Oh, ain't gonna do you no good, Sam.
It's so country,
they shouldn't play it after milkin'.
They'd run me outta town.
No one said this was gonna be easy.
Two rooms, please.
Two rooms it is.
I said three rooms.
Three rooms it is.
Uh, Mr. Phillips,
you bein' short on cash 'n all,
me and you could share a room.
Miss Marion can have mine.
Son, I snore too damn loud.
I wouldn't wish that on anyone.
You look beat.
Go grab yourself a soda pop, hmm?
Yes, sir.
Make that two rooms, my friend.
I got you. That'll be $12, please.
Did you hear they invented the LP's
so Dee-jays had time to get to the pisser and back.
That sliver of wisdom eluded me.
Uh, could you take care of bid'ness
and make it back in three minutes?
Uh... My point exactly.
So, how's Marion
doing with Phillips and the kid out there?
Hell, you put a good-lookin' woman on the road
with a bunch of horned up guys,
there ain't no tellin'... Shame on you.
Sullyin' a woman's reputation.
Last night I tried to tease her
I gave her a little pinch
But she said Now, stop your jivin'
And get out that big ten inch
Actually, Marion's out there for me.
She's lookin' for a nighttime jock,
one who can get on the network.
Network? Uh-huh.
Network.
I should be on network. Hey, Earle!
Man, damn. Earle!
Good night, Elvi. Good night, Mr. Phillips.
Miss Marion. Good night.
Night, Marion. Night, Sam.
Hey!
Gave it a listen...
Sounds like a colored woman.
Well, it's not a damn woman.
What, him? Get outta here!
Yeah. So you'll give it a spin?
No, no, no, I said get outta here.
Should have had him play That's All Right Mama on the flip side.
Don't think it would've made
a difference, Sam. Man, oh, man,
can't win for losing.
You got BJ, the Dee-jay.
Oh, yeah, we will.
All right, now.
You got BJ, the Dee-jay.
Yeah, well, thanks for tunin' in.
Just sounds to me like he messed up Bill Monroe something awful,
but, uh, you want us to keep playing it?
Well, keep playing it.
No, no, no, you ain't the only one.
Oh, he's right here in the studio actually.
All right.
Say, Elvis, why don't you say hi to the folks?
Howdy, folks.
Mighty pleased to be coming to you on WTUP.
Anything else you want to add?
Tell them to buy the damn records!
Yeah, tell them, come on.
I'd be mighty proud if you bought my record, folks.
Well, it ain't like he needs the money,
but the folks he owes it to need it real bad.
Don't that beat all. Thanks, Sam.
Miss Marion.
Florence, Alabama My hometown
Where Muscle Shoals have shot us down
Record man He won't play my song
For a long, long way from number one
But I'm the hometown boy on TUP
Yeah!
Where buddy BJ was good to me
Wanna know just how I feel
More fun than riding a Ferris wheel
Yeah, that's good.
We gotta find Elvis a manager.
Why don't y'all manage me?
'Cause I know enough to know I don't know enough.
What about Dewey?
Dear God! He can hardly manage his own self.
What are you doing here?
Buying this land instead of you.
Now, wait right here,
I am current on all my payments.
Let's cut to the BS.
That interstate's goin' through here.
You wanna clear your debt, keep breathin',
you're gonna let me buy it. Well, now...
This deal is pure speculation. The... There's no guarantee.
Your Land Bureau fella says there is.
He could be wrong.
This land is mine.
Mortgaged the house?
Look, don't fret. Things are really lookin' up here.
Sam, you mortgaged the house!
Becky... Becky, now things are really lookin' good here.
Dee-jays can't play Elvi's record enough,
store orders are floodin' in, uh-huh.
Sam, if you had to take a second mortgage...
You twist that so well even I'm startin' to believe you.
not really looking up.
I have a baby coming!
I know.
Blue moon, blue moon
Keep shining bright
Blue moon Keep on shining bright
You're gonna bring me back my baby tonight
Blue moon
Keep shining bright...
Sun Records recording artist, Elvis Presley, girls.
We've got a limited run of his new record
and for the low, low price of 50 cents
you can take him home with you!
Two quarters and I'm all yours, honey.
It's just 50 cents.
You girls tell your friends now.
Here you are.
What's going on here? Oh, Mr. Douglas,
you're late. Sign said you'd be back
in 30 minutes.
Marion Keisker, Sun Records,
and that there's Elvis Presley,
Sun's star recording artist.
And left me blue
How many you got left? About forty.
Thirty-nine. I'll take 'em.
Plus an order of two hundred more.
Sounds like a deal. All right.
Sorry, girls, you're gonna have
to come back to see Mr. Douglas for your record.
You gotta trust me, Becks.
Things are really pickin' up.
Andreas! Laat me binnen!
Wie is het?
Laat me binnen!
Andreas van Kuijk...
That is your name, right?
Van Kuijk left Holland.
Colonel Tom Parker got off the boat.
You can bamboozle everyone around here, but not me.
I'm no rube.
What's your favorite Marion Morrison movie?
Never heard of her.
That's because you know "her" as John Wayne.
Archibald Leach?
The second he left England, he... He became Cary Grant.
Bernard Schwartz? Tony Curtis.
They became who they were meant to be.
Who you running from? What kinda trouble are you in?
Look,
I ain't been myself for a while
and I apologize,
but I assure you... You gamblin'?
My debts are all squared up.
Everything is copacetic. Now rest assured.
Come on, let's have a drink.
Come on.
Please.
Well, I wish
I was a catfish
Swimmin', oh In the deep, blue sea
I'd have all you good lookin' women...
Hey, cuz, you're back. What you doing here?
Supposed to be home,
but I'm afraid to go.
Becky found out I took a banknote against her house.
I need a drink.
When I went
To my baby's house
And I sat down, oh...
Joe Bihari
told me a hit is the worst thing that can happen to you.
Mmm?
Every day, I open the mail,
instead of checks,
there's more bills.
I need another drink.
Need to get Elvis on a barn dance.
You know, like the Opry or the Hayride.
Except, who's gonna take him when he ain't sung no place
outside his bedroom?
Speakin' of which,
how'd you get on with Marion there on the road?
Mmm.
Slept in the same bed every night.
Ooh!
Back to back.
Pajamas on.
Need I say more?
Now I need the whole damn bottle.
Uh-huh.
Raise you two bits.
You boys weren't, uh, kidding about these German girls.
Yeah, wait till you get over to the commie side. Mwah.
Your buddy get any with those Korean broads?
Yeah, of course.
That's 'cause the only way Carmine gets any
is if they can't understand a word he's sayin'.
What is it, Beau?
Carmine...
What?
He's dead.
Those damn gooks.
The war was over!
Car accident.
He was standing on a corner, car hit him.
Chantilly lace with a pretty face
Shh!
Stay here.
Spied your damned Land Commissioner Freddie
flippin' burgers over at Krystal's.
You fat bastard.
Thought you pulled one over on me, huh?
Well, I feel
Yes, I feel
Feel that Oh, my time ain't long
I'm gonna catch the first thing smokin'
Back down the road I'm goin'
Down the road I'm goin'
Back down the road I'm goin'
Oh, well
Oh, no
Oh, well
Next time on Sun Records
Hank Snow's manager, Colonel Tom Parker.
You have quite the effect on the little ladies.
I miss you. Sure does get lonely out here.
Kid's gonna get more ass than a toilet seat.
I ain't gazed upon another woman, neither.
Might've gazed a couple times.
You know, just 'cause you signed some contract for me,
don't mean you can tell me what to do!