DESCRIPTION:
This "Tribute to the Birthplace of Rock and Roll" happened on the 33rd anniversary of the day Elvis Presley stepped onto this stage - the Overton Park Shell in Memphis - and "stole the show" from country star Slim Whitman. It was the same month Elvis cut his first 4 sides on Sun Records: July of 1954, and the Shell show was the first time Elvis saw the huge impact he could have on an audience.
The Sun Rhythm Section featured veterans from the origins of rock and roll and rockabilly music in Memphis. Paul Burlison played guitar with Johnny & Dorsey Burnette in The Rock and Roll Trio. Smoochy Smith played piano on sessions at Sun Records from the time he was 15 and was also a member of the Mar-Keys. Marcus Van Story was a sideman on sessions at Sun and a great talent on guitar, harmonica, slap-bass and vocals. Drummer J.M. Van Eaton played with Billy Lee Riley's group on many sessions at Sun as a teenager including classic hits by Jerry Lee Lewis . Stan Kesler played bass and pedal steel on sessions at Sun, wrote songs for Elvis, and later produced "Wooly Bully" and other hit records by Sam the Sham. Sonny Burgess recorded on Sun Records with his own group - the Pacers - and was one of the most exciting performers seen by Memphis area audiences during the birth of rock and roll.
The historic amphitheater was fully renovated in 2008 thanks to a generous grant from the Mortimer Levitt Foundation and the renamed Levitt Shell now sponsors 50 free concerts every year devoted to developing community through the performing arts.