July 3, 1954

The first meeting with Elvis, according to Scotty, happened at Scotty insistence. Marion Keisker, Sam Phillips’ secretary, had suggested Elvis to her boss as a possible singer to work with Scotty, but Sam seemed disinterested. It was only after Scotty kept pestering Sam that he finally gave Elvis’s phone number to Scotty. That led to the fateful phone call on July 3, 1954, that brought Elvis to Scotty’s house the following day. Scotty invited Bill Black over, and the trio played together for the first time. Scotty’s story thus gives him, and not Sam Phillips, the credit for bringing the trio together for the first time. Then comes the critical part of the book, for in it Scotty Moore parcels out the credit for the eventual rise of Elvis Presley. Presley didn’t impress Bill Black at that first meeting at Scotty’s house. However, Scotty says he still decided to recommend Elvis to Sam Phillips for a studio audition. So, if we accept Scotty’s story, and I do, he deserves most of the credit for bringing the trio together and getting it into the recording studio for the first time. (James Dickerson)

(Picture ~ July 13, 1954)