Sun Records Selling Elvis Presley's Contract Was A Smart Move

Above, an autographed photo of Elvis Presley at Sun Studio. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Nowadays, $35,000 does not seem like too much money to sell a rising star's record contract to RCA Victor, but that was the amount Sun Records' Sam Phillips sold Elvis Presley's contract for.

In interviews over the years, Sam Phillips said he never regretted selling Presley's contract. 

Far Out Magazine (U.K) has posted an article on how that tidy sum made Phillips a wealthy man. 

It begins with:

John Lennon once said, “Before Elvis there was nothing.” You’d imagine that inventing everything, at least in Lennon’s words, comes with a hefty price tag. Unfortunately, for Sun Records, it’s a story akin to Newell’s Old Boys having to sell Leo Messi to Barcelona: when the big guys come a-knocking, you just have to answer the call and take what you can get. The $35,000 fee might not sound like a lot in retrospect but taking a risk on a fledgling talent changing the world and holding out for more was too perilous. 

We all know what happened to Elvis’ finances at the hands of Colonel Tom Parker, but what of Sun Records’ side of the story once ‘The King’ left the building and signed for RCA? Well, if you adjust the figure for inflation, the deal scored the little Memphis music mogul, Sam Phillips, a tidy $389,000—it might not make you a tycoon, but it could snap you up a fine country home. 

Above, a display at Sun Studio. Sam Phillips is on the right. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

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