Sun Studio

Sun Studio is a recording facility on Union Avenue in Memphis, Tennessee. The single-story building contains a main room with a low ceiling and tile-covered walls, where microphones and amplifiers from the 1950s sit visible.

Sam Phillips opened the operation on January 3, 1950, under the name Memphis Recording Service. The premises produced commercial recordings for different record labels before Phillips founded his own label Sun Records in 1952.

The nickname as birthplace of a musical movement appears in wall decorations that display photographs of artists whose recordings happened here. Visitors see the room today still holding the same acoustic properties and proportions that allowed the typical sound of early productions.

The facility offers guided tours every weekday that last roughly 30 minutes. A free shuttle runs between this building and other music landmarks in central Memphis, making it easier to plan a connected visit.

A spontaneous jam session on December 4, 1956, brought Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash together. The sound engineer recorded the informal gathering, and the tapes later became known as the Million Dollar Quartet.

Location: Memphis

Founders: Sam Phillips

Official opening: January 3, 1950

Website: http://sunstudio.com

GPS coordinates: 35.13925,-90.03768

Latest update: December 4, 2025 23:40