Fit For The King

Sam Phillips' legendary Sun recording studio in Memphis, widely regarded as the birthplace of rock'n'roll (the actual term was coined by a DJ in Cleveland), is still a recording studio. Still in the same location, no remodeling. When you stand in the studio, you are standing on the same floor, inside the same walls, under the same ceiling tile that Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins stood under. It's pretty humbling. As part of the tour (they give tours during the day, recording sessions at night), they hand you a vintage Shure 55s mic on a stand, tell you it's the mic Elvis recorded with, and let you take photos. Is it the actual mic young Elvis sang into? Who knows. Frankly, who cares. You're standing on the spot where he stood, you're in front of, if not the actual mic at least one of the correct model and vintage, and it's kinda cool. I avoided the standard tourist photo and instead opted to go photographer-ey. Olympus E-M5, Panasonic 20/1.7, processed in Silver Efex Pro.