A Tribute to Elvis and the Legacy of Sun Studio
It’s been nearly 80 years since he first hit concert stages, but it’s clear that the king of rock ‘n’ roll, Elvis Presley, still casts a big shadow over the music industry. Beyond tributes, documentaries, and biographies, musicians the world over are still covering his songs and taking inspiration from various looks he sported during his career. One such San Diego-based performer is Sulo King, perhaps best known as frontman for award-winning punk band, Authentic Sellout, who recently visited Elvis’s spiritual home, legendary Memphis recording studio, Sun Records, to record his new single, “Good Rockin’ Tonight” b/w “New King.”
Fulfilling a Lifelong Dream
“I have been a lifelong Elvis Presley fan and dreamed of recording at an iconic studio, especially one like Sun Studio where Elvis himself got his start,” King explained. “Back in 2019 when I was first recording my debut song, “Six Degrees,” for my solo project, Sulo in Solo, which was my first venture away from my punk rock band, Authentic Sellout, my guitarist and songwriting partner, Chris Armes (Agent 51) proposed we record the next song at a famous studio like Sun Studio since I’m such a huge Elvis fan and fan of the 50’s. I looked at him and said, yeah I wish. Too bad it’s just a museum. He replied, actually what most people don’t know is that you can book private studio time after museum tour hours.”
King was sold on the idea right then. “Chris showed me Sun Studio’s website. It took three years of waiting out the pandemic and coordinating the three other musicians’ schedules to finally start planning out the trip. I even had to push back the trip twice due to scheduling conflicts amongst ourselves.”
Elvis Presley’s Influence on Sulo King
King considers Elvis to be one of his biggest influences.
“My Dad raised me on everything from early blues musicians to more contemporary rock bands growing up. He always said everything starts with the blues, so work your way up. I fell in love with the 50’s era for music. It was such an innovative time, not just for rock ‘n’ roll, but everything—from the cars, clothing, and just cultural style. It was cool and fascinating to me. I gravitated to Elvis because he was so different than the rest of the 50’s greats. It was his unique voice, his style—from the clothes he wore to the way he danced on stage. I also loved how musically he matured and changed with the times in his career.”
King’s early Elvis inspirations were subconscious, at least at first.
“When I was in my early 20s, I started coloring my hair black and styling it more like Elvis without even realizing it until one day someone mentioned that I looked like a young Elvis Presley. Then I started getting the same comments and compliments from not just friends, but random strangers. And with my last name being King, I began to grow into a whole new persona based off of Elvis up until this day. Except now I don’t color my hair black anymore,” he said good-naturedly.
Selecting Songs for the Sun Sessions
How did King decide which tracks to record at Sun?
“I chose to record an original that paid tribute to the 50’s era of artists,” King said. “Chris and I wrote, “New King,” for the session. I also wanted to pay tribute to all of the Sun Records greats by doing a cover song.”
Interestingly, King almost recorded an Eddie Cochran tune at the session.
“But everyone kept telling me, come on man, Elvis is your hero, you gotta do one of his songs! So, I decided to do that instead. Man… I must have listened to so many different Elvis recordings. I narrowed down the list and ultimately decided to record a song that he actually recorded at Sun Studios rather than do one of his standard hits, so I chose his cover of the Roy Brown blues song, “Good Rockin’ Tonight” because it really resonated with me. It just felt like the right song to do and coincidentally, it was also the 70th anniversary of him recording that song there.”
Recording at Sun Studio
King found that booking the session was relatively easy.
“The studio was a pleasure to work with and they were very accommodating. I chose to hire local Memphis session musicians to play standup bass and guitar in order to record “Good Rockin’ Tonight,” that way it had more of a genuine and authentic feel to it. I had the studio hire trusted musicians that they regularly hire for clients. When we recorded the song, it was just the three of us, and we recorded just like Elvis did, except we overdubbed the electric guitar parts that Scotty Moore played as I just sang on the song, unlike Elvis who sang and played acoustic guitar.”
Part of the Sun Studio experience is that they put you in the exact spots that Elvis Presley, Scotty Moore, and Bill Black stood when they recorded there.
“I even got to hold the actual mic that Elvis recorded with back then. It was given to Sun Studio by Sam Phillips when they reopened in 1987 as a museum,” said King.
The Road to Sun Documentary
For the song “New King,” King flew out his main bandmates:
- Chris Armes (Agent 51) – Guitarist, songwriter
- Anthony “Twon” Ridenhour – Drummer, producer, and recording engineer
- Mike Kociela – Bassist, owner of Westward Entertainment
King even had his cinematographer, Craig Rian, volunteer to document the entire trip.
“We filmed footage of us in the studio preparing for the trip, us in Sun Studio recording the songs, and our other adventures in Memphis. The result was a short documentary film called, Road to Sun, about the trip and recording session. I also have a vinyl release coming out to accompany the documentary release. I plan to release it just like an actual Sun Records release from the 50’s. Once I have everything ready to release, I plan to hold a party for the record and show the film. I might even perform the songs live for the very first time. Who knows. It’s all a work in progress. I also plan to enter the documentary in film festivals as well.”
What’s Next for Sulo King?
King also notes a new song written with Max Paul (ex-owner of the venue Brick by Brick) and Chris Armes.
“The song is called “Livin’ Free” and is a tribute to Vince “Big Vinny” Crudo, who was the house sound engineer at Brick by Brick and was also my mentor that got me started working in the music industry. He coined the name of my album, Sulo in Solo, so my entire solo project is dedicated in his memory.”
Look for more music from Authentic Sellout later this year, with a single in the works.
“I am really enjoying being able to play with so many different talented musicians and have a lot of fun stuff planned for my solo project, including more recording at core iconic recording studios, like Sound City, and then putting together an EP of compiled songs, each from a different iconic and legendary studio. Maybe I’ll even start playing out with this project. Who knows. At the moment, it’s just a studio-based project. For now, I’m really enjoying stepping out of my comfort zone and going back to my rock ‘n’ roll roots.”
🔗 Follow Sulo King:
www.facebook.com/suloking
Authentic Sellout on Bandcamp
Don’t miss out! Discover the full magazine of this issue#9!
Don’t miss out! Discover the full magazine of this issue#9!
