Million Dollar Quartet - The First Rock Super-group

Before rock supergroups like Led Zeppelin, Velvet Revolver, or the Traveling Wilburys, there was the Million Dollar Quartet.

"'The Million Dollar' who?" you might ask.

On December 4th 1956, a one time only recording session was held at Sun Studios in Memphis. This moment in rock and roll history was nothing more than an impromptu jam that included Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins.

It was originally intended to be a recording session for rockabilly legend Carl Perkins (then best known for his smash hit "Blue Suede Shoes"). On that day, Sun Studio owner Sam Phillips also added piano player Jerry Lee Lewis to the session. As serendipity had it, Elvis and Johnny Cash dropped into the studio for a visit on that day; and wound up sitting in on the session and noodling some tunes with Perkins and Jerry Lee. Always on target, Sam Phillips switched on a tape recorder and captured all two-and-a-half hours of this impromptu meeting. He also called the local Memphis newspaper and they sent over a reporter and a photographer. A photo was taken of then the foursome and the reporter dubbed them "The Million Dollar Quartet."

Sam Phillips never officially released The Million Dollar Quartet sessions. In 1969, ten years after the event, after Phillips sold Sun Records to a British music company, the new owners found the tapes tucked away on the Sun premises. The new Sun owners wasted no time releasing "The Million Dollar Quartet" as a double album.

In 2006, a re-mastered version was reissued. It was called "The Original Million Dollar Quartet" because twelve minutes of previously unreleased material were added to the collection. These extra minutes were found in Elvis Presley's private music collection after his death.