Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On

I am from the generation that influenced music to change from the “standard” melodies of the 1940s to the rock ‘n roll of the 60s. In the middle were the 1950s, a time that forever changed popular music. Four of the giants of the pre-rock and roll era were Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley, singers who added a beat to the music and changed it forever.

Million Dollar Quartet is the story of one magical day shortly before Christmas in 1956 when the four living legends came together in Sam Phillips’ Sun Records recording studio, where they all got their start. The impromptu jam session was unique and captured by a newspaperman who commented, “This quartet could sell a million.” This was a one-time performance by the four legends who later would be inducted into the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame. What remains is the tape of the quartet's impromptu jam, as well as a photograph of the four music giants before they hit the big time.

The traveling stage show captures the intensity of the time, a time when music was forever changed. The performers were conflicted because they got their start with Phillips, but he was too small to build their careers into the cultural phenomena they each became, and so they moved on to the bigger labels. This jam session in early December 1956 was the only time they were together, a moment in time captured by the stage play. The physical appearances are spot-on, with each actor capturing perfectly the personality and the mannerisms of the four. The pianist who plays the role of Jerry Lee Lewis is over the top talented and provides a foundation for the other three men to play off. The actor portraying Johnny Cash doesn’t just have his mannerism, but he also has that deep bass voice that comes from the bottom of his soul. Carl Perkins’ character is captured well, a lesser-known influence in the gradual metamorphosis of country/western into rock ‘n roll. The hit of the show, however, is the performance of Elvis Presley, the King of rock ‘n roll, whose physical gyrations emphasized the beat of and the lack of inhibition of the music he loved to perform.

If Million Dollar Quartet comes to a stage in your neighborhood, I strongly encourage you to buy a ticket and enjoy the telling of the real story of how rock ‘n roll "... transformed the cultural landscape of the twentieth century" [quote from the stage notes]. It wasn’t the Beatles – it was the good ole country boys whose love of music challenged them to take it a step further today than they had gone yesterday.