Former Memphian and now Californian here: when I worked in radio for Sam Phillips in the 80's, I would often direct visiting Elvis fans to the overlooked American Sound location which still existed at the time but was boarded up.

I remember the stuiod well. I used to take the bus as a teenager and it went right by the (by then boarded up) studio. For those who might not know, the original bulding actually came right up to the sidewalk. So if you want to approximate where Elvis might have actually recorded, it would be somewhere in what is now the parking lot, and most likely to the right side. For some years after the studio closed, adjacent on the left was a small retail shop called "Earring King." By then though, the area had fallen on hard times and blight.

American was torn down and replaced by the building seen here, which was constructed as a Chief Auto Parts store. That lasted perhaps 6 months, then some years later a day care center moved into the building they left behind. The area clearly cannot support mainstream retail today, so it is a shame that a retail chain came in and took out a landmark without doing its homework. To be fair though, probably the historic aspect of the property was not disclosed in the transaction to the retailer.

As a city, Memphis has allowed some incredibly prominent historical locations to be destroyed.

As for American, years ago, I was told that some RCA engineers actually came out and measured American Sound's facility and took detailed notes about its layout and construction because they wanted to achieve similar acoustics at one of their own studios, presumably in NYC.

American Sound (the last signage on the building actually was changed to read "American Song Studios") has a huge legacy. Many, many artists recorded there, besides Elvis. I know Dionne Warwick recorded there, and I have heard Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding also did as well, among many, many others. During its heyday, the famous producer Chips Moman produced here.

Songs Elvis recorded here included Suspicious Minds, In the Ghetto, and Kentucky Rain, among many of his most popular hits.

If you do a search on "You Tube," for "American Studio Memphis" you may find a very brief clip of Elvis (silent, quite grainy and in black and white) at American hamming it up during a break from that legendary session in 1969 that yielded a record number of hits. Not much else exists to document this great historic studio and its relationship with Elvis however.

It certainly deserves a historic marker.

Former Memphian and now Californian here: when I worked in radio for Sam Phillips in the 80's, I would often direct visiting Elvis fans to the overlooked American Sound location which still existed at the time but was boarded up.

I remember the stuiod well. I used to take the bus as a teenager and it went right by the (by then boarded up) studio. For those who might not know, the original bulding actually came right up to the sidewalk. So if you want to approximate where Elvis might have actually recorded, it would be somewhere in what is now the parking lot, and most likely to the right side. For some years after the studio closed, adjacent on the left was a small retail shop called "Earring King." By then though, the area had fallen on hard times and blight.

American was torn down and replaced by the building seen here, which was constructed as a Chief Auto Parts store. That lasted perhaps 6 months, then some years later a day care center moved into the building they left behind. The area clearly cannot support mainstream retail today, so it is a shame that a retail chain came in and took out a landmark without doing its homework. To be fair though, probably the historic aspect of the property was not disclosed in the transaction to the retailer.

As a city, Memphis has allowed some incredibly prominent historical locations to be destroyed.

As for American, years ago, I was told that some RCA engineers actually came out and measured American Sound's facility and took detailed notes about its layout and construction because they wanted to achieve similar acoustics at one of their own studios, presumably in NYC.

American Sound (the last signage on the building actually was changed to read "American Song Studios") has a huge legacy. Many, many artists recorded there, besides Elvis. I know Dionne Warwick recorded there, and I have heard Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding also did as well, among many, many others. During its heyday, the famous producer Chips Moman produced here.

Songs Elvis recorded here included Suspicious Minds, In the Ghetto, and Kentucky Rain, among many of his most popular hits.

If you do a search on "You Tube," for "American Studio Memphis" you may find a very brief clip of Elvis (silent, quite grainy and in black and white) at American hamming it up during a break from that legendary session in 1969 that yielded a record number of hits. Not much else exists to document this great historic studio and its relationship with Elvis however.

It certainly deserves a historic marker.