Sam Phillips changed the world of music

Sam Phillips, who has died aged 80, was one of the great pioneers of popular music.

His famous Sun Studio first recorded Elvis Presley, earning Phillips a place in the music Hall of Fame and the title of "the man who invented rock'n'roll".

His first venture into the music business began in 1945, when he arrived in Memphis to work as an announcer and sound engineer at a local radio station.

Not content with just listening to the music, Phillips set up the Memphis Recording Service in 1950, with the slogan: "We record anything - anywhere - anytime."

"White soul"

For four dollars, anybody who wanted to hear the sound of his own voice could record on two sides of acetate.

Sam Phillips in his heyday at Sun Records

This open-minded approach soon had him working with an array of artists including the legendary BB King.

Phillips held a particular attraction for black artists who struggled to find commercial support for their music.

In 1951, Phillips produced what is often referred to as "the first rock'n'roll record", Rocket 88, which became a number one hit across America for a group called Jackie Brentson and his Delta Cats.

In the same year, Phillips started his own label, Sun Records.

The label had a Top 10 hit in 1953 with Rufus Thomas's Bear Cat, but, at that time, most of the bigger stations shied away from playing hard-core R&B.

What Phillips wanted was a white man who could sing in the same soulful blues style.

Music deserves better than the big companies that just look at the bottom line Sam Phillips

And then 19-year-old Elvis Presley walked in, asking to record a track as a birthday present for his mother. The rest, as they say, is history.

Elvis and Phillips worked together for the next 16 months, releasing classics such as Baby, Let's Play House and Mystery Train.

Despite Elvis's success, the studio was beset by financial difficulties and Phillips secured himself financially for life, selling Elvis's contract to RCA in 1956 for $35,000.

Second fortune

Although he continued to work with such artists as Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Johnny Cash, Phillips struggled to find the same level of success and left the music industry in the late 1960s.

Sam instructs Elvis on the guitar

He went on to make a fortune in a completely new venture, buying into a local hotel business, which grew into the Holiday Inn chain.

Despite the influential role he played in the careers of many of rock'n'roll legends, Phillips remained modest about his own achievements.

But few others would dispute that Sun Records and its founder turned the world of popular music upside down.