Sam Phillips

I was also surprised that this thread got only one poster. Seems that most people - including audiophiles - do not know much about Sam Phillips - a true pioneer - and his importance in popular American music history, which is pretty sad.
The 8-CD box set "Sun Records: The Blues Years 1950-1958" on Charly (from England) is an excellent choice. There's also several wonderful box-sets of Sun recordings on the one and only Bear Family (Germany) label. Please check-it out if you can, it is really worthwhile.
Thanks for your great response.

Hard to explain, isn't it?! (I mean, the dearth of posts). I think many listeners just never realized the influence of this man and instead are wrapped up in what's "new," or passed off as new. We have short attention spans. I'll bet more people know the name of the man (Bob Johnson) who brought Dylan to prominence, but not the man who did the same for Elvis and a host of others mentioned above by Rec. I don't mean to "diss" Johnson in any way.

Otherwise, perhaps the lack of response has something to do with celebrities passing away almost daily these last few months. It's like, "oh no, not another one!"

OK Chris, I give - who the heck is Bob Johnson? Are you maybe referring to John Hammond?

Alex, I should have mentioned Hammond, too! Bob Johnson was the producer of:

Highway 61 Revisited
Blonde On Blonde
John Wesley Harding
Nashville Skyline
Self Portrait
and co-producer of New Morning.

These are arguably some of the greatest recordings in Dylan's canon, and in the minds of some, in rock history. So, I attribute their success, in part (maybe in large part) to Bob Johnson. I think if Highway 61 had been a flop, Dylan would have been a footnote in rock history.

Chris, I just went and checked, and on "61" the name is actually listed as Bob Johnston, though it still only vaguely rang a bell with me. But the hit single "Like a Rolling Stone" was produced by Tom Wilson, with who's name and work I am much more familiar (I guess I always assumed that Wilson was *the* mid-60's Dylan producer). Was Johnston a staff producer at Columbia? Do you know some of his work with other artists? (Sorry Hervel to take off on a tangent...learn something new every day...)