The story of Sun Records – recounted in new book The Birth Of Rock ‘n’ Roll – The Illustrated Story Of Sun Records – is one of the most fascinating in the history of popular music. More than anything, it is a story very much of its time. It’s unimaginable to think of it happening now: Sam Phillips hiring a studio, following his nose (maybe even more than his ears) and booking Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash to record as well as giving Elvis his first break. All of it on a shoestring, one which nearly snapped more than once.

Guralnick and Escott hit all the highlights, with plenty of detail for the ‘50s enthusiast as well as spelling out the headlines for the uninitiated. But this isn’t really a book written for someone with a passing interest in arguably the most pivotal cultural phenomenon of the 20th century – that moment when black music, performed by white musicians, became mainstream, when teenagers stopped listening to their parents and when America, and the rest of the world, was rocked by a pair of swinging hips. This is a classic coffee-table book, crammed with images, hardback and heavy as hell.

But what is equally fascinating about the story of Phillips’ successes in The Birth Of Rock ‘n Roll are the ones that got away. Before the ‘million dollar quartet’, named above, were captured on tape, Elvis had already left for RCA; Muddy Waters, BB King and Roy Orbison all passed, fleetingly through the studio. But, however briefly, the rays of Phillips’ Sun shone upon them and his singular ability to see through the present shadows to an unknown future beyond lit up all our worlds.