Dewey Phillips & Adamsville High School

Dewey Phillips and Adamsville High School. Historic Site. , Pioneering radio and TV personality, Dewey Phillips (May 13, 1926-September 28, 1968), was born in Crump, Tennessee and lived most of his young life in Adamsville, attending school here, at the site of Adamsville High School. Phillips remained a lifelong AHS basketball fan, frequenting games in the old gym even after he was a well-known celebrity., Phillips went on the air in 1949 at WHBQ Memphis, hosting groundbreaking radio (and later TV) program Red, Hot and Blue. The show played an eclectic mix of R&B blues, country and pop tunes, punctuated with “Daddy-O-Dewey’s” comedic and often irreverent delivery. The show was controversial due to Phillip’s unapologetic integration of the airwaves, but it was an immediate hit with young audiences. , By the time Sun Records founder Sam Phillips (No relation) asked him to play Elvis Presley’s first single on Red, Hot and Blue in 1965, Dewey Phillips was already a household name, and one of the most influential music tastemakers in the Mid-South. As a champion of Sun’s new sound, Phillips is widely acknowledged as the first rock ‘n roll disc jockey. He is credited with the early success of artists such as Presley, Carl Perkins, B.B. King, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and many others. , Dewey Phillip’s influence extends well beyond the realm of popular culture. His intentional violation of artificial racial barriers in broadcasting and his openness to all styles of music, at a time when the entertainment industry still compartmentalized records along racial lines, is now considered an important precursor to the Civil Rights Movement. The Broadway musical “Memphis” is loosely based on Phillips life and career.