FAB FACTS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET
AT LEEDS GRAND THEATRE
Million Dollar Quartet tells the true story of the one-off, impromptu gig at Sun Records in 1956 where Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis found themselves in the studio at the same time, started to jam together and Sam Phillips hit the record button … the rest is history.
The stage production of the same name is set to open at Leeds Grand Theatre next Monday 7th November for one week only. In a non-singing role Jason Donovan, as the famous Sun Records owner Sam Phillips, delivers the story of the time the quartet came together showing their challenges with each other, their incredible skills as musicians and their personalities as young men out to take the world by storm.
Audiences can expect to be transported back to the late 50s and witness a fascinating story, a night of rock and roll and, no doubt, a dance in the aisles to finish.
Here are a few fun facts about the show and its original stars.
· At the time of the recording Jerry Lee Lewis was a complete unknown, Elvis was already famous and had recently left Sun Records for RCA, Johnny Cash was yet to Walk The Line and Carl Perkinshad written Blue Suede Shoes only to have it performed by Elvis when Perkins was involved in a car accident.
· Elvis Presley had 18 No. 1 hits and 38 Top 10 hits in the USA
· He made 31 movies including Love Me Tender and Viva Las Vegas
· Elvis is the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music, having sold around 600 million records
· At age 48 Johnny Cash was the youngest living inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame
· There is a species of tarantula named after him – the Aphonopela johnnycashi was identified in 2015
· In his lifetime Johnny release 165 singles with 13 reaching No. 1
· Jerry Lee Lewis was the seventh person to be inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
· In his ranch in Memphis Jerry Lee Lewis he has piano-shaped swimming pool
· He is the last surviving member of the Million Dollar Quartet
· Million Dollar Quartet premiered in 2006 at Florida’s Seaside Music Theatre in 2006, it opened on Broadway in 2010, where it was nominated for three Tony Awards, and has been touring the United States since 2011 where it is still going today.
· The show contains 23 hit songs including Blue Suede Shoes, Long Tall Sally and Great Balls of Fire
Million Dollar Quartet is at Leeds Grand Theatre from Monday 7th to Saturday 11th November
Tickets are on sale now priced from £19.50 to £38
Book online at leedsgrandtheatre.com or call Box Office on 0844 848 2700