THE HYPE WHEN SUN ROSE OVER TENNESSEE.

If you happened to stroll past 706 Union Avenue in Memphis, Tenn., back in the early '50s, there was frequently a ``Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On'' inside that tiny storefront studio.

For that was the place where blues, pop and country coalesced into rock 'n' roll, and the sounds that came out of there on Sam Phillips' golden-yellow Sun Records label are still reverberating around the world 50 years later.

The stream of raw rock and country talent that crossed the Sun threshold included Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Charlie Rich and Jerry Lee Lewis. In the blues vein, the label cut some of the first wax on B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf, Little Junior Parker, Rufus Thomas and Little Milton.

``Can you believe when we started, the entire record business was a pittance,'' Sun founder Phillips said recently. ``Now we know it's a multi- billion-dollar worldwide industry. At the time, we knew we were making great records, but we had no idea what it would turn into.''

That story is the subject of ``Good Rockin' Tonight: The Legacy of Sun Records,'' a two-hour documentary premiering at 9 tonight on KCET (Channel 28). Also out now is an album of the same title featuring such artists as Paul McCartney, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton and Elton John covering Sun hits.

``We were so turned on by your stuff,'' McCartney says in the film before strapping on a bass to perform a note-for-note ``That's All Right,'' first cut by Presley at one of his earliest Sun sessions in 1954.

In a glimpse of pop history come full circle, McCartney is backed by guitarist Scotty Moore, who played behind Elvis on that very session 47 years earlier, and by drummer D.J. Fontana, who accompanied Presley for many years.

Phillips, 78, recalls how he broke ground by signing African-American musicians from the Delta, giving voice to a rich musical heritage born in Southern cotton fields.

``Let the white kids enjoy black music,'' he says of his initial concept. ``Let the black kids enjoy the white music.''

As for today's scene, Phillips believes rock has gotten too complicated for its own good.

``I want to see more spontaneity,'' he said. ``I don't believe in going back to the old days, but I really would like to see things a little simpler.''

You might imagine Phillips wishes he could turn back the hands of time to the moments before he sold Presley's contract to RCA for a then-record-breaking $35,000 in 1955.

``I don't regret it,'' he says. ``We needed the cash real bad. And I had some new acts that I thought had potential. Hey, and don't forget the five singles Elvis cut for me didn't make a dent nationally.''

- Fred Shuster

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2 photos

Photo:

(1) SAM PHILLIPS

(2) PAUL McCARTNEY, LEFT, D.J. FONTANA, ALBERT ``SONNY'' BURGESS