Students Shine Light on the Business of "Million Dollar Quartet"
University of North Texas’ College of Business Shines Modern Light on the Business of the Members of MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET
Presented by Dallas Summer Musicals
Students from the Department of Management embraced the challenge from Dallas Summer Musicals (DSM) to shine a modern light on the business of MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET’s four rock ‘n’ roll icons: Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins, who came together through an auspicious twist of fate on December 4, 1956. Sam Phillips, the “Father of Rock ‘n’ Roll,” who was responsible for launching the careers of each icon, brought the four legendary musicians together at the Sun Records storefront studio in Memphis for the first and only time. The resulting evening became known as one of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll jam sessions in history and is the basis for this electrifying musical.
“These four artists and their musical creations generated a large sum of revenue throughout their lives and beyond,” said Vicki L. Goodwin, chair of the Department of Management. “Putting an exact figure on something like this is difficult, but from our students’ research we found that during the mid-fifties artists such as Jerry Lee Lewis could earn as much as $10,000 per performance; a large sum of money in an era when a new home cost roughly $11,000 (approximately $90,000 today) and a new car cost $1,900 (approximately $16,700 today) (Source: www.thepeoplehistory.com).”
To see their full research on each artist, click here.
