After recording the next tune Perkins had grown used to Lewis’ ego and slipped in a few “neck burnin’ solos” of his own. It was right about then Elvis Presley walked into the studio. Perkins hadn’t seen Elvis in a couple of years and the young man had dyed his hair from dirty-blonde to jet black. He also had a striking young woman on his arm.
Lewis walked right over to him and said, “So you’re Elvis Presley, huh?”
Elvis just smiled and replied, “I ain’t nobody but.”
Whereby Lewis went on, ‘Well, I’m Jerry Lee Lewis. I’m playin’ piano with Carl today. I play on everyone’s records down here at Sun.” Lewis, Perkins recalled, wanted to show Elvis that he was really something. Rather than taking offense Presley went along with like he was witnessing the birth of something new.
Presley heard the takes of the day and was really impressed. As he and Carl began harmonizing Phillip signaled his engineer, Jack Clements, to turn the tape on. He knew history was in the making. Johnny Cash had also turned up and sang with Elvis and Carl on a take of Blueberry Hill.
There was almost 70 minutes of tape recorded that day of the four Phillips dubbed as the Million Dollar Quartet. Just like the Mercury astronauts were the first space heroes a few years in the future Cash, Presley, Lewis and Perkins were the first phase of the “Rock and Roll Generation.” They were relaxed in each others’ company. And Jerry Lee, a newcomer so used to having to prove himself with both his mouth as well as the piano was impressed as ebing treated as an equal. They did everything: rockabilly, blues and gospel. The last song they did was Chuck Berry’s Brown Eyed Handsome Man. As Perkins was describing his recent tour with Berry the tape ran out.
Th last song by the boys was Gene Autry’s You’re the Only Star in My Blue Heaven and it was over. jerry bid his goodbyes. Cash was already gone. As Elvis walked Perkins out to his car he vowed that he was going to a big man in Las Vegas. Fifteen years later he proved to the world he was right.