By james art 
Sun Records may be world famous for Elvis’s rock revolution, but the label also has fruitful ties domestically. Popular Baton Rouge speaker Barbara Sims will tell Baton Rouge all about them at her lecture, “The Country Side of Sun Records,” at 2 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 7, at the Bluebonnet Library, 9200 Bluebonnet Road, Baton Rouge.
The talk is sponsored by LSU’s Osher Institute for Lifelong Learning, part of the Coffee and Lagniappe series, which is free and open to the public.
Sun Records made significant country records with stars such as Elvis, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins.
This talk is a departure from the rock-based lecture Sims gave earlier this year to an audience of nearly 100 fans at the Bluebonnet branch of the Baton Rouge library. But Simms promises it will be just as interesting musically, interwoven with her memories as Sun’s promotions and advertising manager from 1957 to 1960.
Barbara Sims’ memoir, The Next Elvis: Searching for a Star at Sun Records, has inspired a new play that opens Off-Broadway on Friday.
Sims recounts his experiences during this time in his 2014 book, The Next Elvis, Searching for Stardom at Sun Records, published by LSU Press.
After Sims left the Sun, she joined the English department at LSU, where she taught for 36 years. She later became a government writing consultant. In 2004, Sims began his lecturing career, offering courses and lectures through Osher Lifelong Learning, as well as lecturing on cruise lines for over a decade.