Sam Phillips the first investors in Holiday Inn, a motel chain that was about to expand to a nationwide franchise; he became involved with the chain shortly after selling Elvis Presley's contract to RCA, for $35,000, which he multiplied many times over the years with Holiday Inn. He also created two subsidiary recording labels, Phillips International Records and Holiday Inn Records. He owned the Sun Studio Café in Memphis. One location was in the Mall of Memphis. Phillips and his family founded Big River Broadcasting Corporation, which owns and operates several radio stations in the Florence, Alabama, area, including WQLT-FM, WSBM, and
Studio D Recording Satriani, Dick Dale, Bonnie Raitt, Third Eye Blind, Ringo Starr, and Maria Muldaur. Some notable albums recorded and/or mixed at Studio D include: Studio D Recording Studio D Recording, Inc. is a San Francisco Bay Area based recording, mixing, and mastering studio opened in 1984 in Sausalito. Studio D is most well known for its live room, equipped with a 20 foot ceiling and tunable acoustics. Studio D has been a major presence in the bay area's music scene since its inception, recording a number of multiplatinum and Grammy Award winning albums. Artists having worked at Studio D include Soundgarden,