Near this location in 1947, amateur radio engineer Stanton Littlejohn began making lacquer disc recordings from the front parlor of his Eastview, Tennessee, home, and for a decade or more he documented a rare glimpse of local and regional music, making it a pivotal moment in American music history. Southern gospel quartets, bluegrass bands, old-time string musicians, and country artists sought out Littlejohn's services, and regional favorites such as Waldo Davis, Elvis Black, Con Crotts, Ernest "Pap" Whitten, Arnold English, and the Latta Ramblers made impressive recordings at his home studio. In 1951, Carl Perkins came to Eastview and made the first known recordings of his storied career; though better known as a rock artist, he first recorded country and old-time music with a group of local musicians, and in a second session he performed his signature sound well before "Blue Suede Shoes" launched his career. Perkins's historic Eastview recordings are thought to be the earliest sonic documentation of rockabilly music, predating Elvis Presley's commercial success by two or three years.