Marion Keisker

Marion Keisker MacInnes (September 23, 1917 – December 29, 1989), born in Memphis, Tennessee, graduated from Southwestern College with a degree in English and Medieval French. She was married to Angus Randall MacInnes and had a son, Angus David MacInnes before divorcing. She was a radio show host for WREC where Sam Phillips worked as an announcer. She was also a station manager and later assistant to Sam Phillips at Memphis Recording Service and Sun Records. She was also a U.S. Air Force officer. She is best remembered as the first person to record Elvis Presley on July 18, 1953.

Keisker was alone in the office of Sun Records, which also served as office for Memphis Recording Service, when Presley recorded two songs "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin" for a fee of $3.25. Her exchange with Presley on that occasion has since become part of Elvis lore: I said, "What kind of singer are you?" He said, "I sing all kinds." I said,"Who do you sound like?" He said,"I don't sound like nobody."

Marion Keisker left Sun Records in February 1957 and joined the Air Force where she was commissioned as a Captain and served as information officer in charge of the Armed Forces television station at the Ramstein base in Germany. After leaving the U.S. Air Force in 1969 Keisker became active in the National Organization for Women, Memphis chapter. She was chapter president and her correspondence is archived at the Memphis Public Library.

She was portrayed by Ellen Travolta in the 1979 film Elvis, Jill Jane Clements in the 2005 CBS miniseries Elvis, and Margaret Anne Florence in the 2017 CMT series Sun Records.