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CARL PERKINS
"THE KING OF ROCKABILLY"
https://www.hillmanweb.com/rock/carlperkins
With his smash 1956 hit classic "Blue Suede Shoes," Carl Perkins virtually defined and established rockabilly music in the rock and roll cannon and launched Sun Records into national prominence. Carl Perkins is regarded by many as one of the founding fathers of rock-and-roll. Although he placed only one record in the pop top forty "Blue Suede Shoes," it became a legendary one in the annals of rock-and-roll and propelled Perkins, one of the original rockabilly singers, into his legendary status.

Born Carl Lee Perkins near Tiptonville, Tennessee in 1932, the son of the only white sharecropper (Fonie "Buck" Perkins) on a cotton plantation and Louise Brantley. The family lived first in a three room shack and then a one room storehouse.  The family was so poor that kids in the neighborhood brought cast off clothes for the Perkins brothers.

Growing up in Tennessee with his brothers, Jay B. and Clayton, Carl learned to play the guitar and became quite proficient at it. He listened to country music, gospel, and blues, and began to write some of his own compositions. At 13 he performed a song that he had written, Movie Magg, at a local talent show and won. He formed a group with Jay and Clayton called the Perkins Brothers. Carl played electric guitar and did most of the singing with Jay playing acoustic rhythm guitar, and Clayton the upright bass.

Shortly after World War II the family moved to Bemis Tennessee, where the brothers worked in the cotton mills. Buck was unable to get a job in the mills because of a lung condition, and Perkins family went back to sharecropping.

In 1950 the family moved to Jackson, Tennessee where he formed a group with Jay and Clayton called the Perkins Brothers which began to perform at a local honky tonk known as the El Rancho Club in 1947 and 1948. W. B. Holland joined the group as a drummer. They appeared on WDXT radio in his home town of Jackson, Tennessee from 1950 to 1952. Meanwhile, Carl spent many years working during the day at Colonial Baking Company in Jackson as a baker.

On January 24, 1953, Perkins married Valda Crider from Cornith, Mississippi. They moved to the government housing project in Jackson and began having children.

Carl signed a recording contract with Flip Records, a subsidiary of Sun in Memphis, on January 25, 1955. His first release was Movie Magg, written when he was fourteen, that sold slowly. However, it allowed him to get bookings where he opened for Elvis. Phillips felt that he could make a rockabilly  star out of Perkins with the right song. According to Perkins, after a show in Parkin, Arkansas when he was touring with Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, he wrote down the words of someone on the dance floor warning his date to stay away from his new blue suede shoes. "Blue Suede Shoes" was recorded December, 1955, and released January 1, 1956 on the Sun label.

"Blue Suede Shoes" song put 23-year old Carl Perkins in the national spotlight. Appearances were perkcrash.gif (9130 bytes)arranged for the Ed Sullivan and Perry Como TV shows, but while traveling to New York for those engagements he was involved in a terrible automobile accident. The driver, Dave Stewart fell asleep at the wheel and the car ran into a pick-up truck near Dover, Delaware. Stewart was killed, Carl suffered a fractured skull and broken arm. His brother Jay's neck was broken from which he would never recover. Eventually Elvis Presley, covered Blue Suede Shoes, which became Elvis' third top forty hit. These events served to steal some of the his thunder and  Perkins never quite recovered his momentum in the world of pop, although his place in music history was assured.

Perkins wrote his songs and always stayed with the pure rockabilly style.Carl continued to record songs that were country hits, such as " Dixie Fried," " Boppin' The Blues," and "Your True Love," the latter two of which became minor pop hits. The flip side of Blue Suede Shoes was "Honey Don't," which had originally been intended as the A-side.  "Honey Don't" was discovered by the Beatles who covered it along with two more of Carl's songs, "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" and "Matchbox". Latter day pop artists who would acknowledge the influence of Carl Perkins include Rick Nelson,perkins2.jpg (4881 bytes) John Fogerty, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and Paul McCartney, who said "If there were no Carlperkinscash.jpg (91002 bytes) Perkins, there would be no Beatles."

Following the death of his brother Jay in 1958, Carl signed a 5 year deal at 6% with Columbia. Songs by country influenced singers such as Buddy Knox and the Everly Brothers were crossing over to the pop charts. Carl had some more minor pop hits with records such as Pink Pedal Pushers and Pointed Toe Shoes, but he eventually went back to country music. He signed with the Dollie label in 1963 and joined his friend Johnny Cash's road show in January1965. After Cash's guitarist Luther Perkins (no relation) died accidentally in 1968 Perkins became a member of the Tennessee Two. His composition "Daddy Sang Bass" was a big hit for Cash. He was to stay with Cash for ten years, exhibiting his fine guitar-playing, performing solo at times, and occasionally writing songs. Carl continued recording country songs into the 70's. His brother Clayton passed away in 1974.

In the mid-70's he appeared at the Wembley Festival in England and advertised his new album, Old Blue Suede Shoes Is Back Again, on British television. He has continued to record songs for various labels, including his own, the appropriately named Suede. He works with a five-man band that includes his sons Stan and Gregg. He has also collaborated with other notable artists over the years, including his work on the album The Million Dollar Quartet with Cash, Presley, and Jerry Lee Lewis and on The Trio Plus with Lewis, Charley Pride, and others.

Carl Perkins appeared in the 1985 film Into The Night and won the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1986 for Blue Suede Shoes.

In 1991 Perkins was diagnosed with throat cancer and was cured through radiation treatment. Carl Perkins died in 1998.

~ Reference: history-of-rock.com
Birth Name Carl Lee Perkins
Nickname The King of Rockabilly
Born:  April 9, 1932 in Tiptonville, Tennessee, USA
Died  January 19, 1998 in Jackson, Tennessee, USA  (complications from multiple strokes)
Height 1.85 m
Spouse: Valda Crider (24 January 1953 - 19 January 1998)  (his death)  (4 children)

Carl Lee Perkins was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist who recorded at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, beginning in 1954. Among his best-known songs are "Blue Suede Shoes", "Honey Don't", "Matchbox" and "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby".

According to Charlie Daniels, "Carl Perkins' songs personified the rockabilly era, and Carl Perkins' sound personifies the rockabilly sound more so than anybody involved in it, because he never changed." Perkins's songs were recorded by artists (and friends) as influential as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Johnny Cash and Eric Clapton, which further established his place in the history of popular music. Paul McCartney said "if there were no Carl Perkins, there would be no Beatles."

Called "the King of Rockabilly", he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. He also received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.


Blue Suede Shoes: The Very Best of Carl Perkins Review
Carl Perkins stands as a shining example, along with Gene Vincent, that one didn't necessarily need a string of hits in order to be inducted into the R&R Hall Of Fame. In fact, he had exactly five Top 100 hits, only one of which made the Top 40.
But what a hit. After two failed singles [Movie Magg b/w Turn Around - the latter not in this set - for Sun's Flip subsidiary, and Gone, Gone, Gone/Let The Jukebox Keep On Playing on Sun], Blue Suede Shoes exploded onto the scene in the spring of 1956.
It crossed all genres by making it to # 1 Country [three weeks] and to # 2 on each of the pop and R&B charts [b/w Honey Don't]. The only thing keeping it from the # 1 slot in both cases was the phenominal success of Little Richard's Long Tall Sally which stayed there for EIGHT solid weeks.
After that, however, it was tough sledding for Carl, a situation not helped by a serious car accident that kept him out of the limelight for several critical months even as Blue Suede Shoes was moving up. After Sure To Fall/ Tennessee - neither in this compilation - failed to chart, Boppin' The Blues made it to # 7 Country/# 70 pop b/w All Mama's Children, while Dixie Fried scored only on the Country charts, reaching # 10 in October 1956 b/w I'm Sorry, I'm Not Sorry
In spring 1957 Your True Love also scored fairly high on the Country charts at # 13, but could only attain a # 67 pop b/w Matchbox. And the next two, Glad All Over/Forever Yours and That's Right/Lend Me Your Comb, did nothing on either chart.
In 1958 Carl moved over to Columbia where, among a string of releases to 1962, only two made any noise at all on the all-important pop charts: Pink Pedal Pushers [NOT the same version as included here] which reached # 17 Country/# 91 pop in May, and Pointed Toe Shoes [# 93 pop in June 1959]. And that would be his last pop hit, although he would go on to post nine more Country hits, the last being Class Of '55 in 1987 [# 83].
This collection presents what Collectables regards as the best of his Sun years, although I think they blew a 5-star rating by not including I'm Sorry, I'm Not Sorry along with the above-mentioned failed singles and, instead, inserted some obscure cuts that were not even released by Sun [Roll Over Bethoven, Put Your Cat Clothes On, You Can Do No Wrong, That Don't Move Me, Caldonia, Perkins Wiggle, and Y-O-U]. Tracks 10 and 16 WERE, however, part of his only Sun LP "Carl Perkins' Dance Album - Teenbeat."
The sound quality is good, and with the insert you get three pages of liner notes written by Mark Marymont and another nice shot of Carl. Recommended in spite of the omissions.
~ Review by George O'Leary ~ Canada 2002

Trivia (From IMDB) Personal Quotes
March 22, 1956, rockabilly singer/songwriter and Sun Records star Carl Perkins was injured and hospitalized after the car he was riding in crashed on Route 13 between Dover and Woodside, Delaware. Perkins and his band were headed to New York City for a Mar. 24, 1956, appearance on NBC-TV’s Perry Como Show after playing a show in Norfolk, Virginia, on Mar. 21, 1956. Instead, Perkins was forced to spend several months in the hospital. By the time he recovered, Elvis Presley had covered Perkins’ hit, “Blue Suede Shoes,” and Perkins’ career was never the same.

After hitting the back of a pickup truck, their car went into a ditch containing about a foot of water, and Perkins was left lying face down in the water. Drummer W.S. "Fluke" Holland rolled Perkins over, saving him from drowning. He had sustained three fractured vertebrae in his neck, a severe concussion, a broken collar bone, and lacerations all over his body in the crash. Perkins remained unconscious for an entire day. The driver of the pickup truck, Thomas Phillips, a 40-year-old farmer, died when he was thrown into the steering wheel. Jay Perkins, Carl's brother and rhythm guitarist, had a fractured neck and severe internal injuries; he never fully recovered and died in 1958.

On April 3, while still recuperating in Jackson, Perkins watched Presley perform "Blue Suede Shoes" on his first appearance on The Milton Berle Show, which was his third performance of the song on national television.

According to Charlie Daniels, "Carl Perkins' songs personified the rockabilly era, and Carl Perkins' sound personifies the rockabilly sound more so than anybody involved in it, because he never changed." Perkins's songs were recorded by artists (and friends) as influential as Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Johnny Cash and Eric Clapton which further established his place in the history of popular music. Paul McCartney claimed that "if there were no Carl Perkins, there would be no Beatles.

Carl had the talent. He played guitar well and wrote his own songs, neither of which Elvis did. But Carl didn't have the looks (Carl's hair was thinning) or the teen/sex appeal of Elvis.

~ John Einarson
THE NIGHT WE MET AND PERFORMED FOR CARL PERKINS
. . . AND THE JOHNNY CASH TROUPE
Hillman Gig Notes Excerpt from December 2, 1968
Johnny's career was really starting to take off again when he made this third Brandon appearance.  He was recovering from his dark years of drug addiction, thanks to June Carter, and he was just starting to put out a string of cross-over hits. There was even talk of a network TV show.  Around this time one of the Brandon service clubs and/or promoters had asked us to perform at an after-show reception for the Tommy Hunter Show. This was a success, so when the Cash show came to town we were asked to perform a similar show for his entire troupe, as well as for invited guests and dignitaries.

Johnny and June were staying at the grand old Prince Edward Hotel and the party was to be in the hotel's main ballroom. This was quite a thrill for us, although it promised to be a somewhat intimidating experience. We were excited to meet and play for Carl Perkins, the Carter Family, The Statler Brothers, The Tennessee Three, etc. Johnny and his fellow Memphis Sun Records artists had been my major musical influences.


PHOTO GALLERY


The "Millionaire Quartet" session at Sun Studios
Dec 4, 1956


1. House in Tipton, Tennessee
2. Perkins family
Back: Buck (Carl's father) Hattie Gertrude, Eula Mae, Virgina, Hubert , Olie
Front: Dea, grandfather James, grandmother Bettye Azille, Ernest.
Photo courtesy Martha Perkins Bain collection
3. Jay, Carl and Clayton Perkins


1. Valda Crider 1947
2. Valda and Steve Perkins April 1956
3. Carl Perkins


1. Clayton Perkins, Carl, W.S. "Fluke" Howard, Jay Perkins
2. Playing on the Jamboree


1. Jay and Carl Perkins late January 1958
Photo courtesy Martha Perkins Bain Collection
2. Carl and Johnny


1. Perkins' boyhood home as it looks today
2. Perkins' home at time of his death

 


Gravestone at Ridgecrest Cemetery,
Jackson, Tennessee
Photo References: history-of-rock.com



REFERENCE LINKS

HILLMAN ROCK ROOTS SERIES
https://www.hillmanweb.com/rock/
SUN STUDIOS - MEMPHIS
https://www.hillmanweb.com/sun/
"Millionaire Quartet" session at Sun Studios Dec 4, 1956
 https://www.hillmanweb.com/sun/quartet.html


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