Carl Perkins : Blue Suede Shoes and Elvis Presley : Elvis Articles : : 'For Elvis Fans Only' Official Elvis Presley Fan Club 'See a spider going up the wall / To get his ashes hauled'. Stupid. 'One for the money / Two for the show / Three to get ready / Four to go'. One for the money, two for the show ... Carl was on his way to writing a classic. Carl Perkins 1956. A Trip With Elvis It's been said 'Blue Suede Shows' was written by Carl Perkins during the trip to Amory for a concert with Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash . As you can see above this is not true - But the trip did take place ... In the late fall of '55 Carl, Elvis and Johnny Cash played two more dates together, the first in Amory, Mississippi followed by a show in Helena, Arkansas. (The last Carl would play with Elvis.) During one stretch of the brief trip from Memphis to Armory, Carl rode with Elvis ('A good driver, especially compared to Johnny Cash, the worst driver in the world'), and they had their longest conversation to date about their personal tastes in music. Both loved 'Old Shep' and sang this together.

Then Elvis started talking about his love for the black gospel quartets. Carl asked if he had heard of a group called the Platters, which Elvis had. They discussed their song 'Only You'. In fact Carl had sung the song during a solo date in Armory only a month before, but this was not discussed. Carl Perkins & Elvis Presley on Stage in Armory At the time Carl hadn't yet had his big hit, but he'd had 'Movie Mag', he'd played the venue several times before on his own, and they loved him. Carl went on first and someone in the crowd called out 'Only You', Carl. Carl responded by immediately staring the song and tore the place up; the fans went absolutely nuts. When Carl left the stage he found Elvis sitting in front of a row of lockers, head down, oblivious to everyone around him. Elvis was always the first to congratulate Carl so he knew something was amiss. Elvis had planned to sing 'Only You' that night but had not told Carl. Elvis nerves were made worse knowing he could not go with the song he had planned and that he felt Carl did so well.

When Elvis went on, midway through the first song a call started building from the crowd, and soon engulfed the entire building: 'We want Carl!' Standing in the wings Carl became unnerved. He felt Elvis was being treated rudely and unfairly. But as Carl tells it, 'It did not take long for Elvis to find his groove' and leave Carl little reason to feel sorry for him. Whatever emotion Elvis was feeling, he channeled it into a performance to rival the best Carl had ever seen from anyone. Over the next hour he watched awestruck as Elvis 'just poured it on. Sweat popped out on him and was drippin' to the floor and he had that hair flyin' and them legs movin'. He dug deep. He pulled it off - he rocked! They wasn't hollerin' 'Perkins' at the end. They only did that for a little bit after he first came out. That really embarrassed me'. After a night off, the Perkins and Presley troupes reassembled in Helena, Arkansas, for a double bill. Carl didn't sing 'Only You' that night but again performed well.

Elvis came out to an instant repeat of the Armory show, and again had to jack up his own performance a few notches to quell the audience's chant for Carl. But he succeeded. This is completely different to Johnny Cash's latter description : 'When Elvis went on, he got a fabulous reception too, but he wasn't all the way through his song when half the audience started shouting for Carl. It was so bad that he only did one more song before giving up. He left the stage and Carl came back on to thunderous applause'. Carl's version seems the more believable. Elvis was not a quitter. Why the difference? When all four of the Beatles cannot agree on how the group came to be called ' The Beatles ' it should not be surprising that after so many years memory's fail and people remember things differently. Carl gracelessly acknowledges Elvis was the King. As you will read below, Carl contradicts Johnny again - making it clear that Johnny Cash was not present for the recording of the Million Dollar Quartet Session. Elvis Signs With RCA On January 30 Elvis records 'Blue Suede Shoes' first up in his second recording session in New York .

By early March 'Blue Suede Shoes' was starting to catch on nationally. It entered Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart on march 3 as did Presley's first RCA single 'Heartbreak Hotel', and a week later Carl became the first country artist to appear on the national R&B chart. On local and regional pop charts throughout the country 'Blue Suede Shoes' and 'Heartbreak Hotel' were swapping the number one spot; Carl was, as he said, 'standing toe to toe with that pretty Elvis'. (No disrespect was intended, only that Carl wished he had the looks Elvis had). Cover versions of 'Blue Suede Shoes' began appearing from artists as disparate as Pee Wee King and Lawrence Welk. Carl Perkins' original version of 'Blue Suede Shoes' became rock 'n' roll's first across-the-board chart hit, simultaneously reaching #2 on the pop and R&B charts and topped the country chart. Elvis Presley had spent his first couple of months at RCA in sessions for his debut album, and among the tracks he cut was 'Blue Suede Shoes'.

Seeing Carl's version take off as it did, Presley's producer, Steve Sholes had placed a panic call to Sam Phillips, wondering if the label had signed the wrong artist - Perkins after all, was a writer as well as a singer and instrumentalist. (Odd considering 'Heartbreak Hotel' was also doing well) Phillips counseled patience with Presley, and assured Sholes that he would, in time see satisfying results. Steve Sholes had agreed not to release Elvis' version of 'Blue Suede Shoes' as a single while Carl's was still hot, and indeed, it was released initially on a four-song EP (Extended play) in March and later that month, on his self-titled debut album, Elvis Presley . Carl Perkins. Scotty Moore discounts other published reports in recalling how Elvis' decision to cut Carl's song was made for personal reasons (And Carl and Scotty were good friends all through the years) stemming from his friendship born at Sun and on the road: 'It's been claimed that RCA and Colonel Parker were trying to get Elvis to do the song, but he did it more as a tribute thing than anything else.

He had been talking to the band about it, and then he just decided he wanted to do it. (Elvis recorded songs on instinct) On March 17, Elvis introduced 'Blue Suede Shoes' to a national television audience when he performed it, along with 'Heartbreak Hotel' on the Dorsey Brothers Stage Show in New York. In deference to their friendship, Presley waited until Perkins' version had peaked to release his own, which reached #20. In Norfolk, on March 21, Carl Perkins understood better than anyone around him that the past eighteen years of his life were leading him to New York City, where one month prior the spark of Elvis' career had exploded into a supernova. On the outside Carl stood tall and proud, a stone rockabilly forging his own trail against all the odds; inside he carried the burden of his history, from the abject povety of Lake County to the long march through playing live in rough clubs to the echoing plaint of Elvis' voice summoning him to his destiny in Memphis. Departing Norfolk after another well-received show, Carl, Jay, Clayton and W.S. engaged in easy banter about their prospects for stardom in New York.

They were on their way. Tragedy Strikes Carl Perkins However, shortly before sunup on March 22, fate intervened unkindly to halt the momentum that had been building with 'Blue Suede Shoes'. While en route to New York to appear on The Perry Como Show, Carl Perkins was seriously injured when their driver fell asleep at the wheel, causing the car to hit the back of a truck before plunging into water. The truck driver was killed, and Carl and his brother Jay were seriously injured. Although Perkins was back on the road in about a month, Jay who suffered a fractured neck; never fully recovered and was later diagnosed with a brain tumor, from which he died in 1958. While in hospital Carl was visited by Scotty Moore, Bill Black and D.J. Fontana. They had a message from Elvis, Bill Black told Carl, 'Hey, man, Elvis sends his love'. The trio were on their way to New York to back Elvis on the Dorsey Brothers Stage Show the next night. Elvis had flown ahead and was already in Manhattan.

On the evening of March 24 Carl watched Elvis performing 'Heartbreak Hotel' and 'Money Honey' on his sixth and final appearance on the The Dorsey Brothers Stage Show. Nearly a week after the wreck, the get-well cards and letters of sympathy were piling up. Pointing to a yellow envelope marked 'Western Union', a nurse told Carl it had arrived earlier in the week but had been misplaced. Dated March 23, it read: We were all shocked and very sorry to hear of the accident. I know what it is for I had a few bad ones myself. If I can help you in any way please call me. I will be at the Warwick Hotel in New York City. Our wishes are for a speedy recovery for you and the other boys. Sincerely Alvis Presley, Bill Black, Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana. Telegram To Carl Perkins from Elvis Presley (Alvis Presley, Bill Black, Scotty Moore and DJ Fontana).

No matter that the name had been misspelled, the greeting from Elvis Presley boosted Carl's spirits immeasurably Even as their paths diverged with Carl out of commission, his friendship with Elvis remained true and strong, in and of itself a source of strength. During his recuperation, Carl was visited by agents headed by Jim Denny, wanting to sign him but he decided to stay loyal to Sam Phillips and Sun Records. Jim Denny was a long-time manager of the Grand Ole Opry Artists Service who went on to become one of the most successful talent agents and song publishers in country music history. His skill as a promoter and developer of talent played a vital role in the growth of country music in the 1950s and early 1960s. It was Jim Denny who gave Elvis (With Scotty & Bill) his opportunity to perform on the Grand Ole Opry after Sam Phillips convinced him to 'just give the boy a chance'. Blue Suede Shoes Sells a Million On April 10, Sam Phillips presented Carl with a new Cadillac as reward for being the first Sun artist to sell a million copies, in this case it was 'Blue Suede Shoes'.

Sam Phillips presents Carl Perkins with a new Cadillac. Perkins quickly resumed work at Sun, recording a brace of classic rockabilly sides - including 'Boppin' the Blues' and 'Matchbox' (Another The Beatles would record) - throughout 1956. However, for almost unexplainable reasons, he would never again crack the Top Forty. Carl Perkins performs at Overton Park Shell on the night of June 1, 1956 . Some 5,000 teenagers turned out that night for two hours of rock and roll by various artists including Perkins. Carl Perkins signs autographs at Overton Park Shell on the night of June 1, 1956. Some 5,000 teenagers turned out that night for two hours of rock and roll by various artists including Perkins. Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley swap autographs at Overton Park Shell on the night of June 1, 1956 . Elvis Presley made a surprise appearance at the show. Sam Phillips Cheats Carl In August '56, Carl received his first royalty checks from Sam Phillips.

Two envelopes were received, one bearing the Sun Records logo, the other a different-colored envelope from Sam's publishing company, Hi-Lo Music. The Sun check (Artist royalties) was for an amount slightly exceeding $12,000; the Hi-Lo check (Writers royalties) for a little more than $14,000. The money was below what Carl had been expecting. Carl was expecting about double that at least. Other artists had already told him he would probably make $100,000 from his first royalty payment given how mammoth a record the song had been out of the box. (Plus writers royalties from Elvis' and others covers of the song.) The accounting Sam Phillips gave with the payment 'was not to where you could really count it up for yourself, it was just so vague' Carl's wife Valda recalled. But one item caught their attention: Sam had deducted the price of the Cadillac from Carl's artist earnings. But Carl was just thankful to have that kind of money (Still a large sum in the '50s). Carl did not pursue the matter. 'I did not feel right to question Sam about too much of anything really. I trusted him'.

Carl opened the first bank account of his life and deposited the checks. Carl made a $10,000 down payment on a house - his own home, not a government-subsidized apartment. Carl gave Jay and Clayton $5,000 each and WS Holland $2,000. At about the same time Sam Phillips bought a house. It was Jim Denny who opened Carl's eyes to the truth. Some years later after Carl had left Sun and was being managed by Jim Denny, Jim commented to Carl that the BMI check for 'Blue Suede Shoes' must have amounted to 'a fortune'. To which Carl replied: 'What's BMI?' After explaining BMI's (Broadcast Music International) function as a licensing agency that registers songwriters' material and collects fees due them and their publishing companies for use of the material, Denny pointed out, 'You get paid half of what your publisher gets - 'Blue Suede Shoes' is probably one of the most played records that's been out in years. What did you get off that in '56?' Carl related the figure on his first Hi-Lo check. Denny's comment: 'You've got to be kidding'.

When Denny checked with BMI, Carl alleges, he found more than $60,000 having been paid to Sam Phillips in 1956. Less than $15,000 - less than half of the fifty-fifty split with Sam's publishing company - had made it's way into Carl's pocket that year alone. To Carl's dismay, he found Sam beyond reach, owing to the expiration of BMI's three-year statute of limitations provision for protesting royalty payments. Though Jim Denny Carl saw his first thorough accounting, with listings of all his songs, where they were being played, and how much he had earned off each one. In the mid 1970's Carl sued Sam, due to the complicated issue of the statute of limitations the case was difficult to win. The court ruled that Carl's attorneys had failed to prove fraud on Sam's part however, Carl was awarded $36,182.46 being only for royalties due from January 5, 1969 to June 30, 1977.

Unfortunately Carl had cashed a check in 1967 for $12,000 that had written in small type in the lower left corner 'Accepted in payment as full royalties due through December 31, 1967'. Carl says he did see it and was suspicious of it, so consulted an attorney, who advised him erroneously as it turned out, to bank the check as it would not have any bearing on any future lawsuit Carl might want to file. Carl did have a big win following the courts ruling, when his attorney threatened yet another lawsuit against Sam. A deal was negotiated and Carl was given full control of the copyrights on all of his Sun songs. Never again did he have to beg for what was owed him. Carl was able to buy his dream home, a modest, rambling, one-story home. In time Carl would acknowledge, with genuine appreciation, Sam's contribution to his music and would even tell reporters that the biggest mistake he had made in his career was leaving Sun Records - but he never forgave Sam for taking money he considered to be his, that he needed to support his family.

Sam Phillips: Sun Records - The Man Who Invented Rock & Roll The Million Dollar Quartet On December 4, 1956, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley (who'd already moved from Sun to RCA) held an impromptu jam session at Sun Studio. (Johnny Cash stuck around only long enough to be photographed with the others.) The foursome were dubbed the Million Dollar Quartet . Carl recalls Elvis walked into the Sun Studio shortly after his recoding of 'Matchbox' was complete (Featuring the unknown Jerry Lee Lewis on piano.) Elvis was accompanied by a dancer from Las Vegas who Elvis later referred to as his 'House Guest'. Her name has been widely published as Marilyn Evans , but Carl remembers her surname being Miller, prompting him to ask if she were related to the dancer Ann Miller, to whom she bore a physical resemblance. 'Were sort of in the same business, but I'm not kin to her and I'm not near the dancer she is', Carl recalls her saying, 'She's a wonderful dancer'. Seeing Elvis for the first time since he left Sun, Carl found the change in his friend's appearance startling.

Elvis' hair, sandy colored in 1954, was jet-black, a deeper shade than the black he had sported in his latter days at Sun; his skin was smooth as china, and the acne on his neck cleared up - he wasn't even wearing a collar now. Dressed casually in black slacks, a white shirt, and a light colored jacket, Elvis cut a striking figure - the hillbilly Cat had ascended to the media-anointed title of King of Rock 'n' Roll. Making a beeline for the piano, Elvis sat down. 'So your Elvis Presley, huh?' Jerry Lee said, strolling over casually. 'I ain't nobody but', Elvis answered, smiling. 'Well, I'm Jerry Lee Lewis. I'm playing piano with Carl today. I play on everybody's records down here at Sun. Man, I didn't know you could play'. 'Aw, I can't', Elvis said sheepishly as he noodled a melody. 'Well then, why don't you let me sit down?' Elvis looked up at Jerry Lee and laughed softly. 'Well, I'd like to try' he said, as he continued playing.

Sam came out and said he'd like Elvis to hear what Carl had just recorded earlier in the day. Elvis listened to 'Matchbox' and declared it a 'killer' track. Elvis returned to the piano. As he and Carl harmonized on a gospel song Sam told engineer Jack Clement to start a tape rolling - 'We may never have these people together again'. Johnny Cash was there briefly and did some singing before the tape started rolling but had to leave to go pick up his wife Vivian when she left work. The Million Dollar Quartet : Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Elvis & Johnny Cash. There is also a very detailed account in Peter Guralnick's book, Last Train To Memphis - The Rise of Elvis Presley , that suggests that Johnny only stayed for a short time and then left, possibly to do some Christmas shopping. Colin Escott also reports that Cash was only brought in late in the session, after Sam Phillips had decided to call the Memphis Press Scimitar. The fact that Cash may not have been present throughout the session seems to be confirmed by two pieces of 'chatter' caught on the tapes.

In the first, another Sun artist, Smokey Joe Baugh, came by and his gravelly voice can be heard after 'I Shall No Be Moved', saying 'You oughta get up a quartet'. In the second, a female voice, probably Marilyn Evans, can be heard asking if 'This Rover Boys Trio can sing 'Farther Along'?' March 1957 Sometime in March '57, Elvis droped by Sun Records as Sam Phillips is playing back Carl Perkins recording 'That's Right'. According to Carl, Elvis danced across the floor to the beat and declared that it would be a hit. 'Man I'd kill for that song', Elvis said. Sam boxed the tape and the three of them headed for WHBQ. When the trio walked in to the studio Dewey Phillips broke into the record he was playing and announced: 'Somebody lock the door! Don't let 'em out! Got 'em both down here, burnin' them jukeboxes up with songs like -' and he had 'Hound Dog' cued up and ready to rip.

As it played, Sam handed the tape to Dewey and said, 'I think this is one of the best records that will ever come out of Sun'. Dewey got Elvis to the mike to introduce the song, 'Well, ladies and gentlemen, if this ain't gonna be a hit record I'm gonna be fooled. I-I-I-I-it's really got a different beat and all I know is the name of it's 'That's Right'. And Dewey played the song. After the first airplay Dewey interviewed Carl and Elvis on the air, and devoted a good portion of his show to their music, coming back frequently to ask them questions. When they left the station, Elvis, Carl and Sam found the street mobbed with teenagers who had been listening to Dewey's show. They ran for the car and drove back to Sun, where more cars and teenagers were lined up. 'Boys, I gotta go', Elvis said declining Sam's invitation to come in. Carl and Sam made their way through the crowd as Elvis sped off into the night, a line of hot rods following behind him.

[There was no way that a song like 'That's Right' was ever going to be a hit with the subject matter of honky tonk life but obviously Elvis liked whet he heard.] 1958 - Columbia Records Perkins and Cash moved to Columbia Records in 1958. Unlike Cash Perkins did not have the hoped for success. On October 19, 1958 Jay Perkins died from a malignant brain tumor (Cancer). Placed alongside the many wreaths and sprays at Jay's grave site on the day of his funeral was a lone weeping willow tree, with a dozen paper mache redbirds affixed to it's limbs. The attached sympathy card was signed, 'With love, Elvis'. Less than a year after Jay's death WS (Fluke) Holland left the band to manage Sun artist Carl Mann ('Mona Lisa'). Eventually Holland went to work for Johnny Cash for the longterm. Shortly after Holland's departure Carl visited Jim Denny at Cedarwood Publishing and found Denny eager to sign him as a writer. Jim Denny turned out to be precisely the right person for Carl at a time when he most needed guidance professionally.

Although he never again repeated the success he had at Sun, Carl did have success as a songwriter over the years with Patsy Cline 'So Wrong', Johnny Cash 'Daddy Sang Bass' and The Judds, 'Let Me Tell You About Love', recording his songs. 1963 In 1963, Carl suffered the loss of another friend in Patsy Cline. Patsy's plane crashed due to bad weather on March 3, 1963. Also on board were her manager and pilot Randy Hughes, Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins. On hearing the news Carl drove to the crash site, aloud access due to his having state number plates courtesy of his friendship with the Tennessee Governor. Jim Denny died on August 27, 1963. This was a big loss as in Jim, Carl had found a manager and friend that he could trust. In 1963, Carl was forced to fire his brother Clayton due to his violent temperament. 1964 - Britain and The Beatles In early 1964, while touring Britain with Chuck Berry, he learned to his great surprise that he'd been a major influence on The Beatles, especially guitarist George Harrison.

Under Carl's supervision, the Beatles cut three of his songs - more songs than they recorded by any other outside source - 'Matchbox', 'Honey Don't' and 'Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby'. Of these none come close to the Perkins originals, except maybe, 'Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby' with vocals by George Harrison. Carl was becoming something of a legend in Europe (as were many early rockers), he returned to England for a second tour in October 1964. 1967 - Johnny Cash Carl Perkins' career got another boost when fellow Sun Records alumnus Johnny Cash tapped him to tour and record as part of his band in the mid-Sixties and featured him as a regular in his Seventies variety show. Perkins remained part of Cash's touring entourage from 1967 to 1975 - a mutual show of loyalty from two Sun-era comrades who'd came up much the same way. 1970's On Christmas Day in 1973, Clayton Perkins died from a self inflicted gun shot. He had been unemployed for almost a decade after Carl was forced to fire him.

Again Elvis sent s a weeping willow tree, with thirteen paper mache redbirds affixed to it's limbs. In January 1975 the Perkins family was shattered further with the death of Carl's father, Buck. In the midst of all the all the flowers that covered his grave the day of the funeral was a large weeping willow tree, with thirteen paper mache redbirds affixed to it's limbs. The attached sympathy card was signed, 'From Elvis, with love'. In 1975 Carl along with DJ Fontana and Scotty Moore recorded a tribute song to Elvis. The song EP Express was made up almost entirely of Elvis Presley song titles ('Well I put my hound dog on your trail / I found it out at heartbreak hotel / But that's alright now, Mama, any way you do'.) An inspired performance that made the country chart. As already detailed earlier in this article, In the mid 1970's Carl sued Sam Phillips over royalties. Carl did have a big win following the courts ruling, when his attorney threatened yet another lawsuit against Sam. A deal was negotiated and Carl was given full control of the copyrights on all of his Sun songs.

Never again did he have to beg for what was owed him. August 16, 1977 On August 16, 1977 Carl learned of Elvis' death via his son Greg. Carl's reaction was one of disbelief, turning on the TV for conformation which was immediate. Carl tells the story that about six months earlier he had traveled to Graceland to see Elvis, he was aware he was not in good health after seeing him live in concert some months before that. He wanted to help his friend. At the gates of Graceland he was greeted by Vester Presley, who called the house to announce Carl, but reported back that Elvis was still asleep. At seven o'clock in the evening. After signing autographs for fans waiting on the street for a glimpse of Elvis, Carl drove back to Jackson. Carl Perkins : 'I guess we all thought that maybe somehow Elvis would never die. But when it hit me, man, there'd be no more Elvis, I toted the guilt around that I didn't get to him.

I couldn't describe it then and, really, I still can't and give that feeling justice, the emotional drop that took place inside my soul when Greg walked into my house and told me Elvis was dead'. 1980's By the 80s Carl Perkins' reputation as one of rock's pioneers had grown. He recorded an album with Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis, The Survivors and another similar project, with Cash, Lewis and Roy Orbison, Class Of '55 , followed in 1986. Carl spent much of the '80s touring and working with younger musicians who were influenced by him, among them Paul McCartney and the Stray Cats. In 1985 he starred in a television special to mark the 30th anniversary of 'Blue Suede Shoes'. It co-starred George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Dave Edmunds, two members of the Stray Cats, Rosanne Cash and Eric Clapton. In 1987 Carl was elected to the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. He signed to the Universal label in 1989 and released Born To Rock.

1990's His autobiography, Go, Cat, Go!, was published in 1995, from which most of the above is derived. A straight forward honest account, easy to read. Carl's mother Mary died in 1991, aged seventy-nine. Carl was unwell for much of the 90s and suffered from a heart condition that took its toll on January 19, 1998. Carl died aged 66, at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital from complications related to a recent series of strokes. Carl was born on April 9, 1932. Click the link below to watch a video of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Carl Perkins & Johnny Cash backstage in 1955 + Carl performing 'Blue Suede Shoes' in '56. Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes - YouTube Carl Perkins - Blue Suede Shoes Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later.

Uploaded on Sep 18, 2011 "Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard written and first recorded by Carl Perkins in 1955 and is considered one of the first rockabilly (rock and roll) records and incorporated elements of blues, country and pop music of the time. The song was notably covered by Elvis Presley. Johnny Cash planted the seed for the song in the fall of 1955, while Perkins, Cash, Elvis Presley, and other Louisiana Hayride acts toured throughout the South. Cash told Perkins of a black airman whom he had met when serving in the military in Germany. He had referred to his military regulation air shoes as "blue suede shoes." Cash suggested that Carl write a song about the shoes. Carl replied, "I don't know anything about shoes. How can I write a song about shoes?" When Perkins played a dance on December 4, 1955, he noticed a couple dancing near the stage. Between songs, Carl heard a stern, forceful voice say, "Uh-uh, don't step on my suedes!" Carl looked down and noted that the boy was wearing blue suede shoes, and one had a scuff mark.

Good gracious, a pretty little thing like that and all he can think about is his blue suede shoes, thought Carl. That night Perkins began working on a song based on the incident. His first thought was to frame it with a nursery rhyme. He considered, and quickly discarded "Little Jack Horner..." and "See a spider going up the wall...". Then settled on "One for the money..." Leaving his bed and working with his Les Paul guitar, he started with an A chord. After playing five chords while singing "Well, it's one for the money... Two for the show... Three to get ready... Now go, man, go!" and broke into a boogie rhythm. He quickly grabbed a brown paper potato sack and wrote the song down, writing the title out as "Blue Swade"; "S-W-A-D-E - I couldn't even spell it right," he later said. According to Perkins, "On December 17, 1955, I wrote "Blue Suede Shoes"." I recorded it on December 19." Producer Sam Phillips suggested that Perkins's line "go boy go" be changed to "go cat go".

(extract from Wikipedia 2011) Carl Perkins | Rolling Stone artists > C > Carl Perkins > Bio Carl Perkins Bio One of the architects of rock & roll, Carl Perkins is best known as the writer and original singer of the rockabilly anthem "Blue Suede Shoes" (#2, 1956). Along with Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins was one of the seminal rockabilly artists on Sam Phillips' Sun label, but a series of bad breaks, followed by personal problems, undermined his solo career. Despite that, Perkins persevered, creating a body of work that has been both critically acclaimed and extremely influential on songwriters, guitar players, and singers alike. Perkins grew up poor in a sharecropping family that picked cotton in various northwestern Tennessee fields around Tiptonville. Perkins was first put to work at age six, and it was in the fields that he first heard gospel songs. At night, he heard hillbilly country and Delta blues over the family radio. An older, black field hand befriended Perkins and taught him to play guitar; by age 10 Perkins was entertaining his classmates.

He made his radio debut with his school band, singing "Home on the Range." He kicked off his musical career in the mid-1940s, performing at local dances with his brothers Jay and Clayton as the Perkins Brothers Band. In 1953 drummer W.S. "Fluke" Holland joined. The next year, after hearing Presley's debut Sun single, "Blue Moon of Kentucky" (a Bill Monroe song Perkins and his group had been playing since 1949), Perkins and his brothers drove to Memphis to audition for Phillips. Shortly thereafter, they signed to the label and released Perkins' first single, "Movie Magg" (a song Perkins wrote at age 13) b/w "Turn Around." In early 1955 came "Let the Jukebox Keep On Playing" b/w "Gone Gone Gone." Perkins' biggest hit came in late 1956. "Blue Suede Shoes" was an instant smash and made Perkins the first white country artist to cross over to the R&B chart as well.

A country, pop, and R&B hit, "Blue Suede Shoes" alternated with Elvis Presley's first post-Sun single, "Heartbreak Hotel," for the top spots on national and regional charts. (Shortly thereafter, Presley issued his "Blue Suede Shoes"; over time, Perkins' original sold more copies.) Perkins was at the height of his career when tragedy struck. He and his group were driving to New York to appear on Perry Como's television program when their driver fell asleep at the wheel, causing the car to hit the back of a truck before plunging into water. The driver was killed, and Carl and his brother Jay were seriously injured. Although Perkins was back on the road in about a month, Jay never fully recovered and was later diagnosed with a brain tumor, from which he died in 1958. Years later, Perkins admitted that he used his brother's death as a reason to drink. A quiet, self-effacing man, Perkins later observed, "I felt out of place when 'Blue Suede Shoes' was Number One. I stood on the Steel Pier in 1956 in Atlantic City…. and the Goodyear blimp flew over with my name in big lights.

And I stood there and shook and actually cried. That should have been something that would elevate a guy to say, 'Well, I've made it.' But it put fear in me." In early 1958 Perkins moved to Columbia Records, where he recorded several more minor rockabilly hits, but by the early '60s, he'd hit a low point. On a British tour in 1964, Perkins was surprised to learn that the Beatles admired him and that George Harrison taught himself to play guitar by copying Perkins' records. Perkins became friendly with the Beatles and oversaw the sessions where they recorded five of his songs —"Matchbox," "Honey Don't," "Your True Love," "Blue Suede Shoes," and "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby." Rick Nelson, Johnny Burnette, and Patsy Cline, among others, also covered his songs. Like many other rockabilly artists, Perkins turned to country material as the rockabilly trend died, and by 1965 he was part of Johnny Cash's touring troupe. In 1968 he wrote the huge hit for Cash, "Daddy Sang Bass" (#1, 1969).

When Cash got his national television show in 1969, Perkins became a regular guest, and he toured and recorded with Cash as well. As a solo artist, Perkins cut some country records and recorded an album with NRBQ. After the Cash show ended, he toured as Johnny's guitarist until 1975. He then formed the C.P. Express with his sons Greg and Stan, and started his own label, Suede, on which he released two albums (The Carl Perkins Show and Carl Perkins Live at Austin City Limits). In late 1978 Perkins released a basic rock & roll LP called Ol' Blue Suede's Back, which sold 100,000 copies in England. In 1981 he did some sessions for Paul McCartney's Tug of War; in early 1982, an album entitled Survivors, recorded live in Germany with Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash, was released. Three years later Lewis, Cash, and Orbison were reunited for The Class of '55, a special event that included such Perkins disciples as John Fogerty and Rick Nelson. Through the years, Perkins continued to record and write.

He cowrote the Judds' 1989 hit "Let Me Tell You About Love," on which he played lead guitar. In 1992 Dolly Parton had a C&W hit with a song Perkins wrote for her, "Silver and Gold." In 1992 Perkins was diagnosed with throat cancer; following treatment, he was declared cancer-free a year later, and kept writing and recording. He owned two Jackson, Tennessee, restaurants; one, Suede's, is filled with his career memorabilia. In 1981 he founded the Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Perkins' 1996 album, Go, Cat, Go! featured Willie Nelson, John Fogerty, Paul Simon, and Tom Petty. His authorized biography, Go, Cat, Go! The Life and Times of Carl Perkins, the King of Rockabilly, by David McGee, was published in 1994. Perkins suffered a series of strokes and died in 1998.

This biography originally appeared in The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll (Simon & Schuster, 2001). "Blue Suede Shoes" by Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley "Blue Suede Shoes" A Classic Cut for 2 Rockabilly Singers “So Elvis Presley came, strumming a weird guitar and wagging his tail across the continent, ripping off fame and fortune as he scrunged his way. And, like a latter-day Johnny Appleseed, sewing seeds of a new rhythm and style in the white souls of the white youth of America, whose inner hunger and need was no longer satisfied with the antiseptic white shoes and whiter songs of Pat Boone. ‘You can do anything,’ sang Elvis to Pat Boone’s white shoes, ‘but don’t ya step on my blue suede shoes.’” — Eldridge Cleaver, Soul on Ice, 1968. Like the Black Panther leader of the riotous sixties, many Americans then and since have associated Blue Suede Shoes and its rebellious message with Elvis Presley.

The truth is, of course, the song was written by Presley’s Sun Records stablemate Carl Perkins, who had a hit record with the tune in 1956. Elvis’s version of Blue Suede Shoes was never a chart hit, and yet, in the public’s perception, Presley has somehow co-opted cultural ownership of the classic song. A review of the song’s history reveals how it happened. While details of how and when Blue Suede Shoes was written vary, all parties agree that Johnny Cash gave Perkins the basic idea for the song. In a 1988 interview in England, Cash explained how the image came to him and how he passed it on to Carl. “I was in the Air Force in Germany, and I had a black friend named C.V. White from Virginia. He’d get dressed up for a three-day pass, and in his mind, when he put on his clothes to go out, his black shoes were blue suede shoes. He would say, ‘Man! Don’t step on my blue suede shoes; I’m goin’ out tonight.’ Carl Perkins and I were in Amory, Mississippi, with Elvis.

Now Elvis, of course, was hotter than a pistol … and Carl hadn’t had a hit. He’d had two country records. He asked me to write a song with him. I said, ‘You take this idea and write it yourself.’ This ‘blue suede shoes’ line that my buddy used to say had been in my mind ever since I went to Sun. I told Carl about it and he said, ‘That’s the one I’m looking for,’ and he wrote it that night. He started it backstage, but he went home and finished it.” Cash said he never regretted giving the “blue suede shoes” concept to Carl. “I’m still glad I did, because he was my best friend, and he deserved a hit. He’d worked hard for one.” However, in his 1996 autobiography, Go, Cat, Go, Perkins claimed he initially shrugged off Cash’s idea. “I don’t know nothin’ about them shoes,” Carl told Johnny. Perkins claims that it wasn’t until a later appearance at a Jackson nightclub that he first saw the potential for the term in a song.

After finishing a number, he heard a boy near the stage forcefully telling his date, “Don’t step on my suedes!” Perkins thought, “A pretty little thing like that and all he can think about is his blue suede shoes.” Later that night, Perkins wrote Blue Suede Shoes. It came to him quickly. It felt like “a song writing itself,” he said later. • Sam Phillips’ contribution to Blue Suede Shoes On December 19, 1955, Carl Perkins recorded Blue Suede Shoes at Sam Phillips’ studio in Memphis. According to Go, Cat, Go, “The first take was tentative, stiff … His initial guitar solo was tepid and sloppy; he was searching for some fire but managing only faint sparks.” On the second take, “Carl [cut] loose on his vocal, singing with an easy but driving swing in his voice, and an ingratiating ebullience. The lyrics were tighter, the instrumentalists better locked into each other, and the feel was fresh and lively.” After a mediocre third take, Sam came out of the control booth. Shocked, Carl said, “Mr. Phillips, I made some bad guitar mistakes in there.” Sam played back the second take.

“You just listen to this break,” he said. “Do you hear that? You burnt it! We’re not changin’ anything—this record’s a smash!” Sun Records #234 was released on January 1, 1956. Demand for Blue Suede Shoes was slow at first. It got some traction on Country & Western stations in some Southern cities, but Perkins began to despair of the record getting any national attention. However, on February 18, 1956, Billboard magazine listed Blue Suede Shoes at the top of it’s C&W “This Week’s Best Buys” column. “Difficult as the country field is for a newcomer to ‘crack’ these days,” the review began, “Perkins has come up with some wax here that has hit the national retail chart in almost record time. New Orleans, Memphis, Nashville, Richmond, Durham and other areas report it a leading seller. Interestingly enough, the disk has a large measure of appeal for pop and r.&b. customers.” Interestingly enough, also, was that further down in that same column was a review of another Billboard “Best Buy”—Heartbreak Hotel by Elvis Presley.

Over the next three months, Perkins’s Blue Suede Shoes and Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel faced off in match race to the top of Billboard’s charts. It started in the C&W sector. By April 7, both records were at the top of all three country charts, trading places in the #1 spots from week to week. On April 28, though, Presley got the upper hand. Heartbreak Hotel held the top spot on all the C&W charts for three weeks with Blue Suede Shoes in the runner-up spot all the while. • Presley and Perkins faced off in the "Top 100" The two records also had a race to the top of the Hot 100. Both entered Billboard’s top pop chart on March 3, 1956, with Heartbreak Hotel at #68 and Blue Suede Shoes at #83. The very next week, however, Perkins’s record leaped up to #23, five spots ahead of Presley. Both recordings reached the top 10 on March 31, when they tied for the #9 spot.

Then, slowly, Heartbreak Hotel inched ahead, reaching #1 on May 5, while Blue Suede Shoes spent six weeks vacillating between #4 and #5. In the end, Elvis’s first RCA record spent seven weeks at #1. Carl Perkins’ first entry in the Top 100 was a smash hit as well. Blue Suede Shoes spent 21 weeks on the chart, nine of them in the top ten. Meanwhile, Elvis Presley had recorded his own version of Blue Suede Shoes at RCA’s New York studios on January 30, 1956. The main goal of that session was to produce some tracks to fill Presley’s first album. Sam Phillips claims that RCA’s Steve Sholes promised not to release Elvis’s cover of Blue Suede Shoes as a single while Carl Perkins’s record was still hot on the charts. According to Scotty Moore, Elvis recorded the song because of his personal friendship with Carl Perkins. “It’s been claimed that RCA and Colonel Parker were trying to get Elvis to do the song,” said Scotty, “but he did it more as a tribute thing than anything else.

He had been talking to the band about it, and then he just decided he wanted to do it.” Presley gave Blue Suede Shoes the full rock ’n’ roll treatment, at a faster pace and with greater energy than Perkins’s rockabilly recording. Go, Cat, Go noted that, “The beauty of Presley’s unrestrained performance on ‘Shoes’—he eliminated the stop-time break and instead tore through the opening, barely taking a breath—was a link to the Sun style. As they had when working with Phillips, Moore, Bill Black, and Presley’s new drummer, D.J. Fontana, set up and blew, according to Moore: ‘We just went in there and started playing, just winged it. Just following however Elvis felt.’” • Elvis was hesitant and stiff at session However, according to Ernst Jorgensen’s book on Presley’s recording sessions, recording Blue Suede Shoes was far more problematic than a handful of musicians “winging it.” Jorgensen contends that Elvis was unsure of how to approach the song in the studio.

“There was a hesitation and stiffness in Elvis’s voice in the ten takes it took to produce a cover of Carl Perkins’s ‘Blue Suede Shoes;’” observed Jorgensen, “maybe Elvis felt uncomfortable ‘stealing’ a former stablemate’s song, or maybe he was taken aback by the unspoken, but perfectly understood, doubt in the air about his own potential … That didn’t make Elvis’s version of ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ a failure, though it did set it apart from what had come before; energy and toughness were starting to replace the natural swing and underplayed charm of both Presley’s Sun sides and Perkins’s original.” Elvis’s recording of Blue Suede Shoes was released on his first LP on March 23, 1956. The availability of Presley’s version had no effect on the chart performance of Perkins’s single, which continued to climb up the chart. As the lead song on an EP, also released on March 23, Elvis’s recording of Blue Suede Shoes entered the Top 100 at #88 on April 7.

Although it remained on the chart for 12 weeks, it got no higher than #24, hardly a hit by Presley standards in 1956. When RCA finally released a Presley single of Blue Suede Shoes on August 31, it never charted. (Blue Suede Shoes was not deemed worthy of inclusion in Elvis’ Golden Records when that LP was released in March 1958.) While Blue Suede Shoes was not a chart hit for Elvis in 1956, he made it a standard offering of his in other media. On television he sang the Perkins tune on CBS’s “Stage Show” on February 11 and again on March 17. He followed it up with a raucous version on “The Milton Berle Show” on April 3. As part of his screen test on April 1, Presley lip-synced Blue Suede Shoes for the Paramount Studio camera. Of course, Blue Suede Shoes was a staple in Presley’s live stage shows in 1956, including during his two-week run in Las Vegas beginning on April 23. Elvis continued his association with Blue Suede Shoes in later stages of his career.

A toned down version appeared in the film G.I. Blues in 1960. When he returned to live performing starting in 1969, he often included Blue Suede Shoes in the playlist, sometimes as his opening number. Of course, Elvis’s original recording of Blue Suede Shoes was included in dozens of RCA record and CD releases through the years. And in 1985, eight years after Elvis’s death, RCA produced a music video featuring his 1956 version of Blue Suede Shoes. Carl Perkins made a cameo appearance in the video. • Perkins got his due respect for Blue Suede Shoes Although Carl Perkins has remained in the blue suede shoes shadow of Elvis Presley through the years, he has received his due credit for composing one of the most influential songs of the past century. Blue Suede Shoes was named one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 “Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll.” Perkins’s recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1986 and in 2006 was inducted into the National Recording Preservation Board in the Library of Congress National Recording Registry.

On Rolling Stone’s 2004 list of “The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time,” Perkins’s version of Blue Suede Shoes was listed at #95. Elvis’s recording of the same song ranked #423 on the list. Finally, in 1999 National Public Radio included Blue Suede Shoes on its list of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th Century. Carl Perkins died in 1998. — Alan Hanson | © March 2011 Carl Perkins - Biography - IMDb Carl Perkins Jump to: Overview (5) | Mini Bio (1) | Spouse (1) | Trivia (15) | Personal Quotes (4) Overview (5) 6' 1" (1.85 m) Mini Bio (1) Carl Perkins was born on April 9, 1932 in Tiptonville, Tennessee, USA as Carl Lee Perkins. He was married to Valda Crider. He died on January 19, 1998 in Jackson, Tennessee.

Spouse (1) ( 24 January 1953 - 19 January 1998) (his death) (4 children) Trivia (15) Founded the Exchange Club Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse in 1980. Owned and operated the Suede Club in Jackson, Tennessee. Author of the Elvis Presley hit "Blue Suede Shoes". Last album "Friends, Family & Legend" in 1992 Inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. [1985] Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. [1987] Injured in road accident on the way to appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show (1948). [1956] Perkins' version of "Blue Suede Shoes" (not Elvis') was the bigger hit in 1956. He was one of Johnny Cash 's best friends, the two having became close when they were both on Sun Records' roster, and they even wrote songs for the other perform at the time.

In unison, Cash developed his addiction to speed and Perkins developed his to alcohol, and (after a car crash ended Perkins career) Cash took him on as part of his touring band. In spite of the fact that he nearly stole his thunder with his cover of "Blue Suede Shoes", Elvis Presley idolized him. Perkins and Johnny Cash gave each other the ideas for two of their biggest songs. Perkins got the inspiration to write his best known song "Blue Suede Shoes" from Cash, who told Perkins stories of soldiers on leave while Cash was in the military who would start a fight with anyone who got near their blue suede shoes. Cash got the idea for "I Walk the Line" when Perkins commented on all the groupies that they had access to now that they were famous and Cash countered, "Not me, brother, I walk the line." Perkins immediately responded, "Hey, I walk the line...that would be a great title for a song.". He was voted the 69th Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Artist of all time by Rolling Stone. In 1991, he was forced to stop touring to undergo treatment for lung cancer and later successfully battled throat cancer.

He endured surgery on a blocked artery in his neck in June 1997 and subsequently suffered a series of strokes. Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 479-480. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. Is portrayed by country artist Johnny Holiday in Walk the Line (2005). Along with Elvis Presley , Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis was a member of celebrated "The Million Dollar Quartet". So named because they were moneymakers for Sam Phillips 's Sun Records Label. Personal Quotes (4) About - Million Dollar Quartet - Official Site Million Dollar Quartet Real Wild Child - Jerry Lee Lewis Matchbox - Carl Perkins Who Do You Love?

- Carl Perkins Folsom Prison Blues - Johnny Cash Fever - Dyanne Memories Are Made Of This - Elvis Presley That's All Right - Elvis Presley Brown Eyed Handsome Man - Company Down By The Riverside - Company Sixteen Tons/My Babe - Johnny Cash/Carl Perkins Long Tall Sally - Elvis Presley Peace In The Valley - Elvis Presley I Walk the Line - Johnny Cash I Hear You Knockin' - Dyanne Party - Carl Perkins & Company Great Balls of Fire - Jerry Lee Lewis Hound Dog - Elvis Presley Riders in the Sky - Johnny Cash See You Later, Alligator - Carl Perkins Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On - Jerry Lee Lewis MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET is the smash-hit musical inspired by the famed recording session that brought together rock 'n' roll icons Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins for the first and only time. On December 4, 1956, these four young musicians gathered at Sun Records in Memphis for what would be one of the greatest jam sessions ever.

MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET brings that legendary night to life, featuring a score of rock hits including "Blue Suede Shoes," "Fever," "That's All Right," "Sixteen Tons," "Great Balls of Fire," "Walk the Line," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," "Who Do You Love?," "Matchbox," "Folsom Prison Blues," "Hound Dog" and more. This thrilling musical brings you inside the recording studio with four major talents who came together as a red-hot rock 'n' roll band for one unforgettable night. Don't miss your chance to be a fly on the wall of fame... at MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET! I would like to receive information about: Elvis SongPedia Elvis Songpedia Elvis SongPedia: Blue Suede Shoes Blue Suede Shoes Recorded: January 30, 1956, RCA Studios, New York Released master is take 10.

Single: w/ " Tutti Frutti ", RCA 47-6636, August 31, 1956 Also re-released as Gold Standard Series, 447-0609, September 30, 1958 RIAA Certified: Gold (as of 07/15/1999) Highest U.S. Charts Positions: #24 on Top 100 Pop Singles chart #20 on Top Sellers in Stores chart #24 on Most Played By Jockeys chart These chart positions reflect release on EP Elvis Presley, EPA-747, March 1956, rather than the single released in August. 1st LP release: Lyrics and Downloads section below. My Spin (Just my opinion. Give us yours!) When someone is asked to name Elvis songs, "Blue Suede Shoes" is likely to be one of the first songs they come up with. Although it's certainly one of the songs most identified with Elvis, it was never technically a "gold record", since the single didn't sell over a million (during Elvis' lifetime. It has now).

Because of this, it was not included on in 1958, nor did it show up on either of the "greatest hits" 4-LP boxed sets that came out in 1970 and 1971 ( ). So, if you were just becoming a fan in the '70s (like I was), it was hard to believe that you couldn't get "Blue Suede Shoes" on any of Elvis' "greatest hits" albums! You could only get this original recording by finding the Gold Standard "oldies" re-release version of the single, or by buying Elvis' first album, . In spite of this early lack-of-certified-gold status, "Blue Suede Shoes" is forever tied to Elvis, and that goes for the origin story too! Although Carl Perkins wrote it, recorded it and had the original hit with the song, the inspiration to write it seems to have come from a night in 1955 when Elvis, Carl and Johnny Cash were performing in Amory Mississippi. That night Johnny told Carl of an Air Force sergeant he knew, named C.V.

White, who would often ask Johnny how he looked, and say, "Just don't step on my blue suede shoes!", although he was wearing his Air Force uniform and regulation shoes. After telling Carl the story, he suggested Carl write a song about it, but Perkins wasn't sure how to write a song about shoes. In December of 1955, Carl and his brothers were playing for a dance when he noticed a boy dancing with a beautiful young girl. He overheard the boy say to the girl, "Uh-uh! Don't step on my blue suedes!" Amused that a boy would rank his shoes higher than a gorgeous girl, he finished writing "Blue Suede Shoes" that night. He wanted to use a nursery rhyme to start it out, and toyed with the idea of something based on "Little Jack Horner" or "a spider going up the wall", but settled on this intro: Well, it's one for the money, two for the show, Three to get ready, now go, man, go!

When recording it at Sun Studio, Sam Phillips had one suggestion: change that last line to "Go, cat, go!" Released on January 1, 1956, Carl's version of "Blue Suede Shoes" quickly became a hit regionally and was soon giving Elvis' "Heartbreak Hotel" a run for its money nationally, especially after Carl appeared on The Perry Como Show. Elvis recorded his version of "Blue Suede Shoes" on January 30, 1956, in his second session for RCA Victor. Elvis performed it on television in February and early March, and with each TV appearance, the song was beginning to be identified with Elvis as much as with Carl. On March 21, Carl was in a car accident, and was unable to perform for months. A week earlier, March 13, Elvis' version of "Blue Suede Shoes" kicked off Side 1 of his debut album, Elvis Presley. RCA had originally earmarked it as a possible single release, but Steve Sholes at RCA promised Sam Phillips that he would postpone it long enough for Carl's version to continue its success.

As it turned out, Carl's version made it to number one on the singles charts and went gold, while Elvis' first album went to the top of the album charts and went gold! It was a win-win! Although Carl's version is definitive rockabilly at its finest, Elvis takes it and makes it his own, vocally adding a lot more energy. Elvis does the intro differently, too. While Carl hits a dead stop after each of the first two lines, Elvis continues in rhythm through both lines, losing none of the momentum before launching into the main chorus. Together with Scotty Moore's guitar solos, it's turned into a rock-n-roll classic. Any Elvis "greatest hits" package available today almost certainly includes "Blue Suede Shoes". Elvis recorded a new version in 1960 for the soundtrack of G.I. Blues, to fit into a scene in the film. Elvis' character and his band are playing in a German pub when another G.I. says he'd rather hear "an original", goes to the jukebox and selects "Blue Suede Shoes" by Elvis Presley. This, of course, leads to a fight scene.

Although this is only four years later than his previous recording, it sounds like a diluted version of the original. For his 1968 Comeback Special, he recorded a couple of versions of the song, all of them powerful. His voice was in great shape, and he was obviously enjoying his performances, really biting into the song. Unfortunately, this would be about the last time he would devote much energy to it. In his return to Las Vegas in 1969, he did open with the song, and it still had some punch. He would continue to perform "Blue Suede Shoes" in his concert appearances, throughout the rest of his career, but it would mostly be an obligatory run-through of the song, without much care. He knew he had to do it, though. What's an Elvis performance without "Blue Suede Shoes"?! Other Spins (What did the critics and fans say?) 'Blue Suede Shoes', with its driving rhythm, is a classic rock'n'roll record. The barely-controlled power of Presley's performance is made all the more enthralling by deliberate mispronunciation of some consonants.

This gives the song a quality of bravado - a couldn't-care-less attitude - but it is clear that every quaver is sincerely meant by Presley. Scotty Moore's guitar is remarkable: he 'bends' chords flat to tilt the song in the rhythm-and-blues direction, and his guitar licks in verse 2 build the energy, until by the third verse it really burns. Carl Perkins Carl Perkins 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. Back l to r: Buck (Carl's father) Hattie Gertrude,Eula Mar Virgina, Hubert , Olie Front l to r: Dea, granfather James, grandmother Bettye Azille, Ernest.

Photo courtesy Martha Perkins Bain collection Born Carl Lee Perkins near Tiptonville, Tennessee in 1932, the son of the only white sharecropper (Fonie "Buck" Perkings)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. L to R: Clayton Perkins, Carl, W.S. "Fluke" Howard, Jay Perkins 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. At first "Blue Suede Shoes" sold slowly. Early in 1956 Perkins began making regular appearances on "Big D Jamboree" on radio station in Dallas where he played the song every Saturday night. Slowly it began to catch on - first in the country market, then with teenagers and finally with rhythm and blues fans. :Blue Suede Shoes" song put 23-year old Carl Perkins in the national spotlight. Appearances were 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, John Fogerty, Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and Paul McCartney, who said "If there were no Carl 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. Gravestone at Ridgecrest Cemetery, Jackson, Tennessee Carl Perkins died in 1998. Carl Perkins was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Original Sun Greatest Hits Elvis Presley - Blue Suede Shoes 1956 (COLOR and STEREO) - YouTube Elvis Presley - Blue Suede Shoes 1956 (COLOR and STEREO) Want to watch this again later? Sign in to add this video to a playlist. Need to report the video? Sign in to report inappropriate content. Rating is available when the video has been rented. This feature is not available right now. Please try again later. Uploaded on Jan 19, 2010 Category

Question: What type of shoes did Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley sing about?
Answer: Blue Suede Shoes