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JUKEBOX CLIP
 1956 |
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April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998
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King of Rockabilly
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| LEFT: The Perkins Brothers Band was playing its brand of country since 1947. CENTER: Carl signed with Sun Records in 1954 and gave the label its first million-seller with his song "Blue Suede Shoes" — an accomplishment that rewarded him with a Cadillac from delighted Sam Phillips. RIGHT: Carl Perkins stayed true to his roots and is acknowledged as the King of Rockabilly. The Rockabilly Hall of Fame is located in Jackson, Tennessee – Carl's hometown. | ||
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Carl Lee Perkins
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| Carl Perkins was born into a dirt-poor sharecropper's family on April 9, 1932 near Tiptonville, Tennessee. Being the only white family on the plantation, young Carl was nutured on the Blues and Gospel as well as hillbilly music. |
| He learned guitar from a black sharecropper called Uncle John.1 At the age of 13 he entered a talent contest and sang a song he had written called "Movie Magg," He won the contest and was encouraged to formed a group – the Perkins Brothers Band – with his brothers Jay and Clayton. |
| As his family moved about during the Depression years, Carl continued writing music, absorbing the influences around him. |
| From 1947 through 1952 the Perkins Brothers Band played honky tonks and performed on WDXT Radio in Jackson, Tennessee. |
| In 1953 Carl married Valda Crider and moved to a government housing project to start raising a family. |
| Upon hearing upstart Elvis Presley enjoying some success with the kind of hybrid music Carl and his brothers had been playing for years, Perkins headed to Memphis and signed with Sam Phillips of Sun Records in 1954. While touring the mid-South opening for Elvis in 1955 he wrote "Blue Suede Shoes" and recorded it in December.of that year. |
| "Blue Suede Shoes" was released on January 1, 1956 with little fanfare but, with Carl's regular appearances on "Big D Jamboree" tours, the song built up momentum. Carl was soon booked on the Ed Sullivan and Perry Como television shows in March. |
| Enroute to the Perry Como Show in New York, Carl and his brothers were involved in a tragic car accident involving one death. Carl suffered serious injuries2 and missed his date with destiny. |
| While he was recuperating, "Blue Suede Shoes" became Sun Record's first million-seller and, owing to its Blues influence, he became the first Country artist to score on the R&B charts, ultimately reaching the number two spot. Although Elvis covered "Blue Suede Shoes," Carl's hard-edged version would soon be acknowledged as Rockabilly's signature song. |
| But his success on the pop charts was a short-lived. Carl was pure country and unable to evolve like his Sun labelmates Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash. While their careers soared, he was achieving only minor hits on various labels when not serving as a sideman for others. |
| Feeling he had nothing to lose, Perkins agreed to a British tour in 1964 with Chuck Berry. He soon learned, however, that British fans revered him as he looked around and saw, probably through tears, banners that read "Welcome King of Rock 'n' Roll!" |
| Carl Perkins may have missed his date with destiny, but his music defined Rockabilly and helped shape the destiny of others — most notably Elvis and the Beatles.3 |
| Carl Perkins was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. |
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1
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John Westbrook , who, according to Perkins, played on a guitar with missing strings and had to "bend" strings to reach certain notes. Carl saved up and bought the instrument for three dollars. | |
| 2 | Carl suffered a cracked skull and a fractured shoulder. Brother Jay suffered a broken neck and several internal injuries resulting in his death from complications in 1958. | |
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3
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As a tribute to their mentor, the Beatles recorded 5 Carl Perkins songs – more than from any artist other than Lennon or McCartney. | |
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"Carl Perkins was the original hillbilly cat."
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ELVIS PRESLEY
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"If there were no Carl Perkins,
there would be no Beatles." |
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PAUL McCARTNEY
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