Carl Perkins

• Born: April 9, 1932
• Birthplace: Tiptonville, Tennessee
• Died: January 19, 1998
• Place of death: Jackson, Tennessee

American rockabilly singer, guitarist, and songwriter

Perkins was one of the first to link country and western, rhythm and blues, hillbilly, and rock and roll into the rockabilly style.

The Life

Carl Lee Perkins was one of three sons, along with Jay and Clayton, of poor sharecroppers Fonie “Buck” Perkins and Louise Brantley. Perkins picked cotton as a youngster, and he was influenced by the gospel and blues music sung by the black workers. When he was seven years old, his father built him a guitar out of a cigar box, and Perkins became proficient at playing. As a teen, Perkins formed a band with his brothers, and they performed at local clubs, even though the Perkins family continued to sharecrop. As an adult, Perkins worked as a baker. He married Valda Crider in 1953, and they had three sons and a daughter.

In 1955 Perkins signed a recording contract with Sun Records and toured with Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. Perkins’s song “Blue Suede Shoes,” released in 1956, became a hit, and Perkins was invited to New York to perform on national television shows. On the drive north, he was seriously injured in an automobile accident that incapacitated him for months.

Perkins began to drink heavily, and though he had some minor hits, his career never regained momentum. He toured and recorded with Cash for ten years and eventually recovered from his alcoholism. In the mid-1970’s he formed C. P. Express with two of his sons and started his own record label, Suede. He also owned two restaurants and established a child-abuse-prevention center. A throat cancer survivor in the early 1990’s, Perkins died following a succession of strokes in 1998.

The Music

A performer from the mid-1940’s until his death, Perkins was known for his dynamic guitar playing and for his ability to write simple, catchy tunes. Most of his best-known songs, however, were bigger hits for other artists. Though an important figure as the first white musician to cross over from pure country to rhythm and blues and pop rock with a style known as rockabilly, Perkins was more widely admired in England than in the United States. Unlike more famous artists (such as Presley, Cash, Roy Orbison, and Jerry Lee Lewis) who were able to capitalize on a switch to rock and roll as the rockabilly trend died, Perkins never really outgrew his country roots.

“Blue Suede Shoes.”Featuring a rock-oriented opening salvo, this was Perkins’s first and only Top 40 hit. The song in 1956 reached number two on the Billboard jukebox chart, hit number one on the country chart, and became Sun Records’ first million-seller. Based on an incident Perkins witnessed while performing at a honky-tonk bar, it became his signature tune (he afterward sported blue suede shoes onstage) and gave its name to Perkins’s Tennessee restaurants and his record label (both called Suede). Presley had a hit with his cover of the song while Perkins was recovering from his near-fatal traffic accident.

“Glad All Over.”This was one of the last recordings Perkins cut for Sun Records, along with “Right String Baby (But the Wrong Yo-Yo),” before moving to Columbia Records. A minor hit for the rockabilly star, it was one of a number of Perkins songs performed by his longtime admirers the Beatles during their 1963 live appearances on the BBC (although not the song with the identical title that became a hit for the Dave Clark Five). During a 1964 British tour, Perkins met the Beatles and was present at sessions when they recorded five of his songs. Capable of vocally duplicating the rockabilly sound, George Harrison was a particular fan of Perkins’s work, and Paul McCartney once claimed Perkins was the Beatles’ greatest influence.

“Daddy Sang Bass.”This autobiographical tune mentions Perkins’s hardscrabble upbringing as a sharecropper, when hard times were relieved by family musical get-togethers. Cash recorded the song on his 1968 album Hello, I’m Johnny Cash. As a single, “Daddy Sang Bass” rose to number one on the country charts and did well on popular charts. Other artists, including Lewis, the Statler Brothers, and Flatt and Scruggs also covered the tune.

“Let Me Tell You About Love.”A rockabilly-flavored tune extolling the virtues of love by comparing a current love to famous lovers of history (Adam and Eve, Samson and Delilah, Bonaparte and Josephine, Romeo and Juliet), this was cowritten by Perkins and Wynona Judd. Perkins was featured on guitar on the song, which appeared on the Judds’ 1989 River of Time album. The single of “Let Me Tell You About Love” made it to number one on country charts.

“Silver and Gold.”Cowritten by Perkins and his sons, Greg and Stan, this song has religious undertones woven among themes that stress the importance of true love and making each moment count. Recorded by Dolly Parton on her 1991 number-one country album Eagle When She Flies, the single of “Silver and Gold” reached number fifteen on country charts. It was also reprised on Parton’s 1996 compilation album, I Will Always Love You, and Other Greatest Hits.

Musical Legacy

Of incalculable influence on songwriters, singers, and guitarists, Perkins had an impact on the early style of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and other groups in England. Through his example as songwriter and performer, he also contributed to the development of such domestic stars as Presley, Orbison, Cash, and Lewis, all of whom surpassed Perkins in popularity. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. Perkins left an important nonmusical legacy: the Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse.

Bibliography

Clayson, Alan. George Harrison. London: Sanctuary, 2001. In this biography of the late Beatle, Harrison discusses Perkins as a major influence on his music.

McNutt, Randy. We Wanna Boogie: An Illustrated History of the American Rockabilly Movement. Hamilton, Ohio: HHP Books, 1989. Features interviews with and many photographs of early rockabilly pioneers, including Perkins.

Naylor, Jerry, and Steve Halliday. The Rockabilly Legends: They Called It Rockabilly Long Before It was Called Rock ’n’ Roll. Milwaukee, Wis.: Hal Leonard, 2007. A tribute and a biography, this contains hundreds of photographs of Presley, Orbison, Cash, Perkins, Buddy Holly, and others.

Perkins, Carl, and David McGee. Go, Cat, Go! The Life and Times of Carl Perkins, the King of Rockabilly. New York: Hyperion, 1996. An autobiography of the rockabilly star, illustrated with photographs and with a complete discography.

Poore, Billy. Rockabilly: A Forty-Year Journey. Milwaukee, Wis.: Hal Leonard, 1998. Poore was a personal friend of many 1950’s rockabilly artists, and he shows their influence on later generations of musicians. Profusely illustrated with tour and chart information.

Principal Recordings

albums:Dance Album, 1957; Whole Lotta Shakin’, 1958; On Top, 1969; Boppin’ the Blues, 1970; Brown Eyed Handsome Man, 1972; My Kind of Country, 1973; From Jackson Tennessee, 1977; Country Soul, 1979; Disciple in Blue Suede Shoes, 1984; Sweeter than Candy, 1984; Born to Rock, 1990; Carl Perkins and Sons, 1993; Take Me Back, 1993; King of Rockabilly, 1995; Go Cat Go, 1996; All Shook Up, 1996; Turn Around, 1998.

singles: “Gone Gone Gone,” 1955; “Blue Suede Shoes,” 1956; “Boppin’ the Blues,” 1956; “Honey Don’t,” 1956; “Everybody’s Tryin’ to Be My Baby,” 1957; “Glad All Over,” 1958.