Carl Perkins

King of Rockabilly

by Erika Cox

Carl Perkins was often compared to Elvis Presley because they sounded so much alike, however, Presley had the looks and the Rock and Roll style and Perkins incorporated more of a Country rock or Rockabilly sound.

One thing Perkins had over Presley is that he wrote his own songs, he wrote “Blue Suede Shoes” which he recorded in 1956 before Elvis did a cover version of the song. Listening to the song, Perkins sounds very much like Presley but you can distinguish the musical influences. Perkins’ Blue Suede Shoes has more of the Rockabilly sound to it.

Carl Perkins was born Carl Lee Perkins on April 9, 1932 in Tiptonville, Tennessee. Perkins grew up listening to Southern black Gospel music sung by Blacks who worked in the cotton fields. At seven years old, his father gave him his first guitar made from a cigar box, broomstick and baling wire.

At thirteen, he won a talent contest with a song he recorded and ten years later he signed on with Sun Records after Sam Phillips (Sun’s owner) heard the same song he wrote and won at the talent contest.

In 1955, Perkins wrote his most famous song, “Blue Suede Shoes” on a potato sack, it was a huge hit with all the music genres. The song hit the Top Ten on the Country, Rhythm & Blues, and Pop charts, it also became a Top Ten hit in Europe and was the first Sun Records song to sell a million copies.

At that time, Sun Records’ artists included, Carl Perkins, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, and Charlie Rich, indeed a great deal of talent on board and a great accomplishment by Carl Perkins. Eventually, Blue Suede Shoes became the Rockabilly anthem selling more than 2 million copies.

Unfortunately, Perkins fame didn’t last long, he was involved in a near fatal car accident the following year in 1956 right on the heels of the success of Blue Suede Shoes.

Elvis Presley eventually did a cover of the song and it became an even bigger hit and one of Elvis’s signature songs. When someone mentions or sings Blue Suede Shoes they automatically think Elvis Presley not Carl Perkins. Perkins could only sit back and watch someone else become a mega success with his song.

Perkins still continued to write songs and sing Country and Western songs, which was his first love and his true style. Perkins seemed to care little for the true Rock and Roll image and focused more on making Rockabilly songs. However, he was not overlooked many artists that followed like the Beatles recorded a number of Perkins’ songs, keeping his songs in the public’s memory.

Perkins credited the Beatles and the Rolling Stones with taking Rockabilly further and keeping it in the limelight. To keep things moving, Perkins also toured with Johnny Cash and in the 80’s the return of Rockabilly gave Perkins a much deserved resurgence.

Perkins received a number of honors and recognitions throughout the 1980’s. In 1987, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rockabilly Hall of fame. His song Blue Suede Shoes was acknowledged by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the songs that shaped Rock and Roll music.

Perkins is known as the King of Rockabilly and one of the pioneers in the development of Rock and Roll. In 1998, Carl Perkins died at the age of 65 from throat cancer.

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