In 1994 I conducted one of the most memorable on air interviews of my career.
Carl Perkins called the show and we spent the morning talking about his incredible life. He had recently survived a bout with throat cancer and had endured chemo. It was an honor to speak with the rock and roll legend, most famous for the 1956 hit 'Blue Suede Shoes.'
Blue Suede Shoes spent four weeks at Number 2 on the Billboard charts in early 1956. Elvis also recorded a memorable version that same year. Carl was always grateful that Elvis put it on vinyl.
It was amazing to hear Carl Perkins talk first hand about memorable moments in rock and roll history. He was a big influence on George Harrison and the Beatles.
Carl Perkins met many through the years as a solo traveling artist and through his ten years touring with the Johnny Cash Show. I had the chance to talk with Carl about his many friends that he held near and dear.
George Harrison was a HUGE Carl Perkins fan. (Once when the early Beatles went out on the road, they each adopted "stage names" ... and George became Carl Harrison!) Later in life as a solo artist, he played alongside him a few times during special tribute shows ... and The Beatles actually recorded THREE of Carl Perkins' songs during one lengthy session back in 1964 ... with Carl Perkins IN THE STUDIO with them ... as they laid down their versions of "Honey Don't" (sung by Ringo), "Matchbox" (also sung by Ringo) and "Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby" (sung by George.) They also performed several other of his songs in their early stage shows ... and on their live appearances on the BBC.
Perkins never really got his due on the pop charts ... "Blue Suede Shoes" was by far his biggest hit, reaching #2 in both Billboard and Cash Box in 1956 ... and actually topping the Music Vendor chart. His other singles generally seemed to perform better in Music Vendor as well ... "Boppin' The Blues" was a #19 MV Hit while stopping at #70 in Billboard ... "All Mama's Children" was a #21 Hit in MV ... and never charted at all in Billboard or Cash Box.
He is probably better remembered as a member of Johnny Cash's band than for his own solo career. (Rick Nelson was also a huge Carl Perkins fan ... on his original hand-written lyrics to "Garden Party," he wrote "Carl Perkins Ending" on the sheet!)
Elvis' recording of "Blue Suede Shoes," while nearly identical to Carl Perkins', is probably the better known version today ... it went shared the #2 position in Music Vendor and went to #20 in Billboard. (Elvis re-recorded the tune for a cool jukebox scene in "G.I. Blues" as well ... it, too, is nearly identical to the original.) kk
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