146-541: Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll , he began his recording career at the Sun Studio , in Memphis in 1954. Among his best known songs are Blue Suede Shoes , Honey Don't , Matchbox and Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby . According to fellow musician Charlie Daniels , "Carl Perkins' songs personified
292-593: A Long Tail Shirt)", "Pop, Let Me Have the Car", "Pink Pedal Pushers", "Any Way the Wind Blows", "Hambone", "Pointed Toe Shoes", "Sister Twister", "L-O-V-E-V-I-L-L-E" and other songs. In 1959, he wrote the country & western song The Ballad of Boot Hill for Johnny Cash who recorded it on an EP for Columbia Records. That same year, Perkins was cast in a Filipino movie produced by People's Pictures, Hawaiian Boy in which he sang Blue Suede Shoes. He performed often at
438-561: A Teenage Werewolf". Lead singer Lux Interior 's energetic and unpredictable live shows attracted a fervent cult audience. Their " psychobilly " music influenced The Meteors and Reverend Horton Heat . In the early '80s, the Latin genre was born in Colombia by Marco T (Marco Tulio Sanchez), with The Gatos Montañeros. The Polecats , from North London, were originally called The Cult Heroes; they could not get any gigs at rockabilly clubs with
584-456: A blues song on one side and a country song on the other, both sung in the same genre-blending style. Presley's Sun recordings feature his vocals and rhythm guitar, Bill Black's percussive slapped bass, and Scotty Moore on an amplified guitar. Slap bass had been a staple of both western swing and hillbilly boogie since the 1940s. Scotty Moore described his playing style as an amalgamation of techniques he had picked up from other guitarists over
730-464: A break on July 5, 1954, Elvis started playing " That's All Right Mama ", a 1946 blues song by Arthur Crudup, and Moore and Black joined in. After several takes, Phillips had a satisfactory recording. "That's All Right" was released on July 19, 1954. Presley's version of "That's All Right Mama" melded country, a genre associated with European-American culture, and rhythm & blues, a genre associated with African-American culture . The resulting track
876-645: A breakthrough hit for Shakin' Stevens . Also in 1980, Queen scored a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with the rockabilly-inspired single " Crazy Little Thing Called Love ". The Stray Cats were the most commercially successful of the new rockabilly artists. The band formed on Long Island in 1979 when Brian Setzer teamed up with two school chums calling themselves Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom . Attracting little attention in New York, they flew to London in 1980, where they had heard that there
1022-472: A cigarette for him, even though the patient in the next bed was in an oxygen tent . Presley also telegraphed Perkins his well wishes. "Blue Suede Shoes" had sold more than 500,000 copies by March 22, and Sam Philips had planned to celebrate by presenting Perkins with a gold record on The Perry Como Show . While Perkins recuperated from his injuries, "Blue Suede Shoes" reached number one on regional pop, R&B, and country charts. It also reached number two on
1168-422: A crossover into country. He met Perkins when he appeared on The Johnny Cash Show on June 7. Dylan had writer's block and was unable to complete the song until Perkins contributed the rhythm and some lyrics upon which Dylan said to him, "Your song. Take it. Finish it." Perkins registered the song as co-authored and recorded it on his 1969 album On Top . Also in 1969, Columbia's Murray Krugman placed Perkins with
1314-409: A double LP from the festival featuring Monroe, Jimmy Martin, Lester Flatt, and Jim and Jesse was released in 1973. The annual Bill Monroe Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival is now the world's oldest continuously running annual bluegrass festival. Monroe's compositions during his later period were largely instrumentals, including "Jerusalem Ridge", "Old Dangerfield" (originally spelled Daingerfield after
1460-1007: A duet with Carl Perkins, and George Harrison collaborated with Roy Orbison in the Traveling Wilburys . In 1999, McCartney released Run Devil Run , his own record of rockabilly covers. The Beatles were not the only British Invasion artists influenced by rockabilly. The Rolling Stones recorded Buddy Holly's " Not Fade Away " on an early single and later a rockabilly-style song, " Rip This Joint ", on Exile on Main St. The Who , despite being mod favorites, covered Eddie Cochran's " Summertime Blues " and Johnny Kidd and The Pirates ' Shakin' All Over on their Live at Leeds album. Even heavy guitar heroes such as Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page were influenced by rockabilly musicians. Beck recorded his own tribute album to Gene Vincent's guitarist Cliff Gallup — Crazy Legs —and Page's band, Led Zeppelin , offered to work as Elvis Presley's backing band in
1606-613: A highly accomplished group that included fiddler Howdy Forrester and bassist Joe Forrester and would soon include fiddler Chubby Wise and bassist Howard Watts , who often performed under the name "Cedric Rainwater". In retrospect, this line-up of the Blue Grass Boys has been dubbed the "Original Bluegrass Band", as the music finally included all the elements that characterize bluegrass music, including breakneck tempos, sophisticated vocal harmony arrangements, and impressive instrumental proficiency demonstrated in solos or "breaks" on
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#17327973308041752-440: A long legal struggle with Sam Phillips over royalties , Perkins gained ownership of his songs in the 1970s and, in 2003, his widow, who by then owned the catalog, entered into an administration contract with Paul McCartney's MPL Communications . The rockabilly revival of the 1980s helped bring Perkins back into the limelight. In 1981, Perkins recorded the song Get It with Paul McCartney . According to one source, he fully co-wrote
1898-563: A massive chart success. In the United States, it reached number one on Billboard magazine 's country music chart (the only number one success he would have) and number two on the Billboard Best Sellers popular music chart. On February 11, Presley performed it on CBS-TV's Stage Show . On March 17, Perkins became the first country artist to reach number three on the rhythm and blues charts. That night, he performed
2044-682: A million copies. These same musicians would have two more releases in 1956, followed by another in January 1957. "Queen of Rockabilly" Wanda Jackson's first record came out in July, "I Gotta Know" on the Capitol label; followed by "Hot Dog That Made Him Mad" in November. Capitol would release nine more records by Jackson, some with songs she had written herself, before the 1950s were over. The first record by Jerry Lee Lewis , who would later be known as
2190-510: A mix of blues, country and early rockabilly. The Saturday Night Jamboree was a Memphis stage show held every Saturday night at the Goodwyn Institute Auditorium in downtown Memphis, Tennessee from 1953–1954. The Jamboree shows were sometimes broadcast live on KWEM. A number of future notables performed there, including Elvis Presley. The performers often experimented with new sounds in their dressing rooms, incorporating
2336-646: A name that sounded "punk", so the original drummer Chris Hawkes came up with the name "Polecats". Tim Polecat and Boz Boorer started playing together in 1976, then hooked up with Phil Bloomberg and Chris Hawkes at the end of 1977. The Polecats played rockabilly with a punk sense of anarchy and helped revive the genre for a new generation in the early 1980s. The Blasters , who emerged from the Los Angeles punk scene, included rockabilly among their roots rock influences. The song " Marie Marie ", first appearing on their 1980 debut album American Music , would later become
2482-568: A nationwide boogie craze starting in 1938, country artists like Moon Mullican , the Delmore Brothers , Tennessee Ernie Ford , Speedy West , Jimmy Bryant , and the Maddox Brothers and Rose began recording what was then known as "hillbilly boogie", which consisted of "hillbilly" vocals and instrumentation with a boogie bass line. After World War II , The Maddox Brothers and Rose were at "the leading edge of rockabilly with
2628-483: A pan greaser for the Colonial Baking Company. His brothers had similar pick up jobs. In January 1953, Perkins married Valda Crider, whom he had known for a number of years. When his job at the bakery was reduced to part-time, Valda, who had her own job, encouraged Perkins to begin working the taverns full-time. He began playing six nights a week. Later the same year, he added W.S. "Fluke" Holland to
2774-493: A party where he sat on the floor sharing stories, playing guitar, and singing songs while surrounded by the Beatles . Ringo Starr asked if he could record Honey Don't. Perkins answered, "Man, go ahead, have at it." The Beatles later recorded covers of Matchbox , Honey Don't and Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby which Perkins adapted from a song originally recorded in 1936 by Rex Griffin which he added new music to. (A song with
2920-822: A pioneer of rockabilly and rock and roll, came out on December 22, 1956, and featured his version of " Crazy Arms " and "End of the Road". Lewis would have big hits in 1957 with his version of " Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On ", issued in May, and " Great Balls Of Fire " on Sun. There were thousands of musicians who recorded songs in the rockabilly style, and many record companies released rockabilly records. Some enjoyed major chart success and were important influences on future rock musicians. Sun also hosted performers, such as Billy Lee Riley , Sonny Burgess , Charlie Feathers , and Warren Smith . There were also several female performers like Wanda Jackson who recorded rockabilly music long after
3066-702: A punk-influenced style of rockabilly, often labeled as alt-country or cowpunk . They achieved critical acclaim and a following in America but never managed a major hit. The revival was related to the " roots rock " movement, which continued through the 1980s, led by artists like James Intveld , who later toured as lead guitar for The Blasters, High Noon , the Beat Farmers , The Paladins , Forbidden Pigs , Del-Lords, Long Ryders, The Last Wild Sons, The Fabulous Thunderbirds , Los Lobos , The Fleshtones , Del Fuegos , Reverend Horton Heat and Barrence Whitfield and
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#17327973308043212-483: A rock and roll star in his own right), although they did not record the song until 1957. The Burnettes disliked the popular music McQueen played, so they began playing smaller shows on their own, focusing on their budding rockabilly sound. The trio released " Train Kept A-Rollin' " in 1956, listed by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top 500 rock songs of all time . Many consider this 1956 recording to be
3358-518: A rockabilly album titled Everybody's Rockin' . The album was not a commercial success and Young was involved in a widely publicized legal fight with Geffen Records who sued him for making a record that did not sound "like a Neil Young record". Young made no further albums in the rockabilly style. During the 1980s, a number of country music stars scored hits recording in a rockabilly style. Marty Stuart 's " Hillbilly Rock " and Hank Williams, Jr. 's " All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight " were
3504-402: A teenager with a bleeding chin pressed against the stage by the massed crowd. During the first guitar intermission of Honey Don't, they were waved offstage and into a vacant dressing room behind a double line of police officers. Appalled by what he had seen and felt, Perkins left the tour. Appearing with Gene Vincent and Lillian Briggs in a rock 'n' roll show, he helped attract 39,872 people to
3650-516: A type of blue note . Perkins taught himself parts of Acuff's Great Speckled Bird and The Wabash Cannonball having heard them played on the Opry . He also has cited Bill Monroe 's fast playing and vocals as an early influence. Perkins also learned from John Westbrook, an African-American field worker in his sixties who played blues and gospel music on an old acoustic guitar. Westbrook advised Perkins to "Get down close to it. You can feel it travel down
3796-513: A visible neck brace), finally appeared on The Perry Como Show to perform Blue Suede Shoes. Beginning early that summer, Perkins was paid $ 1,000 to play two songs a night on the extended tour of Top Stars of '56. Other performers on the tour were Chuck Berry and Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers . When Perkins and the group entered the stage in Columbia, South Carolina , he was shocked to see
3942-746: Is another example of the mixing of musical genres in the first half of the 1950s. Bill Monroe is known as the Father of Bluegrass , a specific style of country music. Many of his songs were in blues form, while others took the form of folk ballads, parlor songs, or waltzes. Bluegrass was a staple of country music in the early 1950s and is often mentioned as an influence in the development of rockabilly, in part owing to its favoring of fast tempos. The Honky Tonk sound, which "tended to focus on working-class life, with frequently tragic themes of lost love, adultery, loneliness, alcoholism, and self-pity", also included songs of energetic, uptempo Hillbilly Boogie. Some of
4088-499: Is considered "classic" rock and roll. Some have also described it as a blend of bluegrass with rock and roll. The term "rockabilly" itself is a portmanteau of "rock" (from "rock 'n' roll") and " hillbilly ", the latter a reference to the country music (often called " hillbilly music " in the 1940s and 1950s) that contributed strongly to the style. Other important influences on rockabilly include western swing , boogie-woogie , jump blues , and electric blues . Defining features of
4234-490: Is often called the " Father of Bluegrass ". The genre takes its name from his band, the Blue Grass Boys , who named their group for the bluegrass of Monroe's home state of Kentucky . He described the genre as "Scottish bagpipes and ole-time fiddlin'. It's Methodist and Holiness and Baptist. It's blues and jazz , and it has a high lonesome sound." Monroe was born on his family's farm near Rosine, Kentucky ,
4380-456: Is quoted as saying "Rock and Roll? Why, man, that's the same kind of music we've been playin' since 1928!... But it's just basic rhythm and has gone by a lot of different names in my time. It's the same, whether you just follow a drum beat like in Africa or surround it with a lot of instruments. The rhythm's what's important." After blues artists like Meade Lux Lewis and Pete Johnson launched
4526-675: The Golden Nugget Casino in Las Vegas in 1962 and 1963. During this time, he toured nine Midwestern states and made a tour in Germany. In 1962, Patsy Cline recorded So Wrong , which Carl wrote with Mel Tillis and Danny Dill , and had a #14 hit on the Country charts. In May 1964, Perkins toured Britain with Chuck Berry with the popular, young rock group, The Animals backing them. Perkins had been reluctant to undertake
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4672-586: The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award , and he was awarded the National Medal of Arts in 1995. His well-known song " Blue Moon of Kentucky " has been covered not only by bluegrass but also rock and country artists, most notably Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney , and Patsy Cline . In 2003, CMT had Bill Monroe ranked No. 16 on CMT 40 Greatest Men of Country Music . Artists that claimed to be influenced by or to be playing
4818-602: The Grand Ole Opry . Perkins and his brothers began appearing on The Early Morning Farm and Home Hour . Positive listener response earned them a 15-minute segment sponsored by Mother's Best Flour. By the end of the 1940s, the Perkins Brothers were the best known band in the Jackson area. Perkins had day jobs during most of these early years including picking cotton, working at various factories and plants and as
4964-773: The Jordanaires . In 1951 a western swing bandleader named Bill Haley recorded a version of " Rocket 88 " with his group, the Saddlemen . It is considered one of the earliest recognized rockabilly recordings. It was followed by versions of " Rock the Joint " in 1952, and original works such as "Real Rock Drive" and " Crazy Man, Crazy ", the latter of which reached number 12 on the American Billboard chart in 1953. On April 12, 1954, Haley, performing with his band as Bill Haley and His Comets , recorded " Rock Around
5110-485: The Long Tall Sally EP (1964)). Long after the band broke up, the members continued to show their interest in rockabilly. In 1975, Lennon recorded an album called Rock 'n' Roll , featuring versions of rockabilly hits and a cover photo showing him in full Gene Vincent leather. About the same time, Ringo Starr had a hit with a version of Johnny Burnette's " You're Sixteen ". In the 1980s, McCartney recorded
5256-529: The Million Dollar Quartet . Sun released the full recordings from this jam session, a selection of gospel, country, and R&B songs in 1990. On February 2, 1957, Perkins again appeared on Ozark Jubilee , singing Matchbox and Blue Suede Shoes. He also made at least two appearances on Town Hall Party in Compton, California , in 1957, singing both songs. Those performances were included in
5402-656: The New Rhythm and Blues Quartet , the NRBQ, a rockabilly group based in New York's Hudson Valley. With the group backing him, he recorded two of his staples, Boppin' the Blues and Turn Around plus songs they sang separately. Tommy Cash (brother of Johnny Cash) had a Top Ten country gospel hit in 1970 with the song "Rise and Shine" which Perkins wrote. It reached number nine on the Billboard country chart and number eight on
5548-715: The Rockabilly Hall of Fame in recognition of his pioneering contributions to the genre. Perkins's only notable film performance as an actor was in John Landis 's 1985 film Into the Night . The cameo-laden film includes a scene in which characters played by Perkins and David Bowie die by each other's hand. Perkins returned to the Sun Studio in Memphis in 1986, joining Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Roy Orbison on
5694-697: The Western Ranch Dance Party series filmed and distributed by Screen Gems. He released That's Right , co-written with Johnny Cash, backed with the ballad Forever Yours, as Sun single 274 in August, 1957. Neither side made it onto the charts. The the 1957 film Jamboree included Perkins performing Glad All Over . The song was written by Aaron Schroeder , Sid Tepper , and Roy C. Bennett , Sun released it in January, 1958. In 1958, Perkins moved to Columbia Records for which he recorded "Jive After Five", "Rockin' Record Hop", "Levi Jacket (And
5840-821: The " King of Rockabilly ", Perkins was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , the Rockabilly Hall of Fame , the Memphis Music Hall of Fame , and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame . His recording of Blue Suede Shoes was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame . Carl Lee Perkins was born on April 9, 1932, in Tiptonville, Tennessee , the son of poor sharecroppers Louise and Buck Perkins (misspelled on his birth certificate as "Perkings"). He had two brothers, Jay and Clayton. From
5986-668: The " Nashville sound " in mainstream country music both represented threats to the viability of bluegrass. While still a mainstay on the Grand Ole Opry, Monroe found diminishing success on the singles charts, and struggled to keep his band together in the face of declining demand for live performances. Monroe's fortunes began to improve during the American folk music revival of the early 1960s. Many college students and other young people were beginning to discover Monroe, associating his style more with traditional folk music than with
Carl Perkins - Misplaced Pages Continue
6132-490: The "Blue Grass Quartet", which featured four-part vocal arrangements accompanied solely by mandolin and guitar – Monroe's usual practice when performing "sacred" songs. Both Flatt and Scruggs left Monroe's band in early 1948, soon forming their own group, the Foggy Mountain Boys . In 1949, after signing with Decca Records, Monroe entered what has been called the "golden age" of his career with what many consider
6278-666: The "father of bluegrass", he was also an inaugural inductee into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 1991. Monroe was a recipient of a 1982 National Heritage Fellowship awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts , which is the United States government's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. That year's fellowships were the first bestowed by the NEA. In 1993, he received
6424-629: The "father" of bluegrass. Accordingly, at the first bluegrass festival organized by Carlton Haney at Roanoke, Virginia in 1965, Bill Monroe was the central figure. In 1964, before the Grateful Dead got together, Jerry Garcia caravanned across the country from California to tag along with Monroe. He was playing in the band The Black Mountain Boys in Palo Alto with Sandy Rothman, and in may of 64 he visited Neil Rosenberg at Bean Blossom, playing
6570-450: The 1930s and 1940s, two new sounds emerged. Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys were the leading proponents of Western Swing , which combined country singing and steel guitar with big band jazz influences and horn sections ; Wills's music found massive popularity. Recordings of Wills's from the mid 1940s to the early 1950s include "two beat jazz" rhythms, "jazz choruses", and guitar work that preceded early rockabilly recordings. Wills
6716-485: The 1970s. However, Presley never took them up on that offer. Years later, Led Zeppelin's Page and Robert Plant recorded a tribute to the music of the 1950s called The Honeydrippers: Volume One . The 1968 Elvis "comeback" and acts such as Sha Na Na , Creedence Clearwater Revival , Don McLean , Linda Ronstadt and the Everly Brothers , the film American Graffiti , the television show Happy Days and
6862-562: The 1980s in the UK (with four number ones in the singles chart) and number two across Europe, outstripping Michael Jackson , Prince , and Bruce Springsteen . Unlike The Stray Cats, who became successful due in part to MTV, Shakin' Stevens' success was initially due to him appearing on various children's television shows in Britain. Despite his popularity in Europe, he never became a big success in
7008-597: The Big Bopper ), the induction of Elvis Presley into the army in 1958, and a general change in American musical tastes. The style remained popular longer in England, where it attracted a fanatical following right up through the mid-1960s. Rockabilly music cultivated an attitude that assured its enduring appeal to teenagers. This was a combination of rebellion, sexuality, and freedom—a sneering expression of disdain for
7154-449: The Big D Jamboree tour. Before he resumed touring, Sam Phillips arranged a recording session at Sun with Ed Cisco filling in for the still-recuperating Jay. By mid-April, they recorded Dixie Fried , Put Your Cat Clothes On, Wrong Yo-Yo, You Can't Make Love to Somebody, Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby , and That Don't Move Me. On May 26, Perkins and his band (with Jay Perkins performing wearing
7300-606: The Billboard pop and country charts, below Elvis Presley's " Heartbreak Hotel ". By mid-April, more than one million copies of "Blue Suede Shoes" had sold. On April 3, while still recuperating in Jackson, Perkins watched Presley perform "Blue Suede Shoes" in his first appearance on The Milton Berle Show . This was the third time he performed the song on national television. Perkins returned to live performances on April 21, 1956 beginning with an appearance in Beaumont, Texas , with
7446-421: The Blue Grass Boys consisted of singer/guitarist Clyde Moody , fiddler Tommy Magness, and bassist Bill Wesbrooks. While the fast tempos and instrumental virtuosity characteristic of bluegrass music are apparent even on these early tracks, Monroe was still experimenting with the sound of his group. He seldom sang lead vocals on his Victor recordings, often preferring to contribute high tenor harmonies as he had in
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#17327973308047592-909: The Blue Grass Boys over the nearly 60 years of Monroe's performing career. Monroe tended to recruit promising young musicians who served an apprenticeship with him before becoming accomplished artists in their own right. Some of Monroe's band members who went on to greater prominence include singer/guitarists Clyde Moody , Lester Flatt , Jack Cook, Mac Wiseman , Jimmy Martin , Carter Stanley , Del McCoury , Peter Rowan , Roland White , Roland Dunn and Doug Green ; banjo players Earl Scruggs , Bob Black, Butch Robins , Buck Trent , Don Reno , Stringbean , Sonny Osborne , and Bill Keith ; and fiddlers Tommy Magness, Chubby Wise , Vassar Clements , Byron Berline , Kenny Baker , Bobby Hicks , Gordon Terry , Randall Franks and Glen Duncan. Monroe also regularly performed with flat-picking guitar virtuoso Doc Watson . Modern bluegrass singer and mandolin player Ricky Skaggs
7738-565: The Blues reached number 47 on the Cashbox pop singles chart, number nine on the Billboard country and western chart, and number 70 on the Billboard Top 100 chart. Matchbox became a rockabilly classic. It was recorded with Perkins on lead guitar and vocals, and then Sun studio piano player, Jerry Lee Lewis . Later that day, there was an impromptu session with Perkins, Presley, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis informally referred to as
7884-903: The Bride (When She Used to Rock 'n' Roll) ". The group became a popular touring act in the UK and the US, leading to respectable album sales. Edmunds also nurtured and produced many younger artists who shared his love of rockabilly, most notably the Stray Cats . Robert Gordon emerged from late 1970s CBGB punk act Tuff Darts to reinvent himself as a rockabilly revival solo artist. He recorded first with 1950s guitar legend Link Wray and later with UK studio guitar veteran Chris Spedding and found borderline mainstream success. Also festering at CBGB's punk environs were The Cramps , who combined primitive and wild rockabilly sounds with lyrics inspired by old drive-in horror movies in songs like "Human Fly" and "I Was
8030-650: The Canadian country chart. Arlene Harden had a Top 40 country hit in 1971 with the Perkins composition True Love Is Greater Than Friendship, from the film Little Fauss and Big Halsy (1971). That same year, Al Martino 's cover of the song reached number 22 on the Billboard country chart and number 33 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart. Perkins appeared with Cash on the popular TV country series Hee Haw on February 16, 1974. After
8176-537: The Clock " for Decca Records of New York City. When first released in May 1954, "Rock Around the Clock" made the charts for one week at number 23, and sold 75,000 copies. In 1955, it was featured in the film Blackboard Jungle , resulting in a resurgence of sales. The song hit No. 1, held that position for eight weeks, and was the number two song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart for 1955. The recording was, until
8322-891: The Decca label, and, as a member of the Teen Kings, Roy Orbison with "Ooby Dooby" on the New Mexico/Texas based Je-wel label. Holly's big hits would not be released until 1957. Janis Martin was only fifteen years old when RCA issued a record with "Will You, Willyum" and the Martin-composed "Drugstore Rock 'n' Roll", which sold over 750,000 copies. King records issued a new disk by forty-seven-year-old Moon Mullican: " Seven Nights to Rock " and "Rock 'N' Roll Mr. Bullfrog". Twenty more sides were issued by various labels including 4 Star, Blue Hen, Dot, Cold Bond, Mercury, Reject, Republic, Rodeo, and Starday. In April and May 1956,
8468-524: The Grand Ole Opry. Monroe also kept a hectic touring schedule. On April 7, 1990, Monroe performed for Farm Aid IV in Indianapolis , Indiana along with Willie Nelson , John Mellencamp , Neil Young and with many other artists. Monroe's last performance occurred on March 15, 1996. He ended his touring and playing career in April, following a stroke. Monroe died on September 9, 1996, in Springfield, Tennessee , four days shy of his 85th birthday. According to Ralph Rinzler , Bill Monroe impacted music in
8614-433: The Hill", and Monroe's most famous song " Blue Moon of Kentucky ", which was recorded by Elvis Presley in 1954, appearing as the B-side of his first single for Sun Records . Monroe gave his blessing to Presley's rock and roll cover of the song, originally a slow ballad in waltz time, and re-recorded it himself with a faster arrangement after Presley's version became a hit. Several gospel-themed numbers are credited to
8760-400: The Jime ended with the death of Vince Gordon in 2016. Shakin' Stevens was a Welsh singer who gained fame in the UK portraying Elvis in a stage play. In 1980, he took a cover of The Blasters ' "Marie Marie" into the UK Top 20. His hopped-up versions of songs like " This Ole House " and " Green Door " were giant sellers across Europe. Shakin' Stevens was the biggest selling singles artist of
8906-418: The Jukebox Keep on Playing". Perkins and Presley in particular competed as the premier rockabilly artists. In March 1956, Columbia released " Honky Tonk Man " by Johnny Horton , King put out "Seven Nights to Rock" by Moon Mullican, Mercury issued "Rockin' Daddy" by Eddie Bond , and Starday released Bill Mack 's "Fat Woman". Two young men from Texas made their record debuts in April 1956: Buddy Holly on
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#17327973308049052-463: The Monroe Brothers to a recording contract in 1936. They scored an immediate hit single with the gospel song "What Would You Give in Exchange For Your Soul?" and ultimately recorded 60 tracks for Victor's Bluebird label between 1936 and 1938. After the Monroe Brothers disbanded in 1938, Bill Monroe formed The Kentuckians in Little Rock, Arkansas , but the group only lasted for three months. Monroe then left Little Rock for Atlanta, Georgia , to form
9198-445: The Monroe Brothers. A 1945 session for Columbia Records featured an accordion , soon dropped from the band. Most importantly, Monroe added banjo player David "Stringbean" Akeman to the Blue Grass Boys in 1942. Akeman played the instrument in a relatively primitive style and was rarely featured in instrumental solos. Monroe's pre-1946 recordings represent a transitional style between the string-band tradition from which he came and
9344-505: The Movie, Magg. Sam Phillips was later persuaded by the quality of that song to sign Perkins to his Sun Records label. Perkins and his brother Jay had their first paying job (in tips) as entertainers during late 1946 at the Cotton Boll tavern on Highway 45, twelve miles south of Jackson, Tennessee, starting on Wednesday nights. Perkins was 14 years old. One of the songs they played was an up-tempo country blues shuffle version of Bill Monroe 's Blue Moon of Kentucky . Free drinks were one of
9490-483: The National Billboard charts in 1956, and his "Guitar Rock" is cited as classic rockabilly. In 1953, 13-year-old Janis Martin was performing at the Old Dominion Barn Dance on WRVA out of Richmond, Virginia. Martin performed a mix of country songs for the show peppered with rhythm and blues hits in a style that has been described as "proto-rockabilly". She later stated, "the audience didn't know what to make of it. They didn't hardly allow electric instruments, and I
9636-436: The North, Monroe was slower to respond. Under the influence of Ralph Rinzler , a young musician and folklorist from New Jersey who briefly became Monroe's manager in 1963, Monroe gradually expanded his geographic reach beyond the traditional southern country music circuit. Rinzler was also responsible for a lengthy profile and interview in the influential folk music magazine Sing Out! that first publicly referred to Monroe as
9782-416: The Opry inspired Perkins to ask his parents for a guitar. Since they could not afford to buy one, his father made one from a cigar box and a broomstick. Eventually, a neighbor sold his father a worn-out Gene Autry guitar. Perkins could not afford new strings, and when they broke, he had to retie them. The knots cut his fingers when he would slide to another note, so he began bending the notes, stumbling onto
9928-444: The Perkins brothers were involved in an automobile accident in Woodside, Delaware. A friend who was driving was pinned by the steering wheel. Perkins dragged him from the burning car. Clayton was thrown from the car but was not seriously injured. Sun released another Perkins song, "Gone Gone Gone", in October 1955, which also became a regional success. It was a "bounce blues in flavorsome combined country and R&B idioms". The A-side
10074-466: The Phillips-owned Flip label (151) on March 19, 1955. "Turn Around" became a regional success, and Perkins was booked to appear along with Elvis Presley at theaters in Marianna and West Memphis, Arkansas . Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two were the next Sun musicians to be added to the shows. During the summer of 1955 they had junkets to Little Rock and Forrest City, Arkansas , and to Corinth and Tupelo, Mississippi . Again performing at El Rancho,
10220-479: The Reading Fair in Pennsylvania on a Tuesday night in late September. Soon after, a full grandstand and one thousand people stood in a heavy rain to hear Perkins and Briggs at the Brockton Fair in Massachusetts. Sun issued more Perkins songs in 1956: Boppin' the Blues / All Mama's Children (Sun 243), the B side co-written with Johnny Cash; and Dixie Fried / I'm Sorry, I'm Not Sorry (Sun 249). Matchbox / Your True Love (Sun 261) came out in February, 1957. Boppin'
10366-418: The Roadside Inn, and the Hilltop. Carl persuaded his brother Clayton to join them and play the upright bass , to complete the sound of the band. Perkins began performing regularly on WTJS in Jackson during the late 1940s as a sometime member of the Tennessee Ramblers . He appeared on the radio program Hayloft Frolic on which he performed two songs. Sometimes, one was Talking Blues as done by Robert Lunn on
10512-619: The Rock and Roll Trio played on Ted Mack 's TV talent show in New York City. They won all three times and guaranteed them a finalist position in the September supershow. Gene Vincent and His Blue Caps' recording of " Be-Bop-A-Lula " was released on June 2, 1956, backed by "Woman Love". Within twenty-one days it sold over two hundred thousand records, stayed at the top of national pop and country charts for twenty weeks, and sold more than
10658-534: The Savages . These bands, like the Blasters, were inspired by a full range of historic American styles: blues, country, rockabilly, R&B and New Orleans jazz. They held a strong appeal for listeners who were tired of the commercially oriented MTV-style synthpop and glam metal bands that dominated radio play during this time period, but none of these musicians became major stars. In 1983, Neil Young recorded
10804-470: The Teddy Boy revival created curiosity about the real music of the 1950s, particularly in England, where a rockabilly revival scene began to develop from the 1970s in record collecting and clubs. The most successful early product of the scene was Dave Edmunds , who joined up with songwriter Nick Lowe to form a band called Rockpile in 1975. They had a string of minor rockabilly-style hits like " I Knew
10950-463: The Tennessee Two, consisting of Marshall Grant on bass, and Luther Perkins (no relation to Carl Perkins) on lead guitar. This song and another Cash original, " Cry! Cry! Cry! " were released in July. "Cry! Cry! Cry!" managed to crack Billboard's Top 20, peaking at No. 14. Presley's second and third singles were not as successful as his first. His fourth release, "Baby, Let's Play House",
11096-641: The US. In 2005, his greatest hits album The Collection reached number four in the British albums chart, and was released as a tie-in to his appearance on ITV entertainment show Hit Me, Baby, One More Time , going on to become the winner of the series. Other notable British rockabilly bands of the 1980s included The Jets , Crazy Cavan , Matchbox , and the Rockats . Jason & the Scorchers combined heavy metal , Chuck Berry and Hank Williams to create
11242-756: The United Kingdom were called Teddy Boys because they wore long, Edwardian -style frock coats , along with tight black drainpipe trousers and brothel creeper shoes. Another group in the 1950s that were followers of rockabilly were the Ton-Up boys, who rode British motorcycles and would later be known as rockers in the early 1960s. The rockers had adopted the classic greaser look of T-shirts , jeans, and leather jackets to go with their heavily slicked pompadour haircuts. The rockers loved 1950s rock and roll artists such as Gene Vincent, and some British rockabilly fans formed bands and played their own version of
11388-590: The Year the next year. Perkins also played lead guitar on Cash's single A Boy Named Sue , recorded live at San Quentin prison. It went to number one for five weeks on the country chart and number two on the pop chart. (The performance was also filmed by Granada Television for broadcast). Perkins spent a decade in Cash's touring revue, often as an opening act for Cash as at the Folsom and San Quentin prison concerts where he
11534-470: The age of six, he worked long hours in the cotton fields with his family whether school was in session or not. The boys grew up hearing Southern gospel music sung by white friends in church and by black field workers and sharecroppers in the cotton fields. On Saturday nights Perkins would listen to the Grand Ole Opry , broadcast from Nashville on his father's radio. Roy Acuff 's broadcasts from
11680-619: The album Class of '55 . The record was a tribute to their early years at Sun and, specifically, the Million Dollar Quartet jam session involving Perkins, Presley, Cash, and Lewis in 1956. Rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the South . As a genre, it blends the sound of Western musical styles such as country with that of rhythm and blues , leading to what
11826-573: The autumn of 1955, Perkins wrote " Blue Suede Shoes " inspired by seeing a dancer get angry with his date for scuffing up his shoes. Several weeks later, on December 19, 1955, Perkins and his band recorded the song during a session at Sun Studio in Memphis. Phillips suggested changes to the lyrics ("Go, cat, go"), and the band changed the end of the song to a " boogie vamp ". After Sun records headliner Presley left for RCA in November 1955, Phillips told Perkins, "You're my rockabilly cat now." Sun released Blue Suede Shoes on January 1, 1956 and it became
11972-414: The back of a pickup truck and went into a ditch containing about 12 inches of water. Holland had to pull Perkins, unconscious, from the water. Perkins had sustained three fractured vertebrae in his neck, a severe concussion, a broken collar bone, and lacerations all over his body. Perkins remained unconscious for an entire day. The driver of the pickup truck, Thomas Phillips, a 40-year-old farmer, died when he
12118-553: The band as a drummer. Holland had no previous experience as a musician but had a good sense of rhythm. Malcolm Yelvington , who remembered the Perkins Brothers when they played in Covington, Tennessee in 1953, noted that Carl had an unusual blues-like style all his own. By 1955, Perkins had made tapes of his material on a borrowed tape recorder and sent them to record companies such as Columbia and RCA. But he used addresses such as Columbia Records, New York City and seemed dismayed at
12264-587: The banjo and making tapes of Monroe's performances. The growing national popularity of Monroe's music during the 1960s was also apparent in the increasingly diverse background of musicians recruited into his band. Non-southerners who served as Blue Grass Boys during this period included banjo player Bill Keith and singer/guitarist Peter Rowan from Massachusetts, fiddler Gene Lowinger from New Jersey, banjo player Lamar Grier from Maryland, banjo player Steve Arkin from New York, and singer/guitarist Roland White and fiddler Richard Greene from California. Even after
12410-569: The best ones into their shows. In 1951 and 1952, brothers Johnny and Dorsey Burnette , as well as Paul Burlison , played a blend of blues, country, and rockabilly at live shows in and around the Memphis area. in 1953, they played with Doc McQueen's swing band at the Hideaway Club for a time. While there, they wrote a song called "Rock Billy Boogie", named after the Burnette brothers' sons Rocky and Billy ( Rocky Burnette later became
12556-434: The better known musicians who recorded and performed these songs are: the Delmore Brothers , the Maddox Brothers and Rose , Merle Travis , Hank Williams , Hank Snow , and Tennessee Ernie Ford. White sharecroppers' sons Carl Perkins and his brothers Jay and Clayton, along with drummer W. S. Holland , had established themselves as one of the hottest bands on the honky-tonk circuit around Jackson, Tennessee . Most of
12702-417: The bluegrass genre were often bullied by Bill Monroe. He always considered himself the father and caretaker of bluegrass. He would often say of new bands that did not perform to his standards, "That ain't no part of nothin'." Even those who question the scope of bluegrass refer to Monroe as a "musical giant" and recognize that "there would be no bluegrass without Bill Monroe." More than 150 musicians played in
12848-594: The bottle into the sea and vowing to remain sober. Perkins and Cash, who had his own substance-abuse issues, supported each other in their bids to remain sober. In 1968, Cash recorded the Perkins-written Daddy Sang Bass which incorporates parts of the gospel standard Will the Circle Be Unbroken . It rose to the top of the country music charts where it stayed for six weeks. It was a Country Music Association nominee for Song of
12994-680: The charts stateside. Their third LP, Rant 'N' Rave with the Stray Cats , topped charts across the US and Europe as they sold-out shows everywhere during 1983. However, personal conflicts led the band to break up at the height of their popularity. Brian Setzer went on to solo success working in both rockabilly and swing styles, while Rocker and Phantom continued to record in bands both together and singly. The group has reconvened several times to make new records or tours and continue to attract large audiences live, although record sales have never again approached their early '80s success. The Jime entered
13140-509: The classic "high lonesome" version of the Blue Grass Boys, featuring the lead vocals and rhythm guitar of Jimmy Martin , the banjo of Rudy Lyle (replacing Don Reno ), and fiddlers such as Merle "Red" Taylor, Charlie Cline , Bobby Hicks , and Vassar Clements . This band recorded a number of bluegrass classics, including "My Little Georgia Rose", "On and On", "Memories of Mother and Dad", and "Uncle Pen", as well as instrumentals such as "Roanoke", "Big Mon", "Stoney Lonesome", "Get Up John", and
13286-580: The country charts. That same year Bob Luman had a Top 40 Country hit with Carl's song Poor Boy Blues. While on tour with the Johnny Cash show in 1968, Perkins went on a four day drinking binge that ended with him hallucinating floridly and passing out. When he regained consciousness, he went out to the beach with his last bottle of alcohol. In his autobiography, he described falling to his knees and declaring, "Lord, ... I'm gonna throw this bottle. I'm gonna show You that I believe in you" before hurling
13432-555: The country-and-western genre with which it had previously been identified. The word "bluegrass" first appeared around this time to describe the sound of Monroe and similar artists such as Flatt and Scruggs, the Stanley Brothers, Reno and Smiley , Jim and Jesse , and the Osborne Brothers . While Flatt and Scruggs immediately recognized the potential for a lucrative new audience in cities and on college campuses in
13578-435: The development of rockabilly. The Memphis blues musician Junior Parker and his electric blues band, Little Junior's Blue Flames, featuring Pat Hare on the guitar, were a major influence on the rockabilly style, particularly with their songs " Love My Baby " and " Mystery Train " in 1953. Zeb Turner 's February 1953 recording of "Jersey Rock" with its mix of musical styles, lyrics about music and dancing, and guitar solo,
13724-504: The drummer for the Louisiana Hayride , to join him for future dates. By that time, many rockabilly bands were incorporating drums, which distinguished the sound from country music, where they were then uncommon. In the 1956 sessions shortly after Presley's move from Sun Records to RCA Victor, Presley was backed by a band that included Moore, Black, Fontana, and pianist Floyd Cramer . In 1956, Elvis also acquired vocal backup via
13870-539: The fiddle at dances. This experience inspired one of Monroe's most famous compositions, "Uncle Pen", recorded in 1950, and the 1972 album Bill Monroe's Uncle Pen. On that album, Monroe recorded a number of traditional fiddle tunes he had often heard performed by Vandiver. Vandiver has been credited with giving Monroe "a repertoire of tunes that sank into Bill's aurally trained memory and a sense of rhythm that seeped into his bones." Also significant in Monroe's musical life
14016-463: The first edition of the Blue Grass Boys, with singer/guitarist Cleo Davis , fiddler Art Wooten, and bassist Amos Garren . In October 1939, Monroe successfully auditioned for a regular spot on the Grand Ole Opry , impressing Opry founder George D. Hay with his energetic performance of Jimmie Rodgers 's " Mule Skinner Blues ". Monroe recorded that song, along with seven others, at his first solo recording session for RCA Victor in 1940; by this time,
14162-438: The first intentional use of a distortion effect on a rock song, which was played by lead guitarist Paul Burlison. Elvis Presley 's first recordings took place at Sun Records, a small independent label run by record producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee. For several years, Phillips had been recording and releasing performances by blues and country musicians in the area. He also ran a service allowing anyone to come in off
14308-415: The folk revival faded in the mid-1960s, it left a loyal audience for bluegrass music. Bluegrass festivals became common, with fans often traveling long distances to see a number of different acts over several days of performances. In 1967, Monroe himself founded an annual bluegrass festival at Bean Blossom in southern Indiana, a park he had purchased in 1951, which routinely attracted a crowd of thousands;
14454-470: The following five ways: Bill Monroe was made an honorary Kentucky Colonel in 1966. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1971, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (as an "early influence") in 1997. Jimmie Rodgers , Bob Wills , Hank Williams Sr. , and Johnny Cash are the only other performers honored in all three. As
14600-404: The lack of response. "I had sent tapes to RCA and Columbia and had never heard a thing from 'em." In July 1954, Perkins and his wife heard a new release of " Blue Moon of Kentucky " by Elvis Presley , Scotty Moore and Bill Black on the radio. As the song faded out, Perkins said, "There's a man in Memphis who understands what we're doing. I need to go see him." According to another telling of
14746-434: The late 1970s and early 1980s, rockabilly enjoyed a revival. An interest in the genre endures even in the 21st century, often within musical subcultures . Rockabilly has spawned a variety of sub-styles and has influenced the development of other genres such as punk rock . There was a close relationship between blues and country music from the very earliest country recordings in the 1920s. The first nationwide country hit
14892-412: The late 1990s, recognized by Guinness World Records as having the highest sales claim for a pop vinyl recording, with an "unaudited" claim of 25 million copies sold. Maine native and Connecticut resident Bill Flagg began using the term rockabilly for his combination of rock 'n' roll and hillbilly music as early as 1953. He cut several songs for Tetra Records in 1956 and 1957. "Go Cat Go" went into
15038-450: The less desirable mandolin . He recalled that his brothers insisted that he remove four of the mandolin's eight strings so he would not play too loudly. Monroe's mother died when he was ten, and his father died six years later. Eventually, his brothers and sisters moved away, leaving Monroe to bounce between uncles and aunts until finally settling in with his disabled uncle Pendleton Vandiver, whom he often accompanied when Vandiver played
15184-421: The mandolin feature "Raw Hide". Carter Stanley joined the Blue Grass Boys as guitarist for a short time in 1951 during a period when The Stanley Brothers had temporarily disbanded. On January 16, 1953, Monroe was critically injured in a two-car wreck. He and "Bluegrass Boys" bass player, Bessie Lee Mauldin , were returning home from a fox hunt north of Nashville . On highway 31-W, near White House, their car
15330-516: The mandolin, banjo, and fiddle. By this time, Monroe had acquired the 1923 Gibson F5 model "Lloyd Loar" mandolin, which became his trademark instrument for the remainder of his career. The 28 songs recorded by this version of the Blue Grass Boys for Columbia Records in 1946 and 1947 soon became classics of the genre, including "Toy Heart", "Blue Grass Breakdown", " Molly and Tenbrooks ", "Wicked Path of Sin", "My Rose of Old Kentucky", "Little Cabin Home on
15476-483: The most noteworthy examples of this trend, but they and other artists like Steve Earle and the Kentucky Headhunters charted many records with this approach. Bill Monroe William Smith Monroe ( / m ə n ˈ r oʊ / mən- ROH ; September 13, 1911 – September 9, 1996) was an American mandolinist , singer, and songwriter, and created the bluegrass music genre. Because of this, he
15622-548: The music. The most notable of these bands was The Beatles . When John Lennon first met Paul McCartney , he was impressed that McCartney knew all the chords and the words to Eddie Cochran's " Twenty Flight Rock ". As the band became more professional and began playing in Hamburg, they took on the "Beatle" name (inspired by Buddy Holly's band The Crickets ) and they adopted the black leather look of Gene Vincent. Musically, they combined Holly's melodic songwriting sensibility with
15768-483: The musical innovation to follow. Key developments occurred in Monroe's music with the addition of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs to the Blue Grass Boys in December 1945. Flatt played a solid rhythm guitar style that would help to set the course for bluegrass timing. Scruggs played the banjo with a distinctive three-finger picking style that immediately caused a sensation among Opry audiences. Flatt and Scruggs joined
15914-567: The other ladies, Janis Martin, the female Elvis Jo Ann Campbell , and Alis Lesley , who also sang in the rockabilly style. Mel Kimbrough -"Slim", recorded "I Get Lonesome Too" and "Ha Ha, Hey Hey" for Glenn Records along with "Love in West Virginia" and "Country Rock Sound" for Checkmate a division of Caprice Records. Gene Summers , a Dallas native and Rockabilly Hall of Fame inductee, released his classic Jan/Jane 45s in 1958–59. He continued to record rockabilly music well into 1964 with
16060-539: The perks of playing in a tavern, and Perkins drank four beers that first night. Within a month, Carl and Jay began playing Friday and Saturday nights at the Sand Ditch tavern near Jackson's western border. Both places were the scene of occasional fights and both of the Perkins brothers gained a reputation as fighters. During the next couple of years, as they became better known, the Perkins brothers began playing other taverns around Bemis and Jackson, including El Rancho,
16206-584: The release of "Alabama Shake". In 2005, Summers's most popular recording, School of Rock 'n Roll , was selected by Bob Solly and Record Collector Magazine as one of the "100 Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Records". Tommy " Sleepy LaBeef " LaBeff recorded rockabilly tunes on a number of labels from 1957 through 1963. Rockabilly pioneers the Maddox Brothers and Rose continued to record for decades. However, none of these artists had any major hits and their influence would not be felt until decades later. In
16352-536: The rockabilly era, and Carl Perkins' sound personifies the rockabilly sound more so than anybody involved in it, because he never changed." Perkins's songs were recorded by artists (and friends) as influential as Elvis Presley , the Beatles , Jimi Hendrix , Johnny Cash , Ricky Nelson , and Eric Clapton which further cemented his prominent place in the history of popular music. Paul McCartney said "If there were no Carl Perkins, there would be no Beatles." Nicknamed
16498-638: The rockabilly scene in 1983, when Vince Gordon formed his band. The Jime was a Danish Band. The Jime was the band of Vince Gordon, rockabilly guitarist. Not only was he the nerve of the band, Vince Gordon was the band. He composed nearly all its songs and hits. Vince Gordon also left his mark on the rockabilly scene in many ways. Expert Fred Sokolow talks about the Vince Gordon style in Rockabilly due to his composing. Vince Gordon had many different musicians in his band. The lifetime of
16644-422: The rockabilly sound included strong rhythms, boogie woogie piano riffs, vocal twangs , doo-wop acapella singing, and common use of the tape echo ; and eventually came to incorporate different instruments and vocal harmonies. Initially popularized by artists such as Carl Perkins , Elvis Presley , Johnny Burnette , Jerry Lee Lewis and others, the rockabilly style waned in the late 1950s; nonetheless, during
16790-519: The rough rock and roll sound of Vincent and Carl Perkins. When The Beatles became worldwide stars, they released versions of three different Carl Perkins songs, more than any other songwriter outside the band, except Larry Williams , who also added three songs to their discography. (Curiously, none of these three were sung by the Beatles' regular lead vocalists—"Honey Don't" (sung by Ringo) and "Everybody's Trying to be my Baby" (sung by George) from Beatles for Sale (1964) and "Matchbox" (sung by Ringo) on
16936-626: The same title was recorded by Roy Newman in 1938). Ringo sang the lead on the first two, George Harrison sang a rare lead on the third. The Beatles also recorded two versions of Glad All Over in 1963. Another tour to Germany followed in the autumn. He released Big Bad Blues backed with Lonely Heart as a single on Brunswick Records with the Nashville Teens in June, 1964. In 1966, Perkins signed with Dollie Records and released as his first single for them, Country Boy's Dream, which reached #22 in
17082-530: The slapped bass that Fred Maddox had developed". They had shifted into higher gear leaning toward a whimsical honky-tonk feel, with a heavy, manic bottom end and high volume. The Maddoxes were known for their lively, antic-filled shows, which were an influential novelty for white listeners and musicians alike. Along with country, swing and boogie influences, jump blues artists such as Wynonie Harris and Roy Brown , and electric blues acts such as Howlin' Wolf , Junior Parker , and Arthur Crudup , influenced
17228-471: The song on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee and Presley reprised his performance on Stage Show. In the United Kingdom , Perkins's song reached number 10 on the British charts. It was the first record by a Sun artist to sell a million copies. The Beatles covered the B side, Honey Don't , Wanda Jackson and in the 1970s, T. Rex . John Lennon originally sang the song when the Beatles performed it. Later it
17374-576: The song with McCartney. This recording was included on the chart topping album Tug of War , released in 1982. During 1985, Perkins re-recorded Blue Suede Shoes with Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom of the Stray Cats as part of the soundtrack for the film Porky's Revenge . In October 1985, Perkins performed on stage in London for a television special, Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session , with George Harrison , Eric Clapton , Dave Edmunds , Lee Rocker, Rosanne Cash and Ringo Starr . The show
17520-446: The songs they played were country standards with a faster rhythm. It was here that Carl started composing his first songs. While playing, he would watch the dance floor to see what the audience preferred and adjust his compositions to suit, writing them down only when he was sure they were finished. Carl sent numerous demos to New York record companies with no success; the producers believed the Perkins' style of rhythmically-driven country
17666-602: The story, it was Valda who said that he should go to Memphis. Later, Presley told Perkins he had traveled to Jackson and had seen Perkins and his group playing at the El Rancho. Years later, the rockabilly singer Gene Vincent told an interviewer that, rather than Elvis's version of "Blue Moon of Kentucky" being a "new sound", "a lot of people were doing it before that, especially Carl Perkins." Perkins successfully auditioned for Sam Phillips at Sun Records in early October 1954. " Movie Magg " and "Turn Around" were released on
17812-483: The strangs, come through your head and down to your soul where you live. You can feel it. Let it vib-a-rate." In January 1947, the Perkins family moved from Lake County, Tennessee , to Madison County , 70 miles from Memphis , the largest city in West Tennessee and a center of a great variety of music played by both black and white artists. At age fourteen, Perkins wrote a country song called Let Me Take You to
17958-554: The street and for a modest fee, record themselves on a two-song vanity record. One young man who came to record himself as a surprise for his mother, he claimed, was Elvis Presley. Presley made enough of an impression that Phillips deputized guitarist Scotty Moore , who then enlisted bassist Bill Black , both from the Starlight Wranglers, a local western swing band, to work with the young man. The trio rehearsed dozens of songs, from traditional country to gospel. During
18104-576: The summer of 1958 Eddie Cochran had a chart-topping hit with " Summertime Blues ". Cochran's brief career included only a few more hits, such as "Sitting in the Balcony" released in early 1957, " C'mon Everybody " released in October 1958, and " Somethin' Else " released in July 1959. Then in April 1960, while touring with Gene Vincent in the UK, their taxi crashed into a concrete lamp post, killing Eddie at
18250-400: The tour, convinced that as forgotten as he had become in America, he would be even more obscure in the U.K. and did not want to be humiliated by drawing meager audiences. Berry assured him that they had remained much more popular in Britain since the 1950s than they had in the United States and that there would be large crowds of fans at every show. On the last night of the tour, Perkins attended
18396-516: The town in East Texas ), and "My Last Days on Earth"; he settled into a new role as a musical patriarch who continued to influence younger generations of musicians. Monroe recorded two albums of duets in the 1980s; the first featured collaborations with country stars such as Emmylou Harris , Waylon Jennings , and The Oak Ridge Boys , while the second paired him with other prominent bluegrass musicians. A 1989 live album celebrated his 50th year on
18542-440: The true realization of the Rockabilly genre. In addition to the fusion of distinct genres, Presley's recordings contain some traditional as well as new traits: "nervously up tempo" (as Peter Guralnick describes it), with slap bass, fancy guitar picking, much echo, shouts of encouragement, and vocals full of histrionics such as hiccups, stutters, and swoops from falsetto to bass and back again. In 1955, Elvis asked D.J. Fontana ,
18688-412: The workaday world of parents and authority figures. It was the first rock 'n' roll style to be performed primarily by white musicians, thus setting off a cultural revolution that is still reverberating today. "Rockabilly" deviance from social norms, however, was more symbolic than real; and eventual public professions of faith by aging rockabillies were not uncommon. The first wave of rockabilly fans in
18834-560: The years. Presley's unique musical style rocketed him into the spotlight, and drew masses of followers. Nobody was sure what to call Presley's music, so Elvis was described as "The Hillbilly Cat" and "King of Western Bop". Over the next year, Elvis would record four more singles for Sun. Rockabilly recorded by artists prior to Presley can be described as being in the long-standing country style of Rockabilly. Presley's recordings are described by some as quintessential rockabilly for their true union of country and R&B, which can be described as
18980-400: The young age of 21. The grim coincidence in this all was that his posthumous UK number-one hit was called " Three Steps to Heaven ". Rockabilly music enjoyed great popularity in the United States during 1956 and 1957, but radio play declined after 1960. Factors contributing to this decline are usually cited as the 1959 death of Buddy Holly in an airplane crash (along with Ritchie Valens and
19126-409: The youngest of eight children of James Buchanan "Buck" and Malissa (Vandiver) Monroe. His mother and her brother, James Pendleton "Pen" Vandiver , were both musically talented, and Monroe and his family grew up playing and singing at home. Bill was of Scottish and English heritage. Because his older brothers Birch and Charlie already played the fiddle and guitar , Bill was resigned to playing
19272-769: Was Arnold Shultz , an influential fiddler and guitarist who introduced Monroe to the blues . In 1929, Monroe moved to Indiana to work at an oil refinery with his brothers Birch and Charlie. Together with a friend, Larry Moore, they formed the "Monroe Brothers", to play at local dances and house parties. Birch and Moore soon left the group, and Bill and Charlie carried on as a duo, eventually winning spots performing live on radio stations, first in Indiana and then, sponsored by Texas Crystals, on several radio broadcasts in Shenandoah, Iowa , Nebraska , South Carolina and North Carolina from 1934 to 1936. RCA Victor signed
19418-452: Was " Wreck of the Old 97 ", backed with "The Prisoner's Song", which also became quite popular. Jimmie Rodgers , the "first true country star", was known as the "Blue Yodeler", and most of his songs used blues-based chord progressions , although with very different instrumentation and sound from the recordings of his black contemporaries like Blind Lemon Jefferson and Bessie Smith . During
19564-640: Was an active rockabilly scene. Early shows were attended by the Rolling Stones and Dave Edmunds, who quickly ushered the boys into a recording studio. The Stray Cats had three UK Top Ten singles to their credit and two bestselling albums. They returned to the US, performing on the TV show Fridays with a message flashing across the screen that they had no record deal in the States. Soon EMI picked them up, their first videos appeared on MTV, and they stormed up
19710-430: Was denied airplay on both country radio stations and R&B stations for being "too black" and "too white", respectively. Country deejays told Phillips they would be "run out of town" for playing it. When the song was finally played by one rogue deejay, Dewey Phillips, Presley's recording created so much excitement it was described as having waged war on segregated radio stations. All of Presley's early singles featured
19856-459: Was doing some songs by black artists." In 1954, both Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins auditioned for Sam Phillips . Cash hoped to record gospel music, but Phillips was not interested. In October 1954, Carl Perkins recorded his original song " Movie Magg ", which was released in March 1955 on Phillips's all-country label Flip. Cash returned to Sun in 1955 with his song " Hey, Porter ", and his group
20002-619: Was given to Ringo Starr , one of his few leads during his time with the band. Lennon also performed the song on the Lost Lennon Tapes . After playing a show in Norfolk, Virginia , on March 21, 1956, the Perkins Brothers Band headed to New York City for a March 24 appearance on NBC-TV's Perry Como Show . Shortly before sunrise on March 22, on Route 13 between Dover and Woodside, Delaware , their vehicle hit
20148-495: Was influenced by Monroe. Skaggs was only six years old, in 1960, when he first got to perform on stage with Monroe and his band at the high school in Martha, Kentucky. He stated, "I think Bill Monroe's importance to American music is as important as someone like Robert Johnson was to blues, or Louis Armstrong. He was so influential: I think he's probably the only musician that had a whole style of music named after his band." In 1999,
20294-693: Was not commercially viable. That would change in 1955 after recording the song " Blue Suede Shoes " (recorded December 19, 1955) on Sam Phillips ' Memphis-based Sun Records . Later made more famous by Elvis Presley , Perkins' original version was an early rock 'n' roll standard. In the early 1950s, there was heavy competition among Memphis area bands playing an audience-savvy mix of covers, original songs, and hillbilly flavored blues. One source mentions both local disc jockey Dewey Phillips and producer Sam Phillips as being influential. An early radio show on KWEM in West Memphis, Arkansas quickly became
20440-543: Was recorded singing Blue Suede Shoes and Matchbox before Cash took the stage. These performances were not released until the 2000s. He also appeared on the television series The Johnny Cash Show . On the television program Kraft Music Hall on April 16, 1969, which Cash hosted, Perkins performed his song Restless . Perkins and Bob Dylan wrote "Champaign, Illinois" in 1969. Dylan was in Nashville from February 12 to February 21 recording his album Nashville Skyline ,
20586-408: Was released for DVD by Snapper Music in 2006. Perkins was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1985. Wider recognition of his contributions to music came with his induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. The Hall chose Blue Suede Shoes as one of its 500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll . The song also received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award . Perkins was inducted into
20732-703: Was released in May 1955, and peaked at number five on the national Billboard Country Chart. In August, Sun released Elvis's versions of " I Forgot to Remember to Forget " and "Mystery Train". "Remember to Forget" spent a total of 39 weeks on the Billboard Country Chart, five at the number one spot. "Mystery Train", peaked at number 11. Through most of 1955, Cash, Perkins, Presley, and other Louisiana Hayride performers toured through Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Mississippi. Sun released two more Perkins songs in October: "Gone, Gone, Gone" and "Let
20878-410: Was struck by a drunken driver. Monroe, who had suffered injuries to his back, left arm and nose, was rushed to General Hospital in Nashville. It took him almost four months to recover and resume touring. In the meantime Charlie Cline and Jimmy Martin kept the band together. By the late 1950s, however, Monroe's commercial fortunes had begun to slip. The rise of rock-and-roll and the development of
21024-518: Was taped live at the Limehouse Studios . It was broadcast on Channel 4 on January 1, 1986. Perkins sang 16 songs plus two encores, in an extraordinary performance. He and his friends ended the session by singing Blue Suede Shoes, his most famous song, 30 years after its writing, which brought Perkins to tears. The concert special was a highlight of his later career. Fans praised it for Perkins and his guests' spirited performances. The concert
21170-485: Was the more traditional country song " Let the Jukebox Keep On Playing ". Commenting on Perkins's playing, Sam Phillips has been quoted as saying "I knew that Carl could rock and in fact he told me right from the start that he had been playing that music before Elvis came out on record ... I wanted to see whether this was someone who could revolutionize the country end of the business." Also in
21316-455: Was thrown into the steering wheel. Jay Perkins had a fractured neck and severe internal injuries. Later he developed a malignant brain tumor, and died in 1958. On March 23, Presley's band members Bill Black , Scotty Moore and D.J. Fontana visited Perkins on their way to New York to appear with Presley. Fontana recalled Perkins saying, "You looked like a bunch of angels coming to see me." Black told him, "Hey man, Elvis sends his love", and lit
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