Carl Lee Perkins 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, beginning in 1954. Among his best-known songs are "Blue Suede Shoes", "Honey Don't", "Matchbox" and "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby".
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 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" and "hillbilly", the latter a reference to the country music that contributed strongly to the style. Other important influences on rockabilly include western swing, boogie-woogie, jump blues, and electric blues.
The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death. The event was organised by Harrison's widow, Olivia, and his son, Dhani, and arranged under the musical direction of Eric Clapton. The profits from the event went to the Material World Charitable Foundation, an organisation founded by Harrison.
David William Edmunds is a Welsh singer-songwriter, guitarist and record producer. Although he is mainly associated with pub rock and new wave, having many hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, his natural leaning has always been towards 1950s-style rock and roll and rockabilly.
James McDonnell, known by the stage name Slim Jim Phantom, is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the band Stray Cats. Alongside bandmates Brian Setzer and Lee Rocker, he is considered a pioneer of the neo-rockabilly movement of the early 1980s.
Class of '55: Memphis Rock & Roll Homecoming is a collaborative studio album by Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison, and Johnny Cash. It was released on May 26, 1986, by America/Smash Records, a subsidiary of Polygram Records. The album was produced by Chips Moman.
"Honey Don't" is a song written by Carl Perkins, originally released on January 1, 1956 as the B-side of the "Blue Suede Shoes" single, Sun 234. Both songs became rockabilly classics. Bill Dahl of Allmusic praised the song saying, "'Honey Don't' actually outclasses its more celebrated platter-mate in some ways." It has been covered by more than 20 other artists, including the Beatles, Ronnie Hawkins and Johnny Rivers. The song has appeared in films such as The Prince of Tides, Diner, and Perfect Sisters.
"Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby" is a rockabilly song often credited to Carl Perkins. Based on a 1936 song written by singer/songwriter Rex Griffin, it achieved widespread popularity when it was released in 1957 by Perkins and covered by the Beatles in 1964.
Concert for George is a live tribute soundtrack album in honour of George Harrison, recorded on the first anniversary of his death, and issued in 2003 in conjunction with the simultaneous DVD release of the same name. Featuring performances of many of Harrison's best-known songs, played by his closest musician friends, Concert for George is considered a fitting and heartfelt celebration of Harrison's considerable career.
Earl Slick is an American guitarist best known for his collaborations with David Bowie, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Robert Smith. He has also worked with other artists including John Waite, Tim Curry and David Coverdale, in addition to releasing several solo recordings, and two records with Phantom, Rocker & Slick, the band he formed with Slim Jim Phantom & Lee Rocker.
The Survivors is a live album by country/rockabilly musicians Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, and Jerry Lee Lewis, released in 1982 on Columbia Records.
"Glad All Over" is a 1957 song recorded by rock and roll and rockabilly artist Carl Perkins, "The Rockin' Guitar Man", at Sun Records in 1957. It was released as a 45 and 78 single, Sun 287, on January 6, 1958. It was written by Aaron Schroeder, Sid Tepper, and Roy Bennett. It is not the same song as the single "Glad All Over" released in 1963 by The Dave Clark Five.
Michael Richard Gee was a rock and roll guitarist who played alongside some of the most prominent Welsh musicians of the last forty years.
"Sure to Fall (in Love with You)" is a 1955 song written by Carl Perkins, Bill Cantrell, and Quinton Claunch. It was recorded by Carl Perkins in December 1955 and was planned for release as the follow-up to "Blue Suede Shoes". Carl and Jay Perkins were on vocals. The song was not issued, however, as a single on the Sun Records label at that time. A test pressing was made. Sam Phillips circulated dubs or acetates to local radio stations of the proposed single. The Sun catalogue number was 235 backed with Perkins' song "Tennessee" on the B-side. The Sun master numbers assigned to the two sides were U 177 and U 178. Liner notes for the Rhino Records release of Carl Perkins' Original Sun Greatest Hits, however, listed the single as being issued at the time as 235DJ, available to disc jockeys only. The songs were released, however, on the 1957 Sun LP, Dance Album of Carl Perkins, 1225, re-released as Teen Beat; The Best of Carl Perkins in 1961. This album was also released in the UK on London as HA-S 2202, and is how the Beatles heard the songs. The song also appeared on Sun EP 115 released in 1961. Sun Records under Shelby Singleton did release a "Sure to Fall"/"Tennessee" single, Sun Golden Treasure Series, Sun 5, but it was in the late 1970s, when the Carl Perkins 45s were re-released.
A Sideman's Journey is the first solo album by German musician and artist Klaus Voormann, released in July 2009. Voormann is best known as the creator of the cover art for The Beatles' album Revolver as well as for being a much-in-demand session musician during the 1970s. He played bass on a large number of well-known albums by ex-Beatles John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Starr − including All Things Must Pass, Imagine and The Concert for Bangladesh − and by artists such as Harry Nilsson, Doris Troy, Lou Reed, Gary Wright, Carly Simon and Randy Newman. Before then, Voormann had been a member of the 1960s pop group Manfred Mann. A Sideman's Journey is notable for including performances by Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and Yusuf Islam, among others.
"Your True Love" is a 1957 song written by Carl Perkins and released as a single on Sun Records. The single was released as a 45 and 78 backed with "Matchbox" in February, 1957. The recording, Sun 261, reached no. 13 on the Billboard country and western chart and no. 67 on the Billboard pop singles chart that year. The song was recorded on Tuesday, December 4, 1956 when Elvis Presley made a surprise visit to Sun Studios at 706 Union in Memphis, Tennessee. Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis also participated in the impromptu jam session that day known as the Million Dollar Quartet. Jerry Lee Lewis also played piano on the recording.
The Concert for Bangladesh is a film directed by Saul Swimmer and released in 1972. The film documents the two benefit concerts that were organised by George Harrison and Ravi Shankar to raise funds for refugees of the Bangladesh Liberation War, and were held on Sunday, 1 August 1971 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. As well as notable performances from Harrison and Shankar, the film includes "main performer" contributions from Harrison's fellow ex-Beatle Ringo Starr, Billy Preston and Leon Russell, and a surprise walk-on from Bob Dylan. Other contributing musicians include Ali Akbar Khan, Eric Clapton, the band Badfinger, Klaus Voormann, Jesse Ed Davis, Jim Horn and Jim Keltner.
Go Cat Go! is an album by the American musician Carl Perkins, released in 1996. For most of the songs, Perkins performs with other artists. The album includes recordings from all four ex-Beatles, with Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr recording new material, while John Lennon's version of "Blue Suede Shoes" comes from his album Live Peace in Toronto 1969. Jimi Hendrix's version of the same song is also an archive recording.
Born to Rock is an album by the American musician Carl Perkins, released in 1989. It was considered to be an attempt to replicate Roy Orbison's late-career success.
