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".
Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in the UK, Australia, Canada, and the U.S. including "Stray Cat Strut", "(She's) Sexy + 17", "Look at That Cadillac", "I Won't Stand in Your Way", "Bring It Back Again", and "Rock This Town", which the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has listed as one of the songs that shaped rock and roll.
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.
"Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard written and first recorded by American singer, songwriter and guitarist Carl Perkins in 1955. It is considered one of the first rockabilly records, incorporating elements of blues, country and pop music of the time. Perkins' original version of the song appeared on the Cashbox Best Selling Singles list for 16 weeks and spent two weeks at the number two position.
"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.
"Matchbox" is a song written and recorded by Carl Perkins and released in 1957. Blind Lemon Jefferson wrote and recorded a song entitled "Match Box Blues" in 1927, which is musically different but which contains some lyric phrases in common.
"Jackson" is a song written in 1963 by Billy Edd Wheeler and Jerry Leiber. It was recorded in 1963 by the Kingston Trio, Wheeler, and Flatt and Scruggs. It achieved its most notable popularity with two 1967 releases: a country hit single by Johnny Cash and June Carter, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard Country Singles chart, and a pop hit single by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazlewood, which reached No. 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 39 on Easy Listening.
"So Wrong" is a song written by Carl Perkins, Danny Dill and Mel Tillis and popularized by country music artist Patsy Cline. The song was released as a single on Decca Records in 1962 by Patsy Cline.
Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session was a televised concert that was taped live at Limehouse Studios in London, England on 21 October 1985. The show featured rock n' roll pioneer Carl Perkins along with friends as guest stars, including former Beatles George Harrison and Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Rosanne Cash, Phantom, Rocker & Slick, and Dave Edmunds. Most of the repertoire performed in the concert consisted of Perkins' classic rockabilly songs from the 1950s.
"Movie Magg" is a 1955 rockabilly song written by Carl Perkins and released on Flip Records, a subsidiary of Sun Records. Perkins had written the song at the age of thirteen. It was based on the true story of Perkins' girlfriend Maggie and their occasional trips to the movies at the weekends. Being the son of a poor sharecropper, Perkins did not have a car to drive Maggie to the picture show, so the pair rode on the back of his mule, Becky.
"Let the Jukebox Keep On Playing" is a 1955 country song written by Carl Perkins. It was released on October 22, 1955 by Sun Records as a 78 and 45 single, 224, b/w "Gone, Gone, Gone". The song was a follow-up to "Turn Around", released on Flip.
"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.
"Lend Me Your Comb" is a 1957 song written by Kay Twomey, Fred Wise and Ben Weisman. The song was first released by female singer Carol Hughes as the A-Side of her Roulette Records single R-4041, which was reviewed by Billboard magazine in their December 30, 1957 issue. Male singer Bernie Knee issued a version of the song as the A-side of his Columbia Records single 4–41090, which the website 45cat.com claims was issued December 23, 1957.
"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.
Beyond the Sun is the eleventh studio album by Chris Isaak, released through Vanguard Records on October 18, 2011. It is a collection of songs recorded by Sun Records artists Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. Some of the songs were originally released on Sun Records. The record itself was recorded at Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee and the cover photograph was taken by Sheryl Louis outside the studio on Union Avenue.
"Boppin' the Blues" is a 1956 song written by Carl Perkins and Howard "Curley" Griffin and released as a single on Sun Records in May 1956. The single was released as a 45 and 78, Sun 243, backed with "All Mama's Children", a song co-written by Perkins with Sun labelmate Johnny Cash.
"Dixie Fried" is a 1956 song written by Carl Perkins and Howard "Curley" Griffin and released as a single on Sun Records. The song was released as a 45 and 78 single, Sun 249, in August, 1956 backed with "I'm Sorry, I'm Not Sorry". The single reached no. 10 on the Billboard country and western chart in 1956. The single was also released in Canada on the Quality label as #1557. The record was reissued as a 45 single in 1979 on the Shelby Singleton-owned Sun Golden Treasure Series as Sun 10.
"Birth of Rock and Roll" is a 1986 song written by Carl Perkins and Greg Perkins. The song was featured on the Class of '55 album which included performances with Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, and Jerry Lee Lewis. "Birth of Rock and Roll" was released as a 7" single with a picture sleeve, 885 760–7, on the Smash/America label copyrighted by PolyGram Records produced by Chips Moman. The single reached No. 31 on the Billboard country chart and No. 44 on the Canadian country chart in 1986. The B side was "Rock and Roll (Fais-Do-Do)" which featured Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Roy Orbison. The theme of the song “Birth of Rock and Roll" is about how "Memphis gave birth to rock and roll" in the 1950s at Sun Records. A video of the song was also made featuring Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones as they drove to the historic Sun studios in Memphis, Tennessee in a white Cadillac convertible.
"Restless" is a 1968 song written by Carl Perkins and released as a single on Columbia Records. In 1991, it was recorded by Mark O'Connor in collaboration with Vince Gill, Steve Wariner, and Ricky Skaggs under the credit Mark O'Connor and the New Nashville Cats.
"That's Right" is a 1957 rock and roll song written by Carl Perkins and Johnny Cash. The song was released as a single on Sun Records by Carl Perkins in August, 1957.
