Who was/is Carl Perkins ? - CDs, Vinyl LPs, DVD and more

Carl Perkins

When Carl Perkins walked into 706 Union Avenue in the Fall of 1954, he was as country as a haystack. Carl had been hearing Elvis Presley's music on the radio for the past month or so and he knew that Sam Phillips' fledgling Sun label was the source of those sounds.

Carl figured that he and his brothers had been making the same kind of hillbilly bop music in the bars back in Jackson, Tennessee for close to a year now. If Presley could record and become famous, why couldn't he? Carl was right about one thing. The roots of the rockabilly revolution that had only recently begun were smouldering beneath the surface in Carl's guitar playing and songwriting. But he was very wrong if he thought his lanky and angular country boy appearance could bring teenage girls all over America to a swoon. Presley was beautiful and sexy and vaguely dangerous looking. Carl was a married man with a balding pate and the start of a serious drinking problem. The latter was fixable, but the first two weren't.

 

Sun records owner Sam Phillips remembers exactly what he thought the first time he met Carl Perkins. "I looked at him and said to myself, 'There's one of the greatest plowhands in the world.'" Phillips meant it, at least partly, as a compliment. What he saw was a mile-wide expanse of country soul. He hoped that someday he could coax that soul out of Carl in the studio. It took a while, but he was not to be disappointed.

For his part, Carl was proud of the fact that he was independently moving in the same direction as Presley. In fact, Blue Moon Of Kentucky had been part of Carl's repertoire in the Jackson honkytonks well before Sun 209 was released. If nothing else, it meant that Sam would not have to invent rock 'n' roll a second time with Carl Perkins. The man was well on his way to a private musical revolution.

Somewhat against his better judgement, Sam invited Carl and his brothers Clayton and Jay, along with drummer W. S. Holland, into his tiny studio for an audition. He later recalled thinking that he feared breaking the heart of that big old country boy by rejecting him without a hearing. Carl paced nervously as Holland unpacked his drum kit. Phillips did what he could to keep the singer calm, although experience had proven that some tension could be an asset in the studio.

Carl began by running through the band's repertoire which, not surprisingly, consisted of just about everything on the country charts. Bands in the local honkytonks were expected to be human jukeboxes. The audiences knew the tunes and it provided some novelty to hear them live rather than blaring through the smoke and noise on a jukebox. Mostly it was Carl who handled the vocal chores, although his older brother Jay occasionally took over the microphone. It was the band's job to play what local hard working drinkers wanted to hear in 1953 and early '54 – which was just about anything by Lefty Frizzell, Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb and Webb Pierce.

As Carl eagerly ran through his song list, Sam Phillips, one of the world's earliest and most canny record producers, encouraged him to keep going. He knew what he wanted to hear and it wasn't a cover version of a Nashville hit. He couldn't tell Carl exactly what he had in mind, but he knew this wasn't it. Given the budget at the Memphis Recording Service, Phillips sure wasn't going to waste valuable tape on Lovesick Blues or Always Late. The only thing Sam Phillips heard that intrigued him that first day was a song called Turn Around. Phillips liked two things about it. It provided a showcase for Carl's soulful voice, and – more importantly – it was an original. Because Carl had written it, Phillips could publish it. That meant retaining a few all-important extra pennies on the sale of every record. Original compositions were not only a way to avoid paying money out, they were also an investment in the future. If any of these songs actually became a hit, Phillips (and Carl) would make some money on airplays. And, better yet, maybe somebody else would have to pay Sam for the right to make his own record of Carl's song.

The audition went well enough for Sam Phillips to invite the band back,

a gesture that meant the world to Carl, and fired his enthusiasm. "Keep writing," he told Carl. "There's no sense recording other folks' music. Let's hear what you can do. Bring me some more songs you've written." It didn't take much prodding to engage the songwriter in Carl. The honkytonks gave him no real incentive to create his own music. Dancers and revellers simply wanted to hear what they knew. They tolerated rather than encouraged Carl's originality. Now, Carl was faced with a famous record producer – the man who had discovered Elvis Presley – asking him to write his own music so that just maybe it might appear on one of those yellow Sun records.

 Sam Phillips decided to place Carl with his two resident country producers: Quinton Claunch and Bill Cantrell. This freed Phillips up to get on with other business in his hectic life and assured that someone would be responsible for shepherding this raw young singer into a level of competence that might be worth recording. It also indicated that, at this point, Phillips saw Carl Perkins primarily as a country artist. Presley notwithstanding, Sun was still a country label. Phillips was weaning himself away from the blues artists he had begun with in favor of the hillbillies. Nobody could be sure that this Presley thing would last, or that there were more Presleys out there. And so Carl Perkins went to work on his first single record.

 taken out of  Carl Perkins BCD16752

The group practiced throughout the Fall and on into the early winter of 1954, Carl eagerly making the drive west from Jackson to Memphis, hoping each time that they'd finally nail a usable take. On January 22, 1955 they hit paydirt. The 'hillbilly weeper' Turn Around was committed to tape along with a usable version of another song Carl had written called Movie Magg. The pairing of a dirge with an uptempo rhythm number was a good way for Phillips to hedge his bets. Movie Magg was a clever song. Its title was a pun on a very popular form of mass market entertainment – a movie magazine – that housewives and teenage girls gobbled up each month to read about their favorite stars and heartthrobs. The 'Magg' in Perkins' song was short for Maggie – a girl he could only see on Saturday night when he took her to the movies or, in Carl's very rural lyric, a 'picture show.' The song talked about "Breaking new ground the whole week long" and "polishing up his old horse Beck." They were wonderful images, but they made it clear that Carl was singing to a very different audience than Chuck Berry was setting his sights on. The entire proceedings were certifiably country, although on Movie Magg there are rudimentary indications that Carl was capable of taking the whole thing up to another level. Sam Phillips heard it too but, for now, he was willing to watch and wait.

 

Copyright © Bear Family Records®. Copying, also of extracts, or any other form of reproduction, including the adaptation into electronic data bases and copying onto any data mediums, in English or in any other language is permissible only and exclusively with the written consent of Bear Family Records® GmbH.

More information about Carl Perkins on Wikipedia.org

Close filters
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
  •  
1 of 2
No results were found for the filter!
Discovering Carl Perkins - Eastview, Tennessee 1952 - 53 (LP, 10inch & CD, Ltd.)
Carl Perkins: Discovering Carl Perkins - Eastview, Tennessee... Art-Nr.: BAF14007

This article is deleted and can no longer be ordered!

1-LP 10“ vinyl with extensive 16-page booklet (21x21 cms). 9 tracks. Historic, early recordings by rockabilly pioneer discovered after 70 years! Free CD enclosed! Carl Perkins, one of the founding fathers of rock & roll, began his...
$45.21
Back On Top (4-CD Deluxe Box Set)
Carl Perkins: Back On Top (4-CD Deluxe Box Set) Art-Nr.: BCD16422

only 2x still available
Ready to ship today, delivery time** appr. 1-3 workdays

4-CD boxed set (LP-size) with 35-page book, 104 tracks. Playing time approx. 283 mns. In 1968, Carl Perkins re-signed with Columbia Records, and immediately released one of the best records of his career, Restless. Already a star of the...
$90.48
Carl Perkins - Carl Rocks
Carl Perkins: Carl Perkins - Carl Rocks Art-Nr.: BCD16752

Ready to ship today, delivery time** appr. 1-3 workdays

1-CD-Album Digipak (6-plated) with 48-page booklet, 31 tracks. Playing time approx. 79 mns. Twenty-nine rockin' songs from across Carl Perkins ' career. Sun...of course, Decca, Columbia, and Mercury. The songs include Blue Suede Shoes...
$16.92 $19.18
The Classic Carl Perkins (5-CD Deluxe Box Set)
Carl Perkins: The Classic Carl Perkins (5-CD Deluxe Box Set) Art-Nr.: BCD15494

Ready to ship today, delivery time** appr. 1-3 workdays

Other companies have Carl Perkins sets, but no one else has all the Sun recordings (complete - with some previously unissued) as well as his Columbia recordings from 1958-1962, and everything he cut for Decca between 1963 and 1965. We...
$339.45
The Sun Era Outtakes (5-CD Deluxe Box Set)
Carl Perkins: The Sun Era Outtakes (5-CD Deluxe Box Set) Art-Nr.: BCD17240

This article is deleted and can no longer be ordered!

5-CD Mini-Box (CD-format) with 132-page booklet, 152 tracks. Playing time approx. 360 mns. 152 tracks and 45 separate songs. Outtakes from all of Carl Perkins ' Sun era recordings in one place! Everything from Carl Perkins' earliest...
$89.35
Hint!
Honky Tonk Gal - Rare And Unissued Sun Masters (CD)
Carl Perkins: Honky Tonk Gal - Rare And Unissued Sun Masters... Art-Nr.: CDROUSS27-C

Ready to ship today, delivery time** appr. 1-3 workdays

(Rounder Records) 13 tracks - Original Sun material. New - Cut-Out CD with small hole in the barcode.
$11.26 $20.31
Carl Perkins & Friends: Blue Suede Shoes - A Rockabilly Session (2-LP, 10inch)
Carl Perkins & Friends: Carl Perkins & Friends: Blue Suede Shoes - A... Art-Nr.: LPSMA1032

Item has to be restocked

(Snapper-Madfish) 20 tracks - gatefold cover. 30th Anniversary Edition - Deluxe 2x10inch LP Set of 1985 UK TV Special Written in October 1955 and released in January 1956, 'Blue Suede Shoes' was an instant classic earning a place in the...
$56.53
Up Through The Years 1954-1957 (CD)
Carl Perkins: Up Through The Years 1954-1957 (CD) Art-Nr.: BCD15246

Ready to ship today, delivery time** appr. 1-3 workdays

1-CD Album with 8-page booklet, 24 tracks. Playing time approx. 61 mns. Carl Perkins, later called 'The King of Rockabilly', made his initial recordings for Sam Phillips' Memphis-based Sun Records in late 1954. His original version of...
$15.79 $18.05
Honey Don't - Eternal Stay (7inch, 45rpm)
Caerl Perkins: Honey Don't - Eternal Stay (7inch, 45rpm) Art-Nr.: 45SR237

only 1x still available
Ready to ship today, delivery time** appr. 1-3 workdays

(Sleazy Records) 2 tracks Carl Perkins is one of the unquestionable fathers of rockabilly, his recordings in the short 3 years he spent at Sun Records are the foundation on which the genre was built, and have been profusely reissued over...
$13.52 $14.66
Sister Twister (LP, 10inch)
Carl Perkins: Sister Twister (LP, 10inch) Art-Nr.: LPSR1044

only 1x still available
Ready to ship today, delivery time** appr. 1-3 workdays

(Sleazy Records) 11 tracks By the time he left Sun Records with his friend Johnny Cash in 1957, poor Carl had seen all his peers overtake him, Jerry Lee was starting to make his mark as the wildest star in rock and roll, Johnny Cash was...
$28.24
Dollie Masters - Country Boy's Dream
Carl Perkins: Dollie Masters - Country Boy's Dream Art-Nr.: BCD15593

This article is deleted and can no longer be ordered!

1-CD Album with 20-page booklet, 30 tracks. Playing time approx. 76 mns. By 1966, Carl had been dropped by Columbia and Decca and was picked up by Dollie Records, a Nashville-based label owned by his music publisher. Reverting to country...
$15.79 $18.05
Jive After Five (LP, 10inch)
Carl Perkins: Jive After Five (LP, 10inch) Art-Nr.: LPSR1043

only 1x still available
Ready to ship today, delivery time** appr. 1-3 workdays

(Sleazy Records) 11 tracks 1958-1960: The Complete Columbia Singles, Vol. 1'. When he left Sun Records in 1957 with his friend Johnny Cash, Carl signed with Columbia Records. In his first time there, from 1958 to 1962, he recorded some...
$28.24
Because You're Mine - Where The Rio De Rosa Flows (7inch, 45rpm,PS, BC)
Carl Perkins: Because You're Mine - Where The Rio De Rosa... Art-Nr.: 45CP001

Ready to ship today, delivery time** appr. 1-3 workdays

(CP) 2 Tracks - Picture Sleeve - Big Centerhole - Limited Edition
$20.31
Dance Album - part I (7inch EP, 45rpm, Picture Sleeve, Ltd.(150)
Carl Perkins: Dance Album - part I (7inch EP, 45rpm, Picture... Art-Nr.: 45BE6143RED

Ready to ship today, delivery time** appr. 1-3 workdays

(Be-Sharp) classic Rock'n'Roll EP - cardboard sleeve - red wax
$28.24
Rock-A-Billy Fever (CD)
Carl Perkins: Rock-A-Billy Fever (CD) Art-Nr.: CDTLR073

Ready to ship today, delivery time** appr. 1-3 workdays

(Thunder & Lightning) 24 tracks - 4 page inlay - Suede and DOT recordings Tracks 1-2 Single A-sides Recorded at The Woodland Sound Studio, Nashville, TN - 5.5.1981 Tracks 3-6 From the album THE CARL PERKINS SHOW (Suede NR6778-1) (1981)...
$28.24
Blue Suede Shoes...plus
Carl Perkins: Blue Suede Shoes...plus Art-Nr.: CD3930383

only 1x still available
Ready to ship today, delivery time** appr. 1-3 workdays

(2003/MAGIC) 17 tracks (24bit) Sun Records 1954-56
$11.26 $17.54
Best Of The Sun Records Sessions (LP)
Carl Perkins: Best Of The Sun Records Sessions (LP) Art-Nr.: LPORGM2084

Item has to be restocked

(ORG Music) 14 tracks Best of the Sun Records Sessions is a compilation featuring prime selections of Carl Perkins' recordings during his time at the legendary Sun Record Company, which have been remastered for vinyl. The album includes...
$28.24 $33.89
Sure To Fall - Tennessee (7inch, 45rpm)
Carl Perkins: Sure To Fall - Tennessee (7inch, 45rpm) Art-Nr.: 45REPSUN235

Item has to be restocked

(Sun Records) 2-Track Vinyl Single - 45 rpm, reproduction in brown paper sleeve!
$15.79
Pointed Toe Shoes - L-o-v-e-v-i-l-l-e (7inch, 45rpm, PS)
Carl Perkins: Pointed Toe Shoes - L-o-v-e-v-i-l-l-e (7inch,... Art-Nr.: 45SR38

Item has to be restocked

​Two 'Columbia' Rockers from Carl Perkins
$15.79
The Real Rock Master Vol.2 - Rock Originals Collection Vol.14 (CD)
Carl Perkins: The Real Rock Master Vol.2 - Rock Originals... Art-Nr.: CD662058

Ready to ship today, delivery time** appr. 1-3 workdays

(Fnac Music) 18 tracks Carl Perkins is the first, be the Sun stable, to sell over a million copies of the same record: "Blue Suede Shoes". Sam Phillips, who has In sees de la tormule, has promised to tine Cadillac lute venue (The symbol...
$11.26 $20.31
The King of Rockabilly (LP, 180g Vinyl)
Carl Perkins: The King of Rockabilly (LP, 180g Vinyl) Art-Nr.: LPSUN2107

Item has to be restocked

(Sun Records) 14 tracks, with liner notes by Stan Perkins. Celebrate the golden era of Carl Perkins with Sun Records' 70th anniversary collection of his remastered hits, The King of Rockabilly. The album includes an alternate version of...
$39.55
The Story (plus CD ROM)
Carl Perkins: The Story (plus CD ROM) Art-Nr.: CDEMI6155

Ready to ship today, delivery time** appr. 1-3 workdays

(2002/EMI) 20 tracks plus CD ROM with Biography, Photos and Discog;
$11.26 $16.41
Turn Around (CD)
Carl Perkins: Turn Around (CD) Art-Nr.: CD3012822

Ready to ship today, delivery time** appr. 1-3 workdays

(1996/CULTURE PRESS) 16 tracks (p.1985/Red Lightnin')
$20.31
The Unissued Carl Perkins (CD)
Carl Perkins: The Unissued Carl Perkins (CD) Art-Nr.: CDCP8301

Ready to ship today, delivery time** appr. 1-3 workdays

(Charly Records) 30 tracks (78:40) with 16 page booklet.
$16.92 $19.18
Dance Album - part I (7inch EP, 45rpm, Picture Sleeve, Ltd.(150)
Carl Perkins: Dance Album - part I (7inch EP, 45rpm, Picture... Art-Nr.: 45BE6142RED

Ready to ship today, delivery time** appr. 1-3 workdays

(Be-Sharp) classic Rock'n'Roll EP - cardboard sleeve - red wax
$28.24
1 of 2