Whenever I think of Carl Perkins, I find it hard to stop myself from automatically comparing him with Elvis Presley, for any number of reasons. They were contemporaries and they were both responsible for breaking an entirely new type of music, but one came to be the most recognized icon on planet Earth, while the other is often considered as an afterthought.

To compare the difference in their careers is to marvel at the role played by a few simple twists of fate. Carl Perkins wrote songs and performed professionally in the Memphis area while Elvis was still driving a truck. When Elvis worked up the courage to enter Sun Studios to make a few home recordings in 1953, Perkins was sending tapes of his original songs to Columbia and RCA. None of the big boys took Perkins’ bait, but we all know what happened with Elvis. It wasn’t until months later that Perkins heard Elvis singing “Blue Moon of Kentucky” on the radio when it occurred to him that perhaps he should also visit Sun. Sam Phillips (president of Sun Records) immediately signed Perkins as well, with the canny notion that he was on to something that nobody else realized…yet. So, the first twist of fate occurred because Perkins aimed high while Elvis barely aimed at all. We know who hit the bullseye.

The next twist of fate was crueler to Perkins. Elvis’ Sun singles started to attract national interest. This happened at approximately the same time as Perkins was signed to Sun. Perkins toured with Elvis (and Johnny Cash, another newcomer to Sun), when Perkins and his band experienced a car accident that temporarily derailed their career. In the interim, Perkins released regional hits while Elvis attracted enough attention to acquire the interest of RCA Records, who would buy out his contract with the distinct purpose of making Elvis a star. In January 1955, Perkins (and Sun) recovered and released “Blue Suede Shoes”, a #2 national hit, but Presley (and most notably, RCA) beat him (them) to the punch, releasing “Heartbreak Hotel” a few weeks earlier, a mega-hit with national distribution that blocked Perkins from the #1 spot. From this point on, Perkins released only regional hits while Elvis exploded on a national level. Again, we all know who won.

The third twist of fate was the capper. Perkins and his brothers were finally offered an appearance on national television. On their way to New York City to perform on the Perry Como Show, a second crash occurred, but this was much more serious than their previous accident. Perkins was nearly killed (the driver of the other vehicle was killed), and Perkins struggled to regain consciousness in a Virginia hospital, with fractured vertebrae, a severe concussion, and a broken collar bone. His brother Jay would die soon after because of the accident. One minute, Perkins looked forward to performing and receiving a gold record on national television for his massive hit record. The next, he recuperated and watched from bed as Presley performed “Blue Suede Shoes” on the Milton Berle Show.

Perkins subsequently continued to release a few amazing singles on Sun (“Boppin’ the Blues”, “Matchbox”, “Dixie Fried”), but none got enough exposure to reach the top 40. Sun couldn’t even be bothered to release a Carl Perkins album until they got word that he, too, was signed to another label, but by then, history was already made. As a relatively new commodity, long playing albums were often little more than simple agglomerations of the artist’s singles. This album was certainly released too late to get its due, but true fans of rock and roll music (aka ‘rockabilly’) never forgot the relevance of Carl Perkins or could deny the relevance of a simple twist of fate.

Featured Tracks:

Blue Suede Shoes

Movie Magg

Sure To Fall

Gone, Gone, Gone

Honey Don't

Only You

Tennessee

Wrong Yo Yo

Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby

Matchbox

Your True Love

Boppin' The Blues

December 1957 – Billboard Did Not Chart