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His songs will all survive to us. He took over the traditional country picking on tracks such as “Blue Suede Shoes” and “Honey Don’t”. But translated it into rock’n’roll. And these innovations will remain on the guitar. If you want to play rock’n’roll from the fifties, you either play chuck Berry – or he plays Carl Perkins.
In view of its importance for the development of rock music, it is astonishing how few people really know him. But at least the important ones knew him. The Beatles recorded five of his songs. Carl was as real as you could only be real-a rockabilly cat as he is in the book. He told me that he still picked cotton and learned the blues from an old black field worker. When he came home from work, he practiced country things like Roy Acuff on the guitar, but then to stretch his grades-as he had learned from the blues. He must have driven his father onto the palm. “Play things reasonably, boy,” he told him, “or don’t play them at all.” But for Carl it was an organic development that could no longer be undone. He went to the Honkytonks with his music – and these were still real Honkytonks, where the beer was drunk from large jugs.
The 100 best musicians of all time: Carl Perkins – Essay by Tom Petty
When “Blue Suede Shoes” seemed to be a hit and Carl was invited to the “Ed Sullivan Show”, he had a serious car accident on his way to the studio. Elvis covered the song and took off the cream. Many people don’t know that he played on tour with Johnny Cash for ten years. At some point in the 1960s he had an alcohol problem and temporarily put the guitar aside, but luckily came out of his hole.
Carl’s joke and warmth also reflected in his music. He was not the guy who knocked himself on his shoulder. When we played several concerts in the fill. He was terribly excited before the gig: “People won’t even know who I am.” I said to him: “Carl, you will love you.” And when he was on stage, he blew them away.