The Steel Guitar Forum

Is it me but have you ever expierenced a look as if your from the planet sogg when I memtion the grat Carl Perkins to anyonre.I get wos he never heard of him. Now this is from people who were teenagers and young adults in the late 50 eraly sisties.I don't get it. Whats more these poeple reckon they know all their is to know about Elvis
Is this a just in the UK.

Fiona. Anyone who does not know who Carl Perkins is---well they just don't know much about that era and the linage of rockabilly to rock and roll.

I agree with Bill. I am not close to being an expert but it is my understanding that Carl had it all and was on the verge of becoming a mega star when he got wiped out in a car accident just at the wrong time, history & momentum-wise. I still consider him 'mega' but you gotta wonder what might have been if the accident hadn't happened. All the rock & the billy & the blues & the soul & the pelvis etc. but more real musicianship and craft than "the king".
On the other hand, there never is any figuring on what is going to be big and what is going to be monumental.
No particular diss intended toward Elvis. Well, maybe some....

btw....when I say 'wiped out in a car accident', nobody needs to correct me and tell me that he had a career after that. I know. I just mean that it put him on hold just when he could have ridden to the top. Elvis is Elvis. Carl is the man.<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Jon Light on 05 September 2005 at 08:35 AM.]</p></FONT>

He's on our syllabus for the History of Rock unit.

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Cheers!
Dave

Yes, that just sounds bizarre. I argue that the Beatles, for example, were probably much more influenced by Carl, as well as people like the Everlys, Eddie Cochran, and so on, than Elvis.

But I suppose many if not most non-musicians may only know about that which is #1 on the hit parade, and that was mostly not Carl, unfortunately. Elvis was the primary standard bearer for early rock and roll. Some critics and musical historians have argued that Carl was just too 'hillbilly' to cross over - I doubt it, but we'll never know.

Yes, in the history of rock and roll, Carl is the man.

Little Richard Was Going Real Good At That Time Also. SONNY.

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I recall a radio interview a few years ago where the late George Harrison was speaking of attending Carl's funeral,at a particular point in the proceedings He,and a few other well known guitarist/singers were asked to perform a song for Carl.
George suggested "Your True Love"and not one of the other players knew it.
I remember Carl for Blue Suede Shoes as does everyone else but lets not forget all the other songs he did.
Best wishes
Billy

I did some shows with Carl Perkins when he was at the bottom of his career. He continued to be optimistic and inovative and enthusiastic that he would again be popular. His invention for the guitar, a string stretcher
mechanism, was eventually embraced by others, and I ofter wonder if Carl Perkins ever received credit or a copyright for that invention.

It was after that, that Johnny Cash gave Carl another opportunity to be recognized after the death of Luther Perkins.

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www.genejones.com


<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by Gene Jones on 05 September 2005 at 11:08 AM.]</p></FONT>

People too young to know have mostly just heard about Elvis. Even older folks who were teens at the time have gotten hazy on people like Carl Perkins and Gene
Vincent. For many people these guys were just one-hit wonders (Carl- Blue Suede Shoes; Gene - Bebopalula). But everybody keeps getting reminded of Elvis over and over. I also remember Little Richard and Chuck Berry as being as big a part of rock'n'roll's formative years as Elvis.

Maybe i watch all these music history shows while folks watch daft soap opera. i finds it sad thats all that they are missing out on great music.
was Carl and luther Perkins related

No relation.

Hi, Fiona.
Did you get much work at the weekend. The weather was lovely. I'm in Skelmorlie, so we're pretty close. I used to work in Millport a lot when I was with BT.
I love the place.
Cheers, Arch.

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One of those steel guitar thingies and an amp.

So many people idolize and go ga-ga over just one artist or band, it's hard to make them realize that there were others out there who were just as significant. There were many Elvis-type singers, but only Elvis had Tom Parker!

Every time I hear Bruce Springsteen, it brings to mind the Johnny Burnette Trio of the mid-50s. Bruce's sound and style is so close to that old group, it's scary!

Speaking of the Johnny Burnette Trio and their sound, it's a world's best known secret that their sound was actually created by Nashville studio musicians. Only the first Coral session which was held in NY truly represented the sound Johnny, Dorsey and Paul Burlison had together. And even then they were augmented by a studio drummer ( a jazz musician ) and one of the five tracks recorded in NY even had a full orchestral backing. The rest of the sessions were done in Nashville where Grady Martin handled a major part of the lead guitar duties, Bob Moore was on bass on lot of the cuts and both Farris Coursey and Buddy Harman on drums. Grady handled leads at least on Rockabilly Boogie, Lonesome Train, Rock Therapy, Sweet Love On My Mind, Your Baby Blue Eyes, Touch Me Baby, Eager Beaver Baby, I Just Found Out, Chains Of Love, Lonesome Tears In My Eyes, All By Myself, Drinkin' Wine Spo-De-O-Dee, I Love You So, If You Want It Enough and Butterfingers. Paul Burlison was in the studio of course and often played the other electric guitar and most likely plays the famous fuzz guitar solos. Although Grady can be heard playing similar octave fuzz solos on a very early Jerry Reed song. The Trio's misfortune was to be on a label which did not know how to market them. Even though they never had a major hit they were a huge inspiration for many 60's & 70's British rock bands, not to mention the new generation of rockabilly bands which most of them consider the Trio's recordings untouchable classics. And the same goes for Carl!!

I only knew of Carl Perkins through tv. I was born in the 60s. I think he had a Country charter in the 80s. I know he did fine rock-a-billy guitar on the Judds- Let Me Tell You About Love. Think he wrote it too. Ask your friends if they know that song.

What is the string stretcher device spoken of here?

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-johnson


<font size="1" color="#8e236b"><p align="center">[This message was edited by erik on 06 September 2005 at 02:44 AM.]</p></FONT>

I may be in error, but it is my understanding Carl and Luther were brothers.

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Dino

Dean -- sorry, but Carl and Luther weren't brothers. Carl did have two brothers, though, Jay and Clayton. They all played together in the early Fifties as The Perkins Brothers Band.