Carl Perkins

Born: April 9, 1932 Ridgely, TN, USA

Carl Perkins grew up in Tennessee. His father was a sharecropper, and Perkins knew hard times throughout his childhood. He would often pick cotton to earn money as a child, and he was exposed to the gospel music and spirituals being sung by the blacks that he worked with in the fields. When his father caught him pretending he was in the Grand Ole Opry behind the chicken coup, however, he made him a guitar out of a cigar box and a broom handle. Perkins wrote “Blue Suede Shoes” on a potato sack when he was still quite young. Later, in 1956, Elvis Presley recorded it and it sold 2 million copies. That same year, he was involved in a serious car accident that almost killed him. Later, he would write songs that would be performed by the Beatles, with whom he had a long-lasting relationship. Carl Perkins his influenced a whole generation of rock and rollers, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987. He was lucky enough to see 1998, and then he passed away due to health problems.

Instruments Played / Skills: Vocals Songwriter Guitar Genres: Country-Rock American Standard Rock Rockabilly

Carl Perkins Has Worked With: Johnny Cash Marvin Rainwater

Artists That Were Influenced By Carl Perkins: Dave Alvin