Born on This Day in 1932, the “King of Rockabilly” Whose Songs Were Recorded by Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Johnny Cash

In the early 1950s, Carl Perkins finally wore down Sun Records founder Sam Phillips enough for an audition. It paid off for the both of them. Born on this day (April 9) in 1932 to poor sharecroppers in Tiptonville, Tennessee, Perkins rose to international stardom as a pioneering figure of the rockabilly movement that fused blues, country, rhythm-and-blues, and gospel into one. Among his crowning songwriting achievements is the Elvis Presley standard “Blue Suede Shoes”, which became the first Sun label record to sell over a million copies. However, his songs have been covered by artists including Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, Johnny Cash, Ricky Nelson, and Eric Clapton.

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Perkins has been inducted into the Rock and Roll, International Rockabilly, and Nashville Songwriters halls of fame. Paul McCartney once declared that “if there were no Carl Perkins, there would be no Beatles.”

Remembering Carl Perkins

At age 6, Carl Perkins began working in the cotton fields alongside his family. This marked his first exposure to gospel music; with his father tuning into the Grand Ole Opry radio by night.

Hearing Roy Acuff’s broadcasts inspired Perkins to take up the guitar. His parents couldn’t afford to buy the instrument, so his father fashioned him one out of a cigar box and broomstick. When he did eventually come across an old Gene Autry guitar, he couldn’t afford new strings, simply re-tying the knots when they broke.

Perkins’ most direct influence came from an older Black field hand named John Westbrook, who taught him the blues guitar he would eventually mix with country music.

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Dropping out of school at 14 to help support his family, Perkins enlisted his older brother, Jay, to accompany him on rhythm guitar. Working at a dairy by day, the teen performed on the Jackson, Tennessee honky-tonk circuit by night. Soon, he began landing radio gigs, eventually convincing Sam Phillips to let him audition for Sun Records.

After “Movie Magg”, a song Perkins wrote at 13, became a regional hit, Perkins began touring with Sun stars Johnny Cash and Elvis Presley. In fall 1955, he wrote “Blue Suede Shoes” on a brown paper bag in his bathroom at 3 a.m. His version topped the country charts—the only No. 1 hit of Perkins’ career—before Presley recorded it the following year for his self-titled debut album.

[RELATED: Watch George Harrison’s Last Public Performance Ever, Filmed at Carl Perkins’ Funeral in 1998]

Carl Perkins died on Jan. 19, 1998, at a Jackson, Tennessee hospital after suffering several minor strokes the previous month. He was 65 years old.

Featured image by Bob Berg/Getty Images