The Day Carl Perkins Recorded the Hit Blue Suede Shoes

As far as rock ‘n’ roll standards go, “Blue Suede Shoes” is a shoo-in.

So much so thatPaul McCartney‘s music publishing company,MPL Communications,has owned the rights to it, along with a number of other classics by Carl Perkins, since 2003. McCartney once reportedly said that “if there were no Carl Perkins, there would be no Beatles.”

Back then, rockabilly music was just coming into fashion, with “Blue Suede Shoes” being one of the first highly successful releases of the genre.

Did Carl Perkins Actually Own Blue Suede Shoes?

Perkins’ recorded the original version of the song on Dec. 19, 1955. Of course, the obvious question is: did Perkins actually own a pair of blue suede shoes?

There are varying accounts as forhowPerkins came up with the subject. In Johnny Cash‘s memoir Cash: The Autobiography, he claimed that he’d once told Perkins about a man he had known while serving in the military. That man had referred to his government-issued airmen shoes as “blue suede shoes” and made it a point to ensure they were never stepped on or scuffed.Another story that’s been told is of Perkins once playing a concert where he overheard a young man scold his partner for stepping on his suede shoes, which, Perkins noticed, were blue.

One thing that’s known for certain is that Perkins wrote the song swiftly on Dec. 17, and recorded it for Sun Records in the studio two days later.

Listen to Carl Perkins’ ‘Blue Suede Shoes’

Just a few weeks later, “Blue Suede Shoes” hit the market on Jan. 1, 1956.

“Funny thing, it was ‘Honey Don’t’ on the back side that broke first in Memphis,” Perkins recalled to The Atlantic in 1970. “Then one day the lady across the street came over and said there was a long-distance call for me. It was Sam [Phillips, producer and founder of Sun Records] and he said, ‘Carl, you know what happened? You got a hit on ‘Blue Suede Shoes.’ Chicago has ordered 25,000.’ When they said that I thought they said 2500. Never had an order so big.”

Not long after that, it landed at the No. 2 spot on the Billboard Hot 100. By April, over one million copies had been sold.

Elvis Presley’s Version

Then came Elvis Presley, who recorded “Blue Suede Shoes” the same month Perkins’ original was released. Presley himself was reportedly reluctant to do so, given he had been signed by Sun Records initially, knew Perkins personally and didn’t want to compete in that manner. Nevertheless, RCA Records insisted andPresley’s version was released on Aug. 31, 1956.

This turned out to be great timing — as Perkins’ version was cooling off, Presley’s lit the flame again.Though Presley’s single didn’t fare as well on the charts, it served as the opening track to his debut album, Elvis Presley, and quickly becamesynonymous with his name.

Listen to Elvis Presley’s ‘Blue Suede Shoes’

Perkins recognized that Presley’s success was, in many ways, inevitable.

“Elvis had the looks on me. The girls were going for him for more reasons than music,” he said to The Atlantic. “Elvis was hittin’ ’em with sideburns, flashy clothes and no ring on that finger. I had three kids. There was no way of keeping Elvis from being the man in that music. I’ve never felt bitter, always felt lucky being in the music business at all. Most kids from my background never drive a new car.”