Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Blue Suede Shoes
"Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard written and first recorded by American singer, songwriter and guitarist Carl Perkins in 1955. It is considered one of the first rockabilly records, incorporating elements of blues, country and pop music of the time. Perkins' original version of the song appeared on the Cashbox Best Selling Singles list for 16 weeks and spent two weeks at the number two position.
Elvis Presley recorded "Blue Suede Shoes" in 1956 and it appears as the opening track of his eponymous debut album Elvis Presley. Presley performed his version of the song three different times on national television. It was also recorded by Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran, among many others.
There are differing accounts about the origin of the song. In his second autobiography Cash: The Autobiography, Johnny Cash recalled planting the seed for the song in the fall of 1955, while Carl Perkins, Cash, Elvis Presley and other Louisiana Hayride acts toured throughout the South. Cash told Perkins of a black airman, C. V. White, whom he had met when serving in the military in Germany, who had referred to his military regulation airmen's shoes as "blue suede shoes", and insisted that no one step on or scuff them. Cash suggested that Perkins write a song about the shoes. Perkins replied, "I don't know anything about shoes. How can I write a song about shoes?"
In another version, Perkins played a dance on October 21, 1955, and noticed a couple dancing near the stage. Between songs, he heard the boy scold his partner, "Uh-uh, don't step on my suedes!" Looking down, he saw that the boy was wearing blue suede shoes and one had a scuff mark. Perkins was amused to see that the boy cared more about his shoes than the pretty girl he was with, and began working on a song about the incident that night.
In either case, Perkins decided to use a nursery rhyme for the basis of the song, settling on "One for the Money". Working with his Les Paul guitar, Perkins started with an A chord and improvised some lyrics: "Well, it's one for the money ... Two for the show ... Three to get ready ... Now go, man, go!" Satisfied, he scribbled the song onto some scrap paper, spelling the title as "Blue Swade" in his haste. According to Perkins, "On December 17, 1955, I wrote 'Blue Suede Shoes'. I recorded it on December 19", for Sun Records. Sun's producer, Sam Phillips, convinced Perkins to change the lyric from "go, boy, go" in the first take of the song to "go, cat, go" in the second, which became the release version.
Perkins' recording of "Blue Suede Shoes" was released in early 1956, as Sun 234. Two copies of the song on 78-rpm records were sent to Perkins but arrived broken. He soon discovered that the song was available in the newer 7-inch microgrooved 45-rpm format and was disappointed that he didn't have a copy in the older, more substantial 78-rpm format.
In Cleveland, Ohio, disc jockey Bill Randle played "Blue Suede Shoes" often on his nightly show, and before the end of the month, Phillips shipped an additional 25,000 copies to Cleveland. In Memphis and Jackson, where Perkins lived, the song's B-side, "Honey Don't", was initially more popular on the radio, but was eventually overtaken by "Blue Suede Shoes". On February 11, "Blue Suede Shoes" was the number two single on Memphis charts; by the following week it was number one, a position it held for the next three months. A Song Hits review of the song, published on February 18, stated that "Perkins has come up with some wax here that has hit the national retail chart in almost record time. Interestingly enough, the disk has a measure of appeal for pop and r&b customers."
Perkins made four appearances on the radio program Big D Jamboree on station KRLD (AM) in Dallas, where he played the song every Saturday night. He was also booked for a number of one-night performances throughout the Southwest. The Jamboree was broadcast from the Dallas Sportatorium, with about 4,000 seats, which sold out for each of Perkins' performances. Music shops in Dallas ordered a huge number of copies of the record, and at one point it was being shipped out at a rate of 20,000 copies per day.
Hub AI
Blue Suede Shoes AI simulator
(@Blue Suede Shoes_simulator)
Blue Suede Shoes
"Blue Suede Shoes" is a rock and roll standard written and first recorded by American singer, songwriter and guitarist Carl Perkins in 1955. It is considered one of the first rockabilly records, incorporating elements of blues, country and pop music of the time. Perkins' original version of the song appeared on the Cashbox Best Selling Singles list for 16 weeks and spent two weeks at the number two position.
Elvis Presley recorded "Blue Suede Shoes" in 1956 and it appears as the opening track of his eponymous debut album Elvis Presley. Presley performed his version of the song three different times on national television. It was also recorded by Buddy Holly and Eddie Cochran, among many others.
There are differing accounts about the origin of the song. In his second autobiography Cash: The Autobiography, Johnny Cash recalled planting the seed for the song in the fall of 1955, while Carl Perkins, Cash, Elvis Presley and other Louisiana Hayride acts toured throughout the South. Cash told Perkins of a black airman, C. V. White, whom he had met when serving in the military in Germany, who had referred to his military regulation airmen's shoes as "blue suede shoes", and insisted that no one step on or scuff them. Cash suggested that Perkins write a song about the shoes. Perkins replied, "I don't know anything about shoes. How can I write a song about shoes?"
In another version, Perkins played a dance on October 21, 1955, and noticed a couple dancing near the stage. Between songs, he heard the boy scold his partner, "Uh-uh, don't step on my suedes!" Looking down, he saw that the boy was wearing blue suede shoes and one had a scuff mark. Perkins was amused to see that the boy cared more about his shoes than the pretty girl he was with, and began working on a song about the incident that night.
In either case, Perkins decided to use a nursery rhyme for the basis of the song, settling on "One for the Money". Working with his Les Paul guitar, Perkins started with an A chord and improvised some lyrics: "Well, it's one for the money ... Two for the show ... Three to get ready ... Now go, man, go!" Satisfied, he scribbled the song onto some scrap paper, spelling the title as "Blue Swade" in his haste. According to Perkins, "On December 17, 1955, I wrote 'Blue Suede Shoes'. I recorded it on December 19", for Sun Records. Sun's producer, Sam Phillips, convinced Perkins to change the lyric from "go, boy, go" in the first take of the song to "go, cat, go" in the second, which became the release version.
Perkins' recording of "Blue Suede Shoes" was released in early 1956, as Sun 234. Two copies of the song on 78-rpm records were sent to Perkins but arrived broken. He soon discovered that the song was available in the newer 7-inch microgrooved 45-rpm format and was disappointed that he didn't have a copy in the older, more substantial 78-rpm format.
In Cleveland, Ohio, disc jockey Bill Randle played "Blue Suede Shoes" often on his nightly show, and before the end of the month, Phillips shipped an additional 25,000 copies to Cleveland. In Memphis and Jackson, where Perkins lived, the song's B-side, "Honey Don't", was initially more popular on the radio, but was eventually overtaken by "Blue Suede Shoes". On February 11, "Blue Suede Shoes" was the number two single on Memphis charts; by the following week it was number one, a position it held for the next three months. A Song Hits review of the song, published on February 18, stated that "Perkins has come up with some wax here that has hit the national retail chart in almost record time. Interestingly enough, the disk has a measure of appeal for pop and r&b customers."
Perkins made four appearances on the radio program Big D Jamboree on station KRLD (AM) in Dallas, where he played the song every Saturday night. He was also booked for a number of one-night performances throughout the Southwest. The Jamboree was broadcast from the Dallas Sportatorium, with about 4,000 seats, which sold out for each of Perkins' performances. Music shops in Dallas ordered a huge number of copies of the record, and at one point it was being shipped out at a rate of 20,000 copies per day.