Name: Carl Perkins Sings "Blue Suede Shoes," Talks Elvis | Letterman
Uploaded: 2023-08-16T22:00:03.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Carl Perkins Sings "Blue Suede Shoes," Talks Elvis | Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2023-08-16. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Carl Perkins Sings "Blue Suede Shoes," Talks Elvis | Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2023-08-16. Transcript available.

All right. Now, here we go. This is going to be terrific, folks.
Thirty years ago, my next guest changed the course of music history
by writing a song that is often called Rock and Roll's National Anthem.
The name of the song is, of course, Blue Suede Shoes,
and here to sing it, the legendary Carl Perkins. Carl.
Well, it's one for the money, two for the show,
three to get ready now, go, cat, go.
But don't you step on my blue suede shoe?
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can knock me down, step on my face,
slide to my name all over the place.
Do anything that you want to do,
but hop on, baby, lay off of your shoe, don't you?
Step on my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
Well, let's go, cat rock.
Yeah, you can burn my house, steal my car,
drink my liquor from my blue suede shoe.
Do anything that you want to do,
but hop on, baby, lay off of my blue suede shoe.
Don't you step on my blue suede shoe?
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
Now, let's rock, come on.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
You can do anything but lay off of my blue suede shoe.
Oh they do. What a band.
Yeah they're great but you're great.
It sounded great.
Thank you.
Now do you get tired of talking about the song, "Blue Suede Shoes"?
I never have and never will. No Dave.
Been good to you has it?
Always.
Brought several sticks of bologna along the road.
Now tell me about writing the song.
Is it an actual story or did something happen?
Well I heard a boy tell a girl to stay up in the suede.
Where was this?
Back in those days in 1955 around my hometown of Jackson, Tennessee.
We used to play, we called them back then honky tonks.
It's upgraded to club now.
But I heard a boy tell a girl, "Whoa, don't step on my suede."
I had been watching them dance.
And I mean they could go, you know.
Yeah.
And I thought, "Man, I've never owned a pair but I would never think that much
of a pair of shoes. That girl's beautiful."
Yeah.
But it bothered me so I, you know where I'm going.
I wrote the song that night because I couldn't get over the fact that he
thought that much of her shoes.
Yeah.
Now let's take a look at the shoes you've got on here tonight, Carl.
They're boots.
Blue suede boots.
That looks like state of the art blue suede there.
What were those places like?
You called them honky tonks.
Is that the same as a road house?
That's it.
Now what is a road house?
Is it just like a bar on a small highway or off the main drag?
Yeah.
Yeah.
Kinda that.
The blacktop airs down south town.
They're rough places I guess?
That's a mild word for them.
Yeah.
Yeah.
They really were.
And good music fans or they just came to get drunk?
Well, they were music fans till they got drunk.
Most of them were pretty high when they got there, you know.
But a lot of these boys rolled those white shirts up on Saturday night, the
sleeves, you know.
They left home to fight and it was.
Our cue was when the harder they fought, the louder we played.
Yeah.
We just turned our music out.
Did the band ever get involved in fights?
Not if I could help it.
You know, I learned to move pretty quick.
Yeah.
Did they have requests and stuff?
I mean, if you didn't know a song they wanted to hear, were you in trouble?
I don't know.
I never chanced it.
When he asked for it, I cut out on it.
Just whatever you got, you play.
Yeah.
Yeah.
If you wanted a certain song, the best thing to do was just keep repeating the
title.
Get it out.
Yeah.
What was it like at Sun Records?
When did you, when did you, what was your association with Sam Phillips?
I went to Sun Records, Dave, in the latter part of 1954.
Elvis was the first boy on Sun and he started in about mid or early '54s.
I was second, then Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee, Charlie Rich.
So that was the early stable.
Those were the first four or five guys he saw.
Yeah.
Uh-huh.
That's unbelievable, isn't it?
When you think of the amount of talent he was able to spot and get under
contract in
them.
The man was a near genius to be able to find that kind of talent.
He really was.
Now, what was it like?
Did you work with all of these guys ever in at the studio or in gigs and stuff?
Yeah.
We played at one time in '54 up until Elvis left Sun Records in '55.
We had the same manager or disc jockey there that booked us.
Yeah.
I guess this is what we got here, isn't it?
Yeah.
Uh-huh.
This picture actually happened at a recording session of mine.
Elvis had left Sun Records at that time, but he would always, when he came back
to Memphis,
he'd come back to see us at Sun.
And that's Jerry Lee playing the piano, a young Johnny Cash on the other side.
No, that's Elvis on the piano.
Yeah.
Jerry here.
You know, of the group, Carl, I hate to tell you, you're the one who looks like
trouble there.
Now, what were these guys like when you were just goofing around?
What was, you know, like how old is Elvis in that picture?
He was what?
Uh, let's see.
I was 24.
He'd have been 21.
Yeah.
Now, what was he like at 21 years old?
He was, Dave, full of energy, but a really kind boy.
I mean, he, it was yes sir and no ma'am.
I mean, really a nice dude.
Uh, I remember back in those days, we played the, uh, school houses, the gymnasiums
and, uh, Elvis would have a water pistol.
I've been on the stage a lot of time, you know, water hits you sad.
He would, so he was a little joke here and there, but.
He, he really was.
Yeah.
Now, what about these other guys?
What about Johnny Cash?
Johnny Cash, who in that picture is probably in his early twenties, but I'm, it
looks more like 40.
Uh, so, so, even in those days, he, he was, uh.
John was, uh, I guess the most reserved.
Oh, he was reserved too.
Yeah.
He was, he was real.
All right.
Now, let's go on to Jerry Lee.
Now, you can't tell me he was, this is not a choir boy there.
No, no.
I'll tell you, the killer came from down to Louisiana, but he, he came into
Memphis, uh,
uh, being the killer.
Uh-huh.
He is probably one of the greatest entertainers, one of the greatest musicians
I know.
Uh, but that's, you know, that's the killer.
Now, is, is there, uh, well, I think we all know a story, or let's just leave
it up to
our imagination, but when he wanted to have fun, what would, uh, let's go on to
another topic.
Um, but you were, you were in, to some degree responsible for, for part of his
performing
technique, weren't you?
Didn't you, uh, he was talking to you about leaving the piano?
Uh, Jerry Lee?
Yeah.
The first tour, uh, that Jerry went on was with, uh, Johnny Cash and I to, uh,
Canada.
And I remember he, we was in the dressing room.
He said, hey, you guys with the guitars, y'all can move around.
I said, well, killer, uh, can't you stand up and play that thing?
And, uh, I guess I sit in there 30 'cause he kicked the stool over that night.
And there you go.
And the blonde hair fell and away he went.
And then you went, uh, you went over and you, uh, spent a lot of time with the
Beatles.
They did a lot of your stuff.
In 1964, I was in the studio when they recorded, uh, three of my songs.
Yeah.
You're amazing.
You actually are a legend, aren't you?
I like it.
Yeah, you are.
Oh, no, you're getting around.
Thank you very much.
You wouldn't be here if you weren't.
Uh, only, only legends.
Um, oh, and also you have this, uh, Cinemax special.
It's a cable operation, but I understand for cable, this is a pretty hot show.
Oh, great.
I am really, really proud of this show, Dave.
I just did it.
Uh, and you're right.
It's on Cinemax.
It's, uh, it was shown about six, seven times.
Yeah.
A lot of good names.
We'll, we'll talk about them in a second.
We got a pause here for commercial.
We'll be back with Carl Perkins.
Who are some of the people that are going to be on your show?
Eric Clapton, I heard.
Eric Clapton.
Ringo Starr.
Ringo.
Uh, George Harrison.
Dave Edmonds.
Uh, the Stray Cats.
Dave's band, the rock pop.
Roseanne Cash.
Yeah.
Uh.
All music.
Plenty of music.
Just rocking.
No skits.
You're not going to be doing skits, are you?
No.
No.
No way.
Uh, my thanks to Letitia Baldridge, and of course, uh, Carl Perkins.
Tomorrow, folks, Jay Leno will be here, Irving Caesar, and, uh, Rachel McLeese.
Um, Rachel McLeese.
Good night.
Thank you.