Carl Of The Wild
Sydney Morning Herald
Friday June 2, 2000
The Beatles may have put a dampener on the spirit of rockabilly, but Carl Perkins, writer of Blue Suede Shoes, is still revered today, more than four decades after his first hit.
That defining moment:Ian B. McLeod remembers with crystal clarity the first time he heard Carl Perkins.
He was 16, a cabin boy on board a merchant navy ship anchored somewhere off the Canary Islands. A fellow sailor came on board brandishing a 78 record. "Look what I bought," he said. It was a copy of Honey Don't.
The song rocked his boat, and has kept it rocking ever since.
Carl Perkins may be best known as the composer of Elvis's Blue Suede Shoes, but McLeod is not alone in thinking that the writer of the song is as good, if not better than the singer.
After driving his cabinmates crazy by teaching himself to play guitar Perkins-style, McLeod settled in Australia and entered a talent quest at the Great Northern Hotel in Chatswood. He performed, naturally, Honey Don't. He won, embarking on a professional career as Australia's first rockabilly star.
It was Johnny O'Keefe who suggested a name change. As Adam, he performed rockabilly even when four lads from Liverpool suddenly interrupted the world.
"I loathed The Beatles," says McLeod, "they totally disrupted the whole rock'n'roll fraternity."
Overnight, solo performers like him were suddenly out of work.
Still, he persevered. What is amazing is that McLeod has rarely wavered from his passion for Perkins. In 1986 he was sitting on a tour bus after performing in the panto Babes In The Wood (hey, we all have to make a living) when, according to a noble country music tradition, he started scribbling words on a beer coaster.
This was the start of Thank You, Mr Perkins, an album of tributes. One of the offshoots from that album was making contact with Perkins, and his son Stan, who continues the Perkins family tradition.
It was Stan who, after Carl died in 1998, sent McLeod his prized Sun Studios jacket. It is his most prized possession, along with his complete collection of Perkins records, including those on 78. He never met Perkins in the flesh but is making up for it this month by going on tour with his son, Stan. "He is very much his father's son," says McLeod.
Yes, they will be playing Honey Don't.
Blue Suede Shoes, a tribute to Carl Perkins featuring Stan Perkins, plays tonight at Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL Club, tomorrow at Morrisset Country Club, June 17, St Marys Village Shopping Centre (10am) and Hubertus Country Club, Badgerys Creek and June 18 at Bankstown Trotting Club.
© 2000 Sydney Morning Herald