THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

664-Elvis Presley-Blue Suede Shoes.

1956-Number 9 single.

Best Bit-At 1.12.Carl Perkins was the first to admit there was no way he could compete with Elvis,’He had everything, he had the looks, the moves, the manager, and the talent, and he didn’t look like Mr Ed, like a lot of us did.’

It was fellow ‘Sun Records’ artist Johnny Cash (1932-2003) (see also best songs 857 and 428) who gave Carl Perkins the idea for the song. Cash told Perkins of an airman he had met when serving in the military in Germany, who had referred to his regulation shoes as ‘Blue suede shoes.’Perkins thought no more of it until one night while on stage he noticed a couple dancing. Between songs he heard a stern voice say ‘Uh-uh, don’t step on my suede’s.’ Perkins noted that the boy was more interested in his shoes than the ‘pretty little thing’ he was dancing with.

Carl Lee Perkins was born on April 9th, 1932 in Tiptonville, Tennessee, United States, he died from throat cancer on January 19th, 1998. He grew up listening to the ‘Grand Ole Opry’ on his fathers radio, which was a major influence on him becoming one of the leading lights in the development of the musical genre ‘Rockabilly,’ and gaining the nickname ‘The King Of Rockabilly’. Paul McCartney probably paid him his highest compliment, saying,’If there was no Carl Perkins, there would be no Beatles,’

‘Blue Suede Shoes’ has been recorded numerous times over the years, with the best known version being this one by Elvis Presley (see also best songs 954-442 and 194.).It was first track on Presley’s self titled debut Album, released in 1956. The original version by Perkins peaked at Number 2 on Billboard in 1956, with Presley and his management agreeing not to release his version until Perkins song had run its course, and therefore not affecting sales.

‘Well you can knock me down, step in my face, slander my name all over the place. Do anything that you want to do, but uh-uh-, honey lay of of them shoes.’