Blue Suede Shoes

The first time Blue Suede Shoes played in a studio, in 1955, there was little more than a sharp guitar riff, a bass keeping the rhythm like a heartbeat, and drums pushing everything forward. Carl Perkins wasn’t trying to invent rockabilly, but there it was: a mix of blues with the energy of country and the drive of pop that sounded fresh, as if someone had plugged straight into raw emotion. The song didn’t beat around the bush: in under two minutes, the message was clear and catchy, and the audience got it right away. So much so that Cashbox kept it on its best-sellers list for sixteen weeks, though it only reached number two. It wasn’t number one, but it had already left its mark.

The following year, Elvis Presley recorded it for his first album, and though Perkins’ version was still on the radio, Elvis’s gave it a different twist: two guitar solos by Scotty Moore, a bass that sounded more powerful, and drums that never stopped. Elvis performed it three times on television in 1956, and in one of them, during the Milton Berle Show, he lifted his foot to show off his blue suede shoes, as if the song were an inside joke between him and the audience. What’s curious is that, according to Scotty Moore, they recorded it in a single take, as if the song carried them along. Sam Phillips, Perkins’ producer, even asked RCA not to release Elvis’ single while Perkins’ was still at the top. But in the end, Elvis’ version reached number 20 on the charts, while Perkins’ stayed in first place. A detail that shows how rockabilly was no longer just a sound, but a phenomenon that crossed borders.