Song Information

Blue Suede Shoes

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"Blue Suede Shoes"
Single by Carl Perkins
B-side	Honey Don't
Released	January 1, 1956
Format	7" single
Recorded	December 19, 1955
Genre	Rock and roll
Length	2:14
Label	Sun Records
Writer(s)	Carl Perkins
Producer	Sam Phillips
Carl Perkins singles chronology
"Gone, Gone, Gone" 1955 "Blue Suede Shoes" (1956) "Tennessee" (1956)

"Blue Suede Shoes"
Single by Elvis Presley
from the album Elvis Presley
B-side	"Tutti Frutti"
Released	September 8, 1956
Format	7" single
Recorded	January 30, 1956
Genre	Rock and roll
Length	1:58
Label	RCA Records
Writer(s)	Carl Perkins
Producer	Steve Sholes
Elvis Presley singles chronology
"I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" (1955) "Blue Suede Shoes" (1956) "I'm Counting on You" (1956)

"Blue Suede Shoes," was written and first recorded by Carl Perkins in 1955.  Perkins incorporated elements of blues, country and pop music in this song, which became a rock and roll standard.

Blue suede shoes similar to those that inspired the song

Johnny Cash originally suggested Perkins write a song about blue suede shoes in 1955 while they, Elvis Presley, and others, were on a tour with Louisiana Hayride in Texas and the South. Cash had met a black airman in the military who had referred to his military regulation air shoes as "blue suede shoes."  Later that year, Perkins was playing a dance and noticed a couple dancing close to the stage.  The boy was wearing blue suede shoes and told his beautiful partner not to step on his suedes. That night, Perkins began working on a song based on that incident. He thought about framing it with a nursery rhyme, but after trying a few, he settled on "One for the money...." 

The Sun recording of "Blue Suede Shoes" was released in January of 1956.  In Jackson, where Perkins lived, and in Memphis, radio stations were playing the flip side of the record, "Honey Don't." In Cleveland, Ohio, however, disc jockey Bill Randle was featuring "Blue Suede Shoes" prominently on his nightly show. "Shoes" became the side of choice throughout the South and Southwest. It became the number 2 single on Memphis charts, was number one the next week, and remained there for the next 3 months.

Perkins appeared four times on the Big D Jamboree on radio station KRLD in Dallas and played the song every Saturday night.  The Jamboree played from the Dallas Sportatorium, which had about four thousand seats. It sold out for all of Perkins' performances. Music shops in Dallas were ordering extra copies of the record to keep up with demand, and at one point it was selling at a rate of 20,000 copies per day.  By March, Perkins had become the first country artist to reach the number three spot on the rhythm & blues charts.

Perkins and his band first performed "Blue Suede Shoes" on television on ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee.  They were scheduled to perform on The Perry Como Show on NBC-TV on March 24, but they had a serious car accident on March 22 that resulted in the death of a truck driver and the hospitalization of both Perkins and his brother. While Perkins was recuperating from the accident, "Blue Suede Shoes" rose to number one on most pop, R&B, and country regional charts. It also held the number two position on the Billboard Hot 100 and country charts. By three months after release, more than one million copies of "Shoes" had been sold, and "Blue Suede Shoes" had become the first million-selling country song to cross over to both rhythm and blues and pop charts.

Elvis had signed on with RCA, and one of the first tunes RCA wanted him to record was "Blue Suede Shoes." It was standard practice in 1940s and 50s to record cover versions of songs.  RCA, with its superior distribution and radio contacts, knew it could probably steal a hit record from Phillips and Perkins. For his part, Presley requested that they hold back his version from release as a single since he knew Perkins and his producer, Sam Phillips. RCA agreed.

Presley performed the song on national television three times in 1956, twice on the CBS-TV program Stage Show, and once on the  Milton Berle Show.  In 1960, He re-recorded "Blue Suede Shoes" for the soundtrack of the film G.I. Blues. 

"Blue Suede Shoes" was chosen as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. Perkins' version was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and was included twice on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time, with Perkins' version as number 95, and Presley's as number 423. Also, National Public Radio's music editors included it in the NPR 100, their selection of the one hundred most important musical works of the 20th century.

"Shoes" has a lengthy cultural legacy.  There have been many references to the lyrics or title of "Blue Suede Shoes" in songs by other artists and in movies, television, the printed page, and in games.  Other artists who covered the song include:

• Delbert Barker and the Gateway All Stars
• Thumper Jones (George Jones)
• Hank Smith
• Buzz Williams
• Pee Wee King
• Bob Rubian
• Boyd Bennett
• Sid King
• Roy Hall
• Jim Lowe.
  
• Buddy Holly as recorded on the Buddy Holly Story compilation.
• Cliff Richard
• The Beatles
• Cat Mother & the All Night Newsboys
• Count von Count on Sesame Street
• Eddie Cochran
• Jimi Hendrix
• Johnny Rivers
• John Lennon
• Bill Haley & His Comets Haley
• Albert King
• Lemmy and The Upsetters with Mick Green
• Black Sabbath (when they were known as Earth)
• Billy "Crash" Craddock
• Brian Setzer
• Jerry Lee Lewis
• The Toy Dolls
• Helloween
• Stray Cats
• Los Super Reyes
• Hurriganes.