When Footwear Becomes a Priority

Song 440: The week on the playlist you can check out Blue Suede Shoes by Carl Perkins, who also wrote the song, and you can find a YouTube video of it by clicking on the title. Maybe the best way to start out the new year would be to put on a very different pair of shoes. Growing up, I knew nothing about RnR until the Beatles rocked my world in the winter of 1964, but as a teenager, mostly I heard the current records, so I didn't start to catch up on the previous generation of rockers until the early 1970s, when a 1950s revival bubbled up through the Chicago airwaves. I soon learned about this classic hit, and before long, I got to hear it, with that first spin making it clear to me how this rocker had earned its place. I only found out today, though, by doing some research, that Johnny Cash had actually given Carl the idea for the title. The cut took an interesting ride, with Perkins writing the piece on 12/17/55, recording it two days later, seeing it rise to the top of some charts by early February, and then having it make him the first country artist to reach number three on the rhythm and blues charts in mid-March. With that kind of success, I guess you can do anything, as long as you remember to lay off of them shoes.