Hello and farewell to cool rockabilly cat Carl Perkins

Carl Perkins attends the Country Music Christmas Spectacular to Benefit Love Is Feeding Everyone [LIFE] on December 9, 1989, at the Universal Amphitheatre in Universal City, California. Earlier that summer the 57-year-old Rock and Roll Hall of Famer earned a Nashville comeback by co-writing Wynonna and Naomi Judd’s No. 1 C&W single “Let Me Tell You About Love.” Two years later he provided Dolly Parton with the biographical “Silver and Gold,” the “Jolene” chanteuse’s penultimate Top 20 A-side. Photography by Ralph Dominguez / MediaPunch / Alamy

Original “Blue Suede Shoes” singer-songwriter-guitarist Carl Perkins heavily influenced the Beatles and counted Elvis Presley as a comrade. Immortalized in both the Million Dollar Quartet and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, relatively little is known about the middle son of impoverished West Tennessee sharecroppers whose empathy laid the groundwork for the Carl Perkins Center for the Prevention of Child Abuse. In the nick of time, ’50s vinyl collector Larry Anderson confesses anecdotes about meeting the King of Rockabilly backstage, accidentally being seated among family and friends for Perkins’ 1998 funeral, and experiencing a double take when Fab Four lead guitarist George Harrison showed up unexpectedly. If ever a person was in the right place at the right time, it’s Anderson.

The Larry Anderson Interview

How did you chance upon Carl Perkins?

April 24, 1987, was the first time I met Carl. My wife Lois and I drove to Pittsburg, Texas, to see him perform. I purchased two VIP tickets so I could attend the 4–5 p.m. meet and greet before the 7:30 p.m. show. The show was held in the gymnasium of Pittsburg High School, while the meet and greet was held at the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce. The concert cost $25, but I believe I paid an extra $10 per ticket to spend time with him beforehand…