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Blue Suede Shoes

Composer: Carl Perkins

Grateful Dead

No Grateful Dead recordings.

Others

The following list is not intended to be comprehensive.

no info Single: Blue Sude Shoes / Honey Don't, Carl Perkins, 1955
no info Single, Pee Wee King, 1956
no info EP, Elvis Presley, 1956
no info Single, Boyd Bennett and His Rockets, 1956
no info Dance with Carl Perkins, Carl Perkins, 1957
no info C'mon Everybody, Eddie Cochran, 1959
no info Freddy Cannon Sings Happy Shades of Blue, Freddy Cannon, 1960
info Sun's Gold Hits, Volume 1, Various Artists (Carl Perkins), 1960
no info Teen Beat: The Best of Carl Perkins, Carl Perkins, 1961
no info Castaway Strings Play The Elvis Presley Song Book, Castaway Strings, 1964
no info Original Golden Hits, Carl Perkins, 1969
no info Blue Suede Shoes, Carl Perkins, 1969
no info Live Peace In Toronto, Plastic Ono Band, 1969
no info Sweet Toronto Soundtrack, Various Artists (John Lennon and The Plastic Ono Band), 1970
no info Blues For Elvis - Albert King Does The King's Thing, Albert King, 1970
no info Elvis, That's The Way It Is Soundtrack, Elvis Presley, 1970
no info Cheapo-Cheapo Productions Presents Real Live John Sebastian, John Sebastian, 1971
no info Sleazy Roadside Stories, Commander Cody and The Lost Planet Airmen, 1973
info Blue Suede Shoes, Johnny Rivers, 1973
no info King of Rock N' Roll, Mack Allen Smith, 1975
no info Rockin' Guitar Man, Carl Perkins, 1975
no info Together, Edgar and Johnny Winter, 1976
no info Narvel The Marvel, Narvel Felts, 1976
no info My Farewell To Elvis, Merle Haggard, 1977
no info Don't You Step on My Blue Suede Shoes, Various Artists (Carl Perkins), 1977
no info The Longhorn Jamboree Presents Willie Nelson and His Friends, Various Artists, 1977
no info Sunset Soul: The Roots of Rock, Volume 6 - Various Artists (Tony Austin), 1977
no info The Original Carl Perkins, Carl Perkins, 1978
no info Elvis! Soundtrack, Elvis Presley, 1979
no info The Last Detail, Warren Smith, 1981
no info Slide Area, Ry Cooder, 1982
no info The Sun Years, Carl Perkins, 1982
no info(Recorded Live) At the Picketts Lock, Crazy Cavan 'N' The Rhythm Rockers, 1983
info Sleazy Roadside Stories, Commander Cody & The Lost Planet Airmen, 1988
info Bird's Can't Row Boats, Johnny Winter, 1988
no info Killer, The Mercury Years Vol. 2, 1969-1972), Jerry Lee Lewis, 1989
info Anthology, 1964-1977, Johnny Rivers, 1991
no info King Of Rock 'n' Roll - The Complete 50s Masters, Elvis Presley, 1992
no info Remembering Merle, Doc Watson, 1992
info The Locust Years...And the Return to the Promised Land, Jerry Lee Lewis, 1994
info The Best of Commander Cody & His Lost Planet Airmen, Commander Cody & The Lost Planet Airmen, 1995
info Anthology 3, The Beatles, 1996
info Crossroads: Southern Routes: Music of the American South, Various Artists (Carl Perkins), 1996
no info All-Time Greatest Hits, Johnny Rivers, 1998
info Legends Of Rock Series: Southern Experience, Various Artists (Carl Perkins), 1999
no info Rockin' The Blues, Various Artists, 1999
no info Loud, Fast & Out of Control: The Wild Sounds of the '50s, Various Artists (Chuck Berry), 1999
info Americas Top Ten Through The Years: Box Set, Various Artists (Carl Perkins), 2000
info Faithful Virtue: The Reprise Recordings, John Sebastian, 2001
no info Live in Las Vegas Box Set, Elvis Presley, 2001
no info Orbison, Roy Orbison, 2001
info Good Rockin' Tonight: The Legacy of Sun Records, Various Artists (Johnny Hallyday), 2001
info 40 Years Of Jukebox Hits, Various Artists (Carl Perkins), 2002
info Jukebox Hits of the '50s, Various Artists (Carl Perkins), 2002
info L.A. Reggae / Blue Suede Shoes, Johnny Rivers, 2005
info At Madison Square Garden, Johnny Cash, 2002
info Secret Agent Man: The Ultimate Johnny Rivers Anthology, Johnny Rivers, 2006
info 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: Best of 50s Rock N Roll, Various Artists (Carl Perkins), 2006
info Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Live (DVD), Various Artists (Paul McCartney), 2009

Notes

Performed once by the Grateful Dead at a soundcheck.

According to a number of sources the genesis of Blue Suede Shoes was roughly as follows. In late 1955 Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins were playing a show in Amory, Mississippi. Cash suggested to Perkins that he write a song based on a phrase he'd heard in the food line in the army - 'Don't step on my shoes'. A few nights later Perkins was playing in Jackson, Tennessee and saw a dancer at the front of the crowd trying to keep his partner away from his blue suede shoes. At 3.00 am the next morning Perkins woke with the song taking form. He went downstairs and wrote the lyrics out on an empty potato bag. It was then worked up by Perkins and his brothers before being auditioned for Sun in early December 1955.

Three versions of the song were recorded in early December and one of these released in late December (possibly 1st January 1956) with Honey, Don't as the b-side (Sun 234).

It was the first single to reach the top 5 in the Country charts (#1), R & B charts (#3) and pop charts (#2).