MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET
In 1956, Sun Records was able to show off by hosting an impromptu jam session by the Million Dollar Quartet, having a genuinely stupendous line-up: Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis (Sun-signed artists all, though Elvis was by now at RCA). Most agree though that Sun had begun to lose its edge by the end of the decade.
As to the Quartet, Elvis was drafted into the Army in 1958; when he returned to music two years later, his recordings were quite different and continued to evolve over time. Johnny Cash became one of country music’s greatest artists; and Jerry Lee Lewis made a similarly seamless transition to country and is generally regarded as one of the premier piano players in any musical form.
Meanwhile, Carl Perkins was beginning to slip into obscurity and was in danger of being known only as the songwriter and original performer of one of Elvis’ signature songs, “Blue Suede Shoes” (though I prefer Carl’s version of “Blue Suede Shoes” myself). However, the Beatles gave Perkins’ career new life when they covered several of his songs early on, notably “Honey, Don’t”.
(May 2011)
