Beatles Used Rockabilly To Become The Successors To The King"s Throne
No one argues that Elvis remains the King of Rock and Roll.
But there should also be no argument that sometime around the mid 1960s the King stepped down from actively presiding over the throne.
As Elvis got bogged down in a series of increasingly meaningless movies and their often meaningless soundtracks, other acts were banging on the castle gates demanding their shot at rock and roll royalty.
Of course, it was the Beatles who ascended and ruled the rock and roll kingdom for the remainder of the 1960s.
But the Beatles didn't make it to their lofty heights without help from rockabilly music and a great debt owed to the King! The Beatles were just one of hundreds of second-generation rock bands that drew heavily upon the influence of the rockabilly greats that they'd listened to while growing up in the 1950s.
George Harrison in particular was influenced to a huge extent by the guitar playing of Carl Perkins and others.
Listen to the solos in those early Beatles songs and you'll hear many of Perkins' licks throughout.
Even the Beatles choice of guitars was rockabilly influenced as they tended to use hollow-bodied instruments that evoked the memory of the hollow-bodied guitars that Eddie Cochran, Scotty Moore, and many other rockabilly guitarists favored.
The Fab Four included countless rockabilly and early rock and roll numbers in their live stage shows, particularly before they achieved their massive fame.
And several rockabilly tunes made it onto some of their early albums.
For instance on the American release, Beatles For Sale, the band included two Carl Perkins rockabilly tunes and in both cases they stayed very true to the original rockabilly presentation of the songs.
"Honey Don't" was the B side to Perkins' seminal Sum Records release "Blue Suede Shoes" and the Beatles do a very authentic version of it on the album.
The other Perkins song on Beatles For Sale, "Everybody's Tryin' to be my Baby" is a rollicking romp in the classic Perkins tongue-in-cheek style and the Beatles did it up right.
A third Perkins song recorded during the same sessions, "Matchbox," wasn't included on the record but has become a Beatles classic nonetheless.
In fact, as a nod to their respect for Carl Perkins, The Beatles recorded more songs written by him than by any other artist (other than themselves.
) The Beatles knew good music when they heard it.
They tapped into the joy and energy of rockabilly to craft their own unique style and the rockabilly influence stayed with them throughout their careers.
McCartney is still known to throw a rockabilly tune or two into his live shows and Ringo's always good for a hot version of "Honey Don't.
" The King never gave up his crown and just because these new Brits hit the scene doesn't mean Elvis just went away.
He was still seeing success and came back strong in a 1968 television special.
He was and always will be the King.
And even though he stepped down from the throne to let the Beatles rule for a while, the "lads from Liverpool" knew their rock and roll heritage.
They knew the role that rockabilly had played in their formative years and rather than shy away from it or try to hide it, they embraced it and let it become a major part of the new revolution they were building.
But there should also be no argument that sometime around the mid 1960s the King stepped down from actively presiding over the throne.
As Elvis got bogged down in a series of increasingly meaningless movies and their often meaningless soundtracks, other acts were banging on the castle gates demanding their shot at rock and roll royalty.
Of course, it was the Beatles who ascended and ruled the rock and roll kingdom for the remainder of the 1960s.
But the Beatles didn't make it to their lofty heights without help from rockabilly music and a great debt owed to the King! The Beatles were just one of hundreds of second-generation rock bands that drew heavily upon the influence of the rockabilly greats that they'd listened to while growing up in the 1950s.
George Harrison in particular was influenced to a huge extent by the guitar playing of Carl Perkins and others.
Listen to the solos in those early Beatles songs and you'll hear many of Perkins' licks throughout.
Even the Beatles choice of guitars was rockabilly influenced as they tended to use hollow-bodied instruments that evoked the memory of the hollow-bodied guitars that Eddie Cochran, Scotty Moore, and many other rockabilly guitarists favored.
The Fab Four included countless rockabilly and early rock and roll numbers in their live stage shows, particularly before they achieved their massive fame.
And several rockabilly tunes made it onto some of their early albums.
For instance on the American release, Beatles For Sale, the band included two Carl Perkins rockabilly tunes and in both cases they stayed very true to the original rockabilly presentation of the songs.
"Honey Don't" was the B side to Perkins' seminal Sum Records release "Blue Suede Shoes" and the Beatles do a very authentic version of it on the album.
The other Perkins song on Beatles For Sale, "Everybody's Tryin' to be my Baby" is a rollicking romp in the classic Perkins tongue-in-cheek style and the Beatles did it up right.
A third Perkins song recorded during the same sessions, "Matchbox," wasn't included on the record but has become a Beatles classic nonetheless.
In fact, as a nod to their respect for Carl Perkins, The Beatles recorded more songs written by him than by any other artist (other than themselves.
) The Beatles knew good music when they heard it.
They tapped into the joy and energy of rockabilly to craft their own unique style and the rockabilly influence stayed with them throughout their careers.
McCartney is still known to throw a rockabilly tune or two into his live shows and Ringo's always good for a hot version of "Honey Don't.
" The King never gave up his crown and just because these new Brits hit the scene doesn't mean Elvis just went away.
He was still seeing success and came back strong in a 1968 television special.
He was and always will be the King.
And even though he stepped down from the throne to let the Beatles rule for a while, the "lads from Liverpool" knew their rock and roll heritage.
They knew the role that rockabilly had played in their formative years and rather than shy away from it or try to hide it, they embraced it and let it become a major part of the new revolution they were building.