It’s Rockabilly Day today on Song Lyric Sunday, and you just can’t have rockabilly day without Carl Perkins. "Boppin’ The Blues" was written by Carl and was released in 1956, when it reached #7 on the Country chart and #70 on the Pop chart (this was before Billboard did the Hot 100), and it appeared on his 1957 album Dance Album. This version was the title track from the 1970 album he did with NRBQ, a legendary band out of Louisville, Kentucky.
Well, all my friends are boppin’ the blues
It must be going ’round
All them cats is boppin’ the blues
It must be going ’round
I love you baby, I must be rhythm bound
Well, the old cat bug bit me, man I don’t feel no pain
Yeah, that jitterbug caught me, man I don’t feel no pain
I still love you baby
But I’ll never be the same
Well, all my friends are boppin’ the blues
It must be going ’round
All my friends are boppin’ the blues
It must be going ’round
I love you baby, but I must be rhythm bound
Well, the doctor told me, Carl you don’t need no pill
Yeah, the doctor told me, boy you don’t need no pill
Just a handful of dimes
The jukebox will cure your ill
I said, all my friends are boppin’ the blues
It must be going ’round
All my friends are boppin’ the blues
It must be going ’round
I love you baby, but I must be rhythm bound
(Get it cats, let’s rock)
[instrumental break]
Well, grandpa done got rhythm
And he threw his crutches down
Oh, the old boy done got rhythm and blues
And he threw that crutches down
Grandma he ain’t triflin’
Well, the old boy’s rhythm bound
All them cats is rockin’ the blues
And it must be going ’round
All my friends are boppin’ the blues
And it must be going ’round
I love you baby, I must be rhythm bound
(Bop, cat, bop!)
Rock, bop, rhythm and blues
Rock, bop, rhythm and blues
Rock, rock, rhythm and blues, bop!
Rock, bop, rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, it must be going ’round
Rock, bop, rhythm and blues
Rock, bop, rhythm and blues
Rock, rock, rhythm and blues, bop!
Rock, bop, rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, it must be going ’round
Source: Lyrics.com
And that’s Song Lyric Sunday and Song of the Day for March 5, 2023.
The Sound of One Hand Typing 
Growing up country we all knew about Carl Perkins. This song is not one I heard often, but it does sound familiar.
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A lot of his songs are built the same way, kind of like Chuck Berry. Compare this song to “Blue Suede Shoes.” Same chord progression…
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Terrific song, John.
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Glad you like it!
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😁
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This is a fun song and you can hear Elvis and many others take this style.
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He was at Sun Records with Johnny Cash, Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Roy Orbison. I think they each picked up something from the others.
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Great choice 💜
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Glad you like it!
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I really did 😃
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I like both of these artists, Perkins is often forgotten as one of the pioneers of Rockabilly and Rock and Roll. Robert Gordon does a great cover, Perkins wrote some great songs.
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The only way I knew of him was through The Beatles. Perkins was a huge influence on George Harrison and, to a lesser extent, Ringo Starr. I love their version of his “Matchbox.” It’s sad he never got the renown that the other Sun artists did. To his eternal credit, Johnny Cash (another Sun artist) used Carl in his band, at a time when Carl hit bottom, or he might still be in obscurity.
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He had a bad car accident just after “Blue Suede Shoes”was released so he lost momentum. Then Elvis cover it and that was it. I think he was in Ringo’s All Star Band for a while.
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🤩
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Gklad you like it!
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Very enjoyable music, thanks for sharing this, John.
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Of course!
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Good catchy sounding song. I don’t remember ever hearing it before, though. 🙂
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It’s one of his more obscure ones, though it did really well on the Country chart back in ’56.
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I’m glad to have heard it today. 🙂
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There is a reason why Elvis was “The King”.
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Definitely!
Did you see the most recent Elvis movie? While the actor who portrayed Elvis was outstanding, I found the movie itself rather upsetting; I couldn’t watch the whole thing. Tom Hanks as Col. Tom Parker was repulsive and a first class son of a bitch. I hated him, which is a testament to Hanks’ incredible talents.
👑
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I have not yet seen it, but I am looking forward to the occasion. I hope it reveals to me the reasons for the incredible hold Col. Parker held over Elvis. None of it has ever made sense to me.
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“Hold” is a good word. It was all that and more. Looking forward to seeing what you think of this movie.
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