Luther Perkins, Forgotten Tele Man!

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

On another thread there was a Topic about Telecaster players and I was the only one who mentioned Luther Perkins! Sometimes I think we get lost in the fast, flashy, hot pickin' and lose respect for other stuff which in it's own right is great! I think ol' Luther did as much for Johnny Cash's sound as Scotty Moore ever did for Elvis. Those old Sun records are sheer works of art! Can you imagine Folsom Prison Blues or I walk the Line without Luther's guitar work. I'd heard that he couldn't play very well and that may be true, but the stuff he did really helped define the Johnny Cash sound. If you can score a copy, listen to Get Rhythm, Home of the Blues, Hey Porter, Next in Line, or any of those old classics. This stuff was so dang simple a guy could duplicate a lot of it after playing guitar for only a month or so. But to this day as many times in my life as I've played Folsom Prison Blues I've never had the urge to change the intro, backup, rides, or ending the least little bit. Why do it? It's perfect!!!!!

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Have a good one! JH U-12

Tim Harr · From: Dunlap, Illinois

Who forgot Luther...not me!!

He was occassionally a Tele player.........but those "in the know" will tell you that for the majority of his career with the Tennessee 2 then 3 he played an Esquire.

FYI

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

I always hate to offend "Those in the Know" whoever they are. I was just looking at some old photos of J.Cash & the Tennessee two and it looks like there's a chrome front pickup on that guitar. "Those in the Know" would call that a Telecaster as the Esquire only had the bridge pickup! But none of that has anything to do with the contributions Luther Perkins made to the history of Country Music. I hope "Those in the Know" can appreciate this fact!

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Have a good one! JH U-12

Tim Harr · From: Dunlap, Illinois

Luther used both I have also seen him with a Fender Jazzmaster.

Some early and mid 60s JC tracks featured James Burton (on Tele) doing the "Luther Thing" and dobro also. These were the James Burton Dobro tracks where he used a zippo lighter instead of a dobro bar.....Luther died in Early 1968 in a house fire.
God Rest His Soul.

tim

Jason Odd · From: Stawell, Victoria, Australia

When Johnny Cash was based on the West coast, I'm pretty sure that he went with the Tennessee Three {or Two at the time?}, to Fullerton, to check out Fender.
I'm pretty sure that they {like Gene Vincent and the 1958 Blue Caps}, were given Fender everything!
Why.....just paying them was an endorsement in those days.
Pretty cool actually.
Some of the Western Swing artists got similar treatment about ten years before, still you had to pay for them steels I believe.

Jerry, 'I Walk The Line', just blows me away.
If I weas going to send something into space to represent humanity, man..that song would do the job for me.

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Janice Brooks · From: Pleasant Gap Pa

A few months ago i got Johnny Cash's Sun sessions
and it almost blew me away.

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Janice "Busgal" Brooks
ICQ 44729047

Jim Bob Sedgwick · From: Clinton, Missouri USA

Good thread Jerry! I remember talking to Al Bruno about this very same thing. I'll never forget what Al said: Luther Perkins is as much a stylist as Chet Atkins is. Just as Ralph Mooney is a stylist. I guess it just depends on what you like to hear. Thank the Lord we don't all like the same thing. Just think how long the line would be to obtain it!

[This message was edited by Jim Bob Sedgwick on 19 March 2000 at 09:35 PM.]

[This message was edited by Jim Bob Sedgwick on 19 March 2000 at 09:36 PM.]

Jerry Hayes · From: Virginia Beach, Va.

Thanks Jim Bob,
That validates it for me! Al is the hero to so many LA guitar players (especially me) and I'm glad he feels like that. I learned how to play the guitar parts to I Walk the Line before I could even play the chords. That's how simple Luther's playing was. I've heard other renditions of Cash songs and I hate to keep beating a dead horse but Luther's guitar makes the definitive version on all those tunes no matter who might record them in the future. Hey JB say Hi to Bobby B. for me! Bobby, if you see this why don't you post your tuning on the Forum for us. I think it'd be appreciated by a lot of the members!
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Have a good one! JH U-12

[This message was edited by Jerry Hayes on 20 March 2000 at 09:44 AM.]

Neil Hilton · From: Lexington, Kentucky

you bet regarding Luther - I was born and raised on a steady diet of my mom and daddy's
collection centered with a core of Merle, Buck, and John R. Cash.... and the hook for me was always
the great work of Roy Nichols, Don Rich, and Luther Perkins. The differences in style and
approach of each of these guys made a great collective impression on me as a kid, I appreciate
each of them with equal reverence.

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