Luther Perkins
Luther Perkins | |
---|---|
Birth name | Luther Monroe Perkins, Jr. |
Born | Como, Mississippi, U.S. | January 8, 1928
Died | August 5, 1968 Hendersonville, Tennessee, U.S. | (aged 40)
Genres | Country, rockabilly |
Occupation(s) | Musician |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, baritone guitar |
Years active | 1954–1968 |
Luther Monroe Perkins, Jr. (January 8, 1928 – August 5, 1968) was an American
Early life and musical beginnings
Perkins was born in
Perkins started his career in 1953 as a mechanic at Automobile Sales Company in Memphis. He specialized in electrical systems and radio repairs. At Automobile Sales, Perkins met co-workers Marshall Grant and A.W. 'Red' Kernodle. Grant, Kernodle and Perkins began bringing their guitars to work, and would play together when repair business was slow.[3][4]
When Johnny Cash moved to
"Boom-chicka-boom" style
In order to tone down the sustained bottom end so that it would not compete with the other instruments, Perkins began the practice of muting the three bass strings (E, A and D) with the heel of his right hand, much in the style of Merle Travis, and scratching a rhythm pattern (as heard on Sun Records recordings prior to 1958). This pattern developed into a more defined, varying 1/8-8/5/8-8 picking (with random syncopation) on later Sun recordings and for the rest of Perkins’ career.
In late 1954, when Cash got an audition with producer Sam Phillips at Sun Records, he brought Perkins, Grant and Kernodle along to back him instrumentally. The experience made Kernodle nervous, and he ended up leaving before the session was over, with Perkins and Grant providing the instrumentation.[6]
Perkins, as a member of the
Perkins was Cash's lead guitarist on many of the popular Town Hall Party television appearances in the 1950s, often interacting with one another for stage effect and providing the signature "boom-chick-a-boom" background sound that came to define a large part of Johnny Cash's sound.[9] In his 1997 memoir Cash, the singer recalled, "Keith Richards came to one of our British shows, at a U.S. military base in the early '60s, but he wasn't interested in me; Luther was the one he couldn't wait to watch."[10]
Personal life
Perkins was married twice. He and his first wife, Bertie Lee Moore (1927–2016), separated while they were living in Southern California in 1959. Perkins had three daughters: Linda Kay (1949–2017), Vickie, and Claudia. He later married Margie Higgins; Margie Higgins' niece Kathy lived with them.[11] Margie Perkins Beaver still appears at Johnny Cash reunion events.
His hobbies were knitting, fishing and guitar.
He was a close friend of singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson. At the time of his death, he was planning to open his own music publishing company and give Kristofferson his first break.[12]
Perkins’ younger brother, Thomas, was a successful
In his autobiography, Johnny Cash wrote that Perkins was mildly addicted to
Perkins' nickname since childhood was "L.M" (pronounced "ellem"), the initials of his first and second name "Luther Monroe".[2] Singer-guitarist Carl Perkins, who was also a member of Cash's touring show, was not related to Luther Perkins.[14]
Death
During the early morning hours of August 3, 1968, Perkins returned from fishing on Old Hickory Lake to his newly constructed home on Riverwood Drive, Hendersonville, Tennessee. He allegedly went to sleep in the living room while holding a lit cigarette, even though he hadn’t smoked in years by this time, according to family. His niece, by marriage, awoke around 6:00 am to find the living room aflame and Perkins collapsed near the door, almost dead. An emergency crew rushed Perkins to Vanderbilt University Hospital, where he was kept under intensive care until he died two days later.[15]
He is buried near the graves of Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash at Hendersonville Memorial Park in Hendersonville, Tennessee.[16]
Aftermath and tributes
After Perkins' death, Johnny Cash invited close friend Carl Perkins (no relation to Luther) to fill in as lead guitarist for the band. Perkins would, on and off, remain a part of Cash's touring group for the next decade. In September 1968, Cash hired Bob Wootton, an Arkansas guitar player who had been a lifelong fan of Cash's, as permanent lead guitarist for the group. Apart from a brief respite, Wooton stayed with the band for 29 years until Cash finally retired from touring and performing live in 1997.
In October 1968, almost two months after Luther's death, Cash's hit live album
On Cash's follow-up live album
Luther Perkins was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, as inductee #0230.[19]
Controversy
In 1980, Perkins's daughters from his first marriage filed suit against Johnny Cash for embezzling funds that were to have provided retirement income for Perkins. This lawsuit was filed coincidentally with actions taken by the other founding Tennessee Three member, Marshall Grant, against Cash for wrongfully firing Grant and embezzlement of Grant's retirement funds. Both lawsuits were eventually settled out-of-court.[11]
Walk the Line
In Walk the Line, the 2005 biopic of Johnny Cash, Perkins is portrayed by Dan John Miller. Perkins's future death is alluded to in the film in a bus scene where Cash (played by Joaquin Phoenix) walks past Perkins. Perkins is depicted as asleep with a lit cigarette in his mouth. Cash removes the cigarette and stubs it out in the ashtray in front of Perkins.[20]
References
- ^ Luther Perkins, Soundunwound: The Personal Music Encyclopedia, retrieved 2011-02-05
- ^ ISBN 978-1-84449-414-9
- ^ Top 40 Johnny Cash Moments, About.com, archived from the original on 2012-01-20, retrieved 2011-02-05
- ISBN 978-0-7432-8745-6
- ^ One of Rock 'n Roll's First Music Stores, ScottyMoore.net, retrieved 2011-02-05
- ^ Johnny Cash InfoCenter, archived from the original on 2016-03-03, retrieved 2011-02-05
- ^ W.S."Fluke" Holland-Father of the Drums, retrieved 2010-02-05
- ^ Luther Played The Boogie, Rockabilly Hall of Fame, archived from the original on 2010-10-16, retrieved 2011-02-05
- ^ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Roy Clark - Folsum Prison Blues". YouTube.
- ^ Cash & Carr 1998, p. 149.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-58182-510-7
- ^ ISBN 978-0-06-101357-7
- ^ Thomas Wayne Perkins, So Many Records, So Little Time, retrieved 2011-02-06
- ISBN 978-0-310-22322-1
- ^ Luther Perkins, Tripatlas, archived from the original on 2012-07-21, retrieved 2011-02-05
- ^ Waymarking.com, retrieved 2011-02-05
- ^ CMA Awards 1968: Johnny Cash winning Album of the Year for At Folsom Prison ddc. to Luther Perkins, YouTube, retrieved 2022-04-18
- ^ Starkville City Jail (San Quentin Full Concert), YouTube, retrieved 2011-09-29
- ^ Rockabilly Hall of Fame Inductees, Rockabilly Hall of Fame, archived from the original on 2019-05-18, retrieved 2011-02-05
- ^ Walk The Line-bus cigarette
External links
- Rockabilly Hall Of Fame page Archived 2010-10-16 at the Wayback Machine
- A Luther Perkins Website
- Luther Perkins at Find a Grave