It was Carl ‘King of Rockabilly’ Perkins who proclaimed “they called it rockabilly long before they called it rock and roll,” and more than 50 years after the scene exploded around the Tennessee pioneer and changed the musical landscape forever, one of its integral figures has lovingly pieced together a lasting tribute.
Entitled, The Rockabilly Legends, Jerry Naylor’s deluxe collection features a tantalising array of CDs, interviews, collectables and live albums plus a colour hardback book and a three-hour, two-DVD documentary, which charts the rise of such seminal artists as Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Buddy Holly and Perkins himself.There’s no doubt Naylor was certainly in the box seat in order to make this happen too. A radio DJ from the tender age of 14 who experienced a musical awakening after dropping the needle on Elvis Presley’s 1954 recording of That’s All Right (Mama), the Texan would go on to tentatively take the place of Holly as lead singer in The Crickets following his death in a plane crash.
They went on to achieve huge acclaim before he left the band in 1965 and Naylor has dedicated the intervening years to writing, recording, TV work and producing, but in the most heart-warming tale to emerge from the project, he repeatedly put off the Legends project after a serious car accident left him unable to perform. Several back operations later and the boy from Erath County was finally well enough to return to the studio to lay down his own heartfelt tribute at the turn of the millennium, recording tracks for the Legends tribute albums.
But perhaps the centre point of the project is the accompanying documentary. Hosted alongside renowned Canadian DJ Red Robinson, fellow contributor and country star Kris Kristofferson was enthralled when he finally got sent a copy: “I settled in and watched the entire thing, and I was captivated. It brought back a lot of good memories of a lot of good friends like Cash, Lewis, Cowboy Jack Clement, Perkins and Charlie Rich. I also learned a few things along the way. I’m happy Jerry Naylor invited me to help preserve the rich rockabilly legacy.”
Already a huge success in the US, the Legends collection will get its UK release later this summer with a series of live theatre shows set to follow. More than 55 years after it all started at Memphis’ Sun Records, rockabilly’s time in the sun has come again.