The Story of Blue Suede Shoes.

 

After having posted about the Boots Made for Walking in November, I came to think about other shoe related songs. And this came to my mind, Blue Suede Shoes. Immediately I started wonder what kind of shoes they are exactly. Our dearest Internet gave me the answer and led me to a nice story about the origins of this song.

The Daily Apple -blog summarized so fine the story behind the famous song, that I am borrowing the lines from there.

I thought that Elvis is the man behind this song, but no, Carl Perkins wrote it.

• We all know Elvis Presley performed the song, but Carl Perkins is the guy who wrote it. He got the idea from Johnny Cash.
• Cash told Perkins about an Air Force sergeant he used to know was rather particular about his appearance. He used to say, jokingly, "Just don't step on my blue suede shoes!" The reason this was a joke was because he'd be wearing his Air Force uniform at the time, with his regulation-issued shoes.
• Cash thought this was a good line for a song, but Perkins didn't have any idea what to do with it. Not long afterward, he was performing at a dance when he heard a boy tell the girl he was dancing with, "Uh-uh! Don't step on my blue suedes!" He thought it was pretty incredible that the boy would care more about his shoes than the girl, and that's what made the song start to click in his head.

If you like to read the long version of the "Shoes"-story you can turn to these sources:
Wikipedia - Blue Suede Shoes
Squidoo, Elvis Songs: Blue Suede Shoes
Songfacts, Blue Suede Shoes by Carl Perkins
Rockabilly Hall of Fame, Blue Suede Shoes: Chronology of a Hit

Curious as I am, I checked both versions on YouTube, Carl Perkins and Elvis. And it can't be helped, Elvis pulls the longer straw. While Carl Perkins feels like an uncle playing guitar and singing along, Elvis is pure energy and rhythm. Great song and if you think it, a funny one too!
You can do anything but lay off of on my blue suede shoes. Yeah!



On weekend I visited a shoe store and to my big surprise there were blue suede shoes for men. Almost same style than the originals. I wouldn't mind having a pair of blue suede shoes myself.
Finally: Is there anybody remembering another shoe related songs? Please let me know if you can think of any.