Matchbox (song)

"Matchbox" is a rock and roll and rockabilly song written by Carl Perkins and first recorded by him at Sun Records in December of 1956 and released on February 11, 1957 as a 45 single on Sun Records. It has become one of Perkins' best-known recordings. The song "Match Box Blues" has a long history, including the 12-bar blues recorded by Blind Lemon Jefferson in 1927. Perkins' "Matchbox" was has been followed by many cover versions, notably by The Beatles.

Perkins' Matchbox

On December 4, 1956 Carl Perkins recorded a song titled "Matchbox". After recording "Your True Love", Carl's father Buck suggested that Carl do "Matchbox Blues". Buck knew only a few of the lines of the song. That verse was from one of the 1927 recordings by Blind Lemon Jefferson, which Buck had likely heard either in the cotton fields or on the radio, and Carl had heard his father sing the lyric, but had never heard the complete song as sung by Jefferson. As Carl sang the few words his father had suggested. Jerry Lee Lewis, who was at that time a session piano player at Sun Studios, began a restrained boogie-woogie riff. Carl began picking out a melody on the guitar and improvised lyrics.

Carl Perkins released "Matchbox" on February 11, 1957 as the B side to the Sun 45 "Your True Love", Sun 261, published and copyrighted by Knox Music, Inc., BMI U-231. The music is totally original and has nothing to do with any earlier traditional and public domain versions of "Match Box Blues". Carl Perkins merely used a line from the earlier song but wrote entirely new lyrics. Carl Perkins and his band performed "Matchbox" live on the Ranch Party television show in 1958 and on the Town Hall Party television series. In the Ranch Party performance, Perkins added the lyrics "Talk to me little box, Let's go now, Let's go."

"Matchbox" was included on the Carl Perkins Dance Album on Sun Records, known as Sun SLP-1225, Dance Album of Carl Perkins, which was re-released in 1961 as Teen Beat: The Best of Carl Perkins. A British version of the Dance Album was released in the UK as Dance Album/Blue Suede Shoes on London HA-S 2202. The Beatles most likely first heard "Matchbox" on either the U.S. or British versions of the Carl Perkins Dance Album on Sun Records.

The "Your True Love" b/w "Matchbox" single by Carl Perkins on Sun Records reached no. 13 on the Country and Western chart and no. 67 on the pop chart. Both sides were produced by Sam Phillips. Carl Perkins played a 1956 Gibson ES-5 Switchmaster guitar, known as "the Matchbox guitar", for the "Matchbox" sessions. Jerry Lee Lewis played piano on the songs on both sides of the single. Ricky Nelson covered the A side, "Your True Love", on his first album for Imperial "Ricky", released in November, 1957. During the "Your True Love/Matchbox" sessions at Sun Studios in 1956, Elvis Presley visited the studio and jammed with Perkins, Lewis, and Johnny Cash, in what came to be known as the Million Dollar Quartet.

Perkins maintains that he had never heard Jefferson's "Match Box Blues" when he recorded "Matchbox". Jefferson's song is about a mean spirited woman. Carl's was about a lovelorn "poor boy" with limited prospects.

Perkins' father may also have heard the song as done by country musicians the Shelton Brothers, who recorded the song twice in the 1930s, and again in 1947.

Although Jefferson was first to record his versions of "Match Box Blues", Ma Rainey used the following lines in a 1923 recording of "Lost Wandering Blues:" I'm leaving this morning , with my clothes in my hand I won't stop to wandering , till I find my man I'm sitting here wondering, will a matchbox hold my clothes I've got a *sun to beat* , I'll be farther beyond the road

In "Screening the Blues", Paul Oliver acknowledged that both Rainey and Jefferson "may have absorbed [the line] from traditional usage."

Match Box Blues in General

The song consists mainly of traditional blues lyrics, including the initial verse:

"I'm sittin' here wonderin', will a matchbox hold my clothes (2X)

"I ain't got no matches but I still got a long way to go."

This verse is the only one common to all versions of the song.

An extensive history of this song begins at this url:

Samples of the many versions of MatchBox Blues can be heard at this url:

The Beatles

The Beatles, being fans of Perkins, began performing the song circa 1961. Their then-drummer, Pete Best, performed the lead vocals, but no studio recording featuring Best doing the song is known to exist. In 1962, John Lennon sang the song during a performance at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; a recording of this exists and was included on Live! at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany; 1962.

The next year, The Beatles performed "Matchbox" with Ringo Starr on lead vocals for their BBC radio show, and this version would be included on the Live at the BBC album. Starr also got to sing lead vocals on it when it was recorded in 1964. There are suggestions that Perkins may have been present in the studio at that time. As was usually the case, all instruments on the song are played by The Beatles themselves, with the exception of the piano, which was played by producer George Martin. George Harrison plays 12-string rhythm guitar, while Lennon plays the lead guitar riffs and solo. (Starr even says on the "Live at the BBC" version, "All right, John!") It appeared on the Long Tall Sally EP in the United Kingdom and the Something New album in the United States, and was also the B-side of the American "Slow Down" single, released on 24 August 1964, which reached no. 17 on the Billboard pop singles chart.

This song is possibly the only Beatles song to have had three different lead vocalists for their renditions of it.

Numerous other artists have recorded their own versions of "Matchbox", including Ronnie Hawkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. In Sam Cooke's live version, he interjects, "Can you see me putting all my clothes in a little old matchbox?"

Paul McCartney plays the song during his soundchecks and played them at his recent "secret gigs" promoting his new album. McCartney released his version of "Matchbox" on the Tripping the Live Fantastic live album.

George Harrison sang lead and played lead guitar on a performance of the Carl Perkins song in the late 1980s with Bob Dylan, John Fogerty, Jesse Ed Davis, and Taj Mahal as "The Silver Wilburys". Harrison played the Carl Perkins-composed music based on the 1957 Sun single and sang two verses of the lyrics written by Carl Perkins, ad libbing the lines, "I'm sittin' here wonderin' will Bob Dylan hold my clothes." Pete Best, Ringo Starr, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and George Harrison have all performed the Carl Perkins song and have sung lead on it. John Lennon sang lead on a version released on The Lost Lennon Tapes in the 1980s. "Matchbox" was also on a segment of The Beatles ABC Saturday morning cartoon show in the 1960s.

Bob Dylan recorded a version of the Carl Perkins song in 1969 and sang lead on a duet of the song with Carl Perkins in 1994, which is available on Youtube. Bob Dylan also recorded a version of the Perkins song in 1970 in sessions with George Harrison at Columbia Studios.

Jerry Lee Lewis recorded a version of the Carl Perkins song on his first Sun LP in 1958, including it on a Sun Ep as well, Sun EPA-110. Ronnie Hawkins, with Duane Allman on lead guitar, recorded a version of the Carl Perkins song.

Eric Clapton, Johnny Cash, and Carl Perkins performed the song on the Johnny Cash TV show in 1970 when Derek & the Dominos were guests. Eric Clapton also performed "Matchbox" on the cable TV special A Rockabilly Session with Carl Perkins on the 30th anniversary of the release of "Blue Suede Shoes" in 1985.

Willie Nelsom recorded "Matchbox" in a duet with Carl Perkins that appeared on the Go Cat Go! album.

It has been reported that Elvis Presley was considering making "Matchbox" a part of his Las Vegas comeback repertoire in the late 1960s and that he rehearsed the song for possible inclusion in his concert set. He based his version on the Carl Perkins and The Beatles recordings.

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