Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis 1957 Sun Records Rockabilly Concert Poster....

Description

Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis 1957 Sun Records Rockabilly Concert Poster. An original cardboard window card advertising three Sun Records recording stars playing at a grammar-school gymnasium in Union City, Tennessee on Saturday night, January 5, 1957. The show is headlined by Carl Perkins, on the strength of his world-changing hit "Blue Suede Shoes" from the previous year. Second-billed is Sun's rockabilly artist Warren Smith, who was discovered by Perkins and never tore up the charts for Sun but is considered an important early influence. And what can you say about "New Sensation" Jerry Lee Lewis... "Crazy Arms" was only a local hit that didn't chart nationally, but in three months he'd release "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On" and rock 'n' roll would never be the same. Measures a shade under 14" x 22" and grades to Very Good condition. COA from Heritage Auctions.

More Information: This is a scarce example of a mid-1950's rock 'n' roll concert poster that actually states "Rock and Roll Show" on it, as if to explain the nature of the music being presented. This poster was surely printed in late 1956, Elvis' first year, so the genre was still jarringly new and being heavily embraced by teenagers only.

Perkins was headlining on more than just "Blue Suede Shoes"... he'd had two other Top 10 country hits in '56, "Boppin' the Blues" and "Dixie Fried." (Hardly just C&W music; more like pure rockabilly.) Warren Smith's "Rock 'n' Roll Ruby" was his first single on Sun from spring '56 and did not chart, but he emerged to national prominence in 1960-61 with a couple of Top 10 country hits.

And it's way fun that this poster states "Crazy Arms" (a Ray Price cover) for Jerry Lee Lewis, because that was his debut Sun Records single from only December, so the release of that 45 and the printing of this poster might've been five minutes apart. Heck, he'd only auditioned for Sun in November. Want something else cool in the mix? The famous "Million Dollar Quartet" summit meeting between Elvis, Johnny Cash, Perkins and Lewis took place on... December 4.

Although concert posters never said it, don't forget that the Killer's singles on Sun Records in this era were credited to "Jerry Lee Lewis and His Pumping Piano."

Condition details: Poster was once quarter-folded down to fit into Hatch Show Print's filing cabinets. The horizontal crease is widespread through "Carl Perkins" and although the red isn't usually broken, the sheer number of creases make them quite visible. Where the color gets broken is on the vertical crease in the poster's top half: through all of the yellow and through the letters "J," "S," "R" and "U," and a little bit of the "P" in "Perkins." In the lower half, it also hits the "R" in "Roll" and the first "E" in "Lee." Other than that, just very lightly bumped corners and the expected light toning from the passage of six decades. Also a little bit of grime in the top margin above "L" and "Grammar," and a few little surface marks at the bottom around "Jerry."

On the verso, the creases have not been reinforced and the horizontal fold, in particular, has broken the cardboard all the way across and weakened the board's structural integrity. So it flexes easily but lies flat nicely and this problem would vanish if it were framed. One could apply their own strong tape over these creases and considerably strengthen this window card. Also, "57" is written in pen in one of the corners, presumably by Hatch.


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