"Your True Love" is a 1957 song written by Carl Perkins and released as a single on

Sun Records Sun Records is an American independent record label founded by producer Sam Phillips in Memphis, Tennessee in February 1952. Sun was the first label to record Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny ...

. The single was released as a 45 and 78 backed with "

Matchbox Phillumeny (also known as phillumenism) is the hobby of collecting different match-related items: matchboxes, matchbox labels, matchbooks, matchcovers, matchsafes, etc. Matchbox A matchbox is a box made of cardboard or thin wood and designe ...

" in February, 1957. The recording, Sun 261, reached no. 13 on the ''Billboard'' country and western chart and no. 67 on the ''Billboard'' pop singles chart that year. The song was recorded on Tuesday, December 4, 1956 when

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

made a surprise visit to Sun Studios at 706 Union in Memphis, Tennessee. Johnny Cash and

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as " rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis ma ...

also participated in the impromptu jam session that day known as the

Million Dollar Quartet "Million Dollar Quartet" is a recording of an impromptu jam session involving Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash made on December 4, 1956, at the Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. An article about the session ...

. Jerry Lee Lewis also played piano on the recording.

Notable recordings

"Your True Love" was recorded by

Ricky Nelson Eric Hilliard Nelson (May 8, 1940 – December 31, 1985) was an American musician, songwriter and actor. From age eight he starred alongside his family in the radio and television series ''The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet''. In 1957, he bega ...

on his first

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album ''

Ricky Ricky may refer to: Places *Říčky (Brno-Country District), a village and municipality in the Czech Republic *Říčky v Orlických horách, a village in the north of the Czech Republic * Rickmansworth, a town in England sometimes called "Ricky" ...

'' in 1957. Nelson also performed the song on national television on the '' Ozzie and Harriet'' TV series on ABC in 1957 in a performance that featured

Joe Maphis Otis Wilson "Joe" Maphis (May 12, 1921 – June 27, 1986), was an American country music guitarist. He married singer Rose Lee Maphis in 1953 and they performed together, later referred to as "Mr & Mrs Country Music". One of the flashiest co ...

on guitar. Terry Wayne released the song as a single in the UK in September 1957 on Columbia as DB 4002. Caesar and the Romans released the song as a 45 A side single in 1960 on Hi Note as 602-A. Bob & Shirley and the Valiants released "Your True Love" as a 45 single on the Band Box label as 225 in 1960.

Chris Isaak Christopher Joseph Isaak (born June 26, 1956) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional actor. He is widely known for his breakthrough hit and signature song " Wicked Game", as well as other songs such as "Blue Hotel", " Baby ...

recorded the song on his 2011 album '' Beyond the Sun'' as a bonus track. Jumpin' Gene Simmons released the song as a single in 1961 on Hi Records, SP HI 45-2034.

The Brian Setzer Orchestra The Brian Setzer Orchestra (sometimes known by its initials BSO) is a swing and jump blues band formed in 1990 by Stray Cats frontman Brian Setzer. In 1998, for their breakout album '' The Dirty Boogie'', the group covered Louis Prima's " Jump, ...

has also recorded the song in 1994 on the album ''

''. The Beatniks recorded the song in 1989. The Refreshments recorded the song in 2008. George Harrison has performed the song as well.

The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

performed and recorded the song on January 3, 1969 at the ''Get Back''/'' Let It Be'' sessions in Twickenham film studios in London with

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

on lead vocals. Carl Perkins performed the song on the ''Ranch Party'' syndicated TV show in 1957. Perkins also performed the song on the 1985 HBO/Cinemax concert special '' Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session'' with George Harrison, Dave Edmunds, and members of the

Stray Cats Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles in th ...

. The song appeared on the 1986

Rhino Records A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...

compilation ''Carl Perkins: Original Sun Greatest Hits''. In 1998, George Harrison paid tribute to Perkins by performing an impromptu version of the song at Perkins' funeral.

Personnel

*Carl Perkins — vocals and lead electric guitar *Jerry Lee Lewis — piano *Jay Perkins — acoustic rhythm guitar *Clayton Perkins — bass *W.S. "Fluke" Holland — drums

References

Sources

*Perkins, Carl, and McGee, David. Go, Cat, Go!: The Life and Times of Carl Perkins, The King of Rockabilly. Hyperion Press, 1996. *Morrison, Craig. Go Cat Go!: Rockabilly Music and Its Makers. University of Illinois Press, 1998.
The Carl Perkins Sun Collection.
*Guterman, Jimmy. (1998.) "Carl Perkins." In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 412–413. *Naylor, Jerry; Halliday, Steve. The Rockabilly Legends: They Called It Rockabilly Long Before They Called It Rock and Roll. Milwaukee, Wisc.: Hal Leonard. . OCLC 71812792. {{Carl Perkins 1957 songs Carl Perkins songs Songs written by Carl Perkins