On this day (August 5) in 1968, Luther Perkins died in the intensive care unit at Vanderbilt University Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, after narrowly surviving a house fire on August 3. He is widely remembered as Johnny Cash’s original lead guitarist. He played a major part in developing Cash’s signature sound. His style also laid the foundation for rockabilly.
Perkins’ professional career began and ended with Cash. He wasn’t a musician by trade when the two met. Instead, he was a mechanic who specialized in automotive electronics. He, like his co-workers–Marshall Grant and Red Kernodle–played the guitar as a hobby. They regularly brought their instruments to work and played together when business was slow.
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According to Stories of American Roots Music, the trio met Cash not long after he finished his military service. Noticing that they had music in common, they began getting together to play and sing songs. Before long, they formed a band. Grant moved to bass, Kernodle started playing steel guitar, and Perkins bought an electric guitar.
Luther Perkins Turned Technical Issues Into a Signature Style
Luther Perkins, Marshall Grant, and Red Kernodle had no way of knowing that Johnny Cash was going to be one of the biggest stars in country music. So, they couldn’t justify spending a huge amount of money on new instruments.
Perkins bought a used Fender Esquire. The previous owner had bypassed the tone and volume controls. As a result, the guitar was constantly at full volume with the treble cranked to the max. Instead of rewiring the instrument, he learned to work around it.
Getting creative, he muted the lowest three strings. This helped him avoid competing with Grant’s bass and Cash’s acoustic guitar for sonic space. At the same time, it gave his playing a percussive element that allowed him to scratch out rhythms on the muted strings. This eliminated the need for a drummer in the band’s early days. It also helped Cash’s records stand out from the crowd. His percussive boom-chicka-boom style became Cash’s signature sound.
Luther Perkins left his mark on the music world in two major ways. First, he helped Johnny Cash develop a unique sound that carried him through most of his career. His playing also bridged a gap between early rock and country music, planting the seeds for what would become rockabilly.
Featured Image by Don Paulsen/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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