Musical Interlude: Blue Suede Shoes (1968-85)

 Taken from American Bandstand's 33 1/3 Anniversary Celebration:

Dick Clark, and a few of his closest friends, decided to pay tribute to Elvis Presley with an all-star jam built around a 1968 TV performance of "Blue Suede Shoes". The only problem was that the song's author, Carl Perkins, was not invited.

The on stage band included some top names in jazz (Stanley Clarke, George Duke, Chuck Mangione, Tom Scott, Lee Ritenour), country (Charlie Daniels, Ricky Skaggs, and TV's Dukes of Hazzard, Tom Wopat & John Schneider), and artists who were on the charts at the time, including Lee Rocker (Stray Cats), Rindy Ross (Quarterflash), Tommy Shaw (Styx, later with Damn Yankees), Stephen Stills, Teena Marie, and Mick Fleetwood (Fleetwood Mac).

Bringing in Perkins and some other Sun Records alumni, including Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis, would've made sense, too.

Presley would've been 87 today, and there are tributes all over the place. This is our contribution.