 As early as 1952, Bill Haley and his group the Saddlemen employed the slapped bass sound, which was to become the hallmark of the rockabilly style. Perkins, a country boy like Williams, sang in a pure hillbilly manner. In fact, his very first release, "Turn Around" (1955), on the Flip label, was classic hillbilly, owing much to his affinity for the Hank Williams style. From the very same session came "Gone Gone Gone" (1955), which combined Perkins' hillbilly style with a primitive rockabilly rhythm. Another ingredient in the rockabilly mix, rhythm & blues, owes much to Sam Phillips. Forming the Memphis Recording Service in 1950, Phillips initially recorded what was to become a virtual 'who's who of bluesmen,' namely: Junior Parker, Bobby Bland, Little Milton, Howlin' Wolf, Walter Horton, James Cotton and many more. Phillips' use of flutter echo and over-amplification created a stark, primitive sound that he later adapted to his efforts with country artists.
Interestingly, it was a guitar riff from Junior Parker a "Love My Baby" (1953) in Elvis Presley's 1955 version of "Mystery Train" (also a Parker original) that positively forms a link between the country and rhythm & blues styles. Indeed, it was Presley's historic Sun recordings that crystallized the emerging rockabilly style and laid the groundwork for Phillips pioneering efforts at his tiny studio in Memphis. Over the next four years Phillips recorded countless rockabilly artists, none had greater importance than Carl Perkins.
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