Everything’s coming up sevens today.
1927: Blind Lemon Jefferson writes today’s tune as “Matchbox Blues.”
1957: Carl Perkins rewrites it as a rockabilly tune.
7″: The vinyl format on which the Beatles release this tune in 1964, with Ringo Starr on the vocals.
1977: Sleepy LaBeef, national treasure, covers it on Feb. 5 at Singleton Sound Studio in Nashville.
1997: Charly Records issues Sleepy’s version of this tune on a 26-song collection of his recordings from … the ’70s.
2007: You get to hear Sleepy’s cover of “Matchbox.” He’s pretty revved up, as is Terry Duncan, who’s pounding away on the piano. Some nice guitar on this one, too, by Sleepy, Cliff Parker and Bucky Meadows.
“Matchbox,” Sleepy LaBeef, from “A Rockin’ Decade,” 1997.
— Here’s another cover: While researching this post, I came across this fascinating piece of video:
“Matchbox,” by Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton and Carl Perkins, from “The Johnny Cash Show” DVD, 2007.
It’s probably from around 1970. On the show, Clapton played first with Derek and the Dominos for one song, then joined Cash and Perkins. The entire clip is here.
AM, Then FM 