{"id":477097,"date":"2026-02-19T03:57:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T03:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/477097\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T03:57:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T03:57:10","slug":"how-a-freak-accident-nearly-incapacitated-blue-suede-shoes-songwriter-carl-perkins-a-decade-after-his-major-hit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/477097\/","title":{"rendered":"How a Freak Accident Nearly Incapacitated \u201cBlue Suede Shoes\u201d Songwriter Carl Perkins a Decade After His Major Hit"},"content":{"rendered":"

For all of the perks of being a career musician, there are plenty of worksite hazards to consider. Electric instruments, amplifiers, and a venue\u2019s wiring don\u2019t always mix. Constant travel statistically puts musicians at greater risk en route to their jobs. But for \u201cBlue Suede Shoes\u201d singer-songwriter Carl Perkins<\/a>, the workplace accident that almost ended his career in a few, fleeting seconds came from a danger not many of us would suspect: a nearby fan.<\/p>\n

Perkins was performing on a trailer stage in a courthouse yard one balmy Tennessee day in 1962. A well-meaning event organizer put a fan next to the stage to help keep the musicians cool while they played. But with no guard on the metal fan, it was one misplaced arm or guitar neck away from becoming a blender or a wood chipper, respectively.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately for Perkins, it was the former. While taking his guitar off to take a bow to the audience, Perkins unknowingly put his hand too close to the guardless fan. \u201cWiped the whole hand out,\u201d he later told Musician magazine, per Guitar Player<\/a>. \u201cThe fingers were just danglin\u2019, hangin\u2019 off.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carl Perkins Almost Lost His Life in This Freak Fan Accident<\/p>\n

As Carl Perkins<\/a> suggested to Musician, the hand injury he sustained from the rotating fan blades was swift and significant. With fingers dangling, Perkins wrapped his hand in a towel and immediately set off toward the nearest hospital, which was 60 miles away. Based on his description of his hand en route to the hospital, it\u2019s likely that Perkins severed his radial artery\u2014the vessel that supplies blood to the thumb and index finger and the one used to take one\u2019s pulse at their wrist. This detail turned a painful accident into a near-fatal disaster.<\/p>\n

With each beat of Perkins\u2019 heart, more blood poured out of his hand. \u201cBlood filled the floorboards and was running out the back doors,\u201d he later said. Perkins said he began to fade out of consciousness as blue and purple swirls of color took over his vision. \u201cI went through that passing from life. I was just floatin\u2019 like a feather through those beautiful colors.<\/p>\n

Once Perkins arrived at the hospital and a surgeon assessed his injuries, the doctor recommended he amputate the severed fingers. Perkins\u2019 wife, however, insisted he try to save his hand, knowing the devastating consequences such a decision would have on her husband\u2019s career. When Perkins woke up from surgery, he saw that his wife\u2019s pleas had paid off. He still had his hand, albeit wrapped in a heavy cast.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was happy to have a thumb left,\u201d Perkins remembered. \u201cI tuned my guitar in open E, laid it across my lap, and picked with the end of my thumb with that big cast on.\u201d Perkins eventually began playing again, although he lost his dexterity in his pinky. Still, four out of five fingers after a mishap like that ain\u2019t too bad.<\/p>\n

Photo by Val Wilmer\/Redferns\/Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"For all of the perks of being a career musician, there are plenty of worksite hazards to consider.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":477098,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[143272,88,216,2156],"class_list":{"0":"post-477097","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-carl-perkins","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-music","11":"tag-rock-music"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=477097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/477098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=477097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=477097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=477097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}