Biography
Jack Earls’ initial years in the music business illustrate how Sam Phillips and Sun Records drew from a far broader reservoir of talent than the celebrated quartet of Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Nearly all of Earls’ recordings remained unissued, yet they stand alongside the strongest material the label ever released, while his later activities confirm that occasional cosmic fairness exists: twenty-five years after Presley’s death, Earls was performing in Las Vegas. As one of the earliest rockabilly acts signed to Sun, Earls was present while Presley established the blueprint for fusing hillbilly music with rock & roll, although Earls’ own influence proved quieter. Unlike Presley, Earls remained at Sun for only a single release, “Slow Down,” which nevertheless enjoyed solid regional sales. Contemporary reports also place him in the studio on the day Presley recorded “Mystery Train,” after which Earls reportedly hurried home to retrieve his copy of the single so the Hillbilly Cat could learn the lyrics.
Born August 23, 1932, in Woodbury, Tennessee, Earls was one of seven children and spent most of his youth on a Manchester farm. Exposure to the farm owners’ instrumental playing and singing, combined with his mother’s encouragement, nurtured an early affection for country music and a personal urge to perform. At sixteen he began playing guitar; by seventeen he had relocated to Memphis. He assembled his first band as early as 1949, yet full-time musical pursuits were deferred by marriage in 1950 and the demands of a growing family by the mid-1950s. Still intent on earning a living through country music, Earls formed a new group in 1954 that included Johnny Black—brother of bassist Bill Black—on guitar. The ensemble worked local bars and roadhouses performing hillbilly material, one among hundreds of such acts in the Memphis vicinity. Spending ten dollars to cut a demo at Sam Phillips’ Memphis Recording Service in the summer of 1955 brought Earls to the producer’s attention; Phillips admired the original “A Fool for Lovin’ You” and Earls’ vocal style but insisted a different band would be required for any official session.
Earls and Johnny Black remained together, with Black switching to upright bass, while Warren Gregory joined on lead guitar and Danny Wahlquist on drums. Their initial session produced a finished take of “Lovin’ You” and introduced another Earls original, “Hey Jim,” which Phillips preferred for the A-side. Earls then presented a third original that the producer favored even more. “Slow Down” reportedly prompted Phillips to leap with excitement during the Sun session, and it supplanted “Hey Jim” as the A-side even though Phillips had already renamed the band the Jimbos to exploit anticipated interest in that song. The record reportedly sold between forty and fifty thousand copies without charting, generating sufficient local and regional airplay to perform adequately as a Memphis-area release. Greater national success may have been hindered by Earls’ bakery job, which limited touring to venues near Memphis. Disc jockeys as far away as Texas aired the single and expressed willingness to book Earls & the Jimbos for live appearances had the group traveled to the Lone Star State.
The twenty-five hundred dollars Earls earned from “Slow Down” sales constituted his only compensation, as Phillips declined to issue additional material. Earls continued to frequent the studio, including the occasion when Presley worked on “Mystery Train,” and accumulated enough sides for a full album, none of which Sun released—possibly because Phillips recognized that Earls could offer only minimal promotional support beyond a handful of local engagements. Decades later, the unreleased tracks still astonish: loose, high-energy renditions of “Crawdad Hole,” tender ballads such as “If You Don’t Mind” and “A Fool for Lovin’ You,” and frantic numbers like “Let’s Bop.” Warren Gregory’s agile lead guitar work recalls Karl Farr, while Earls’ urgent vocal delivery remains the dominant force. “Sign on the Dotted Line” evokes Gene Vincent traversing rural Tennessee; “When I Dream” features refined guitar and drum accompaniment that might have suited Elvis Presley’s repertoire or been attempted by Tony Bennett or Bobby Darin; the stark “Take Me to That Place” draws from Earls’ observations of an institution for the mentally ill that he passed while making deliveries; and the spare “My Gal Mary Ann” highlights muted guitar and drums beneath Earls’ powerful, countrified tenor, suggesting Carl Perkins with an added wild edge. All were originals, and their publishing potential alone might have yielded substantial returns.
Earls’ Sun contract concluded in January 1957, effectively ending his recording career despite subsequent offers from Meteor Records and King Records. He continued occasional performances until 1963, when he relocated to Detroit and spent the following decades on a Chrysler assembly line, supporting his family while Presley’s career rose, fell, and recovered, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins navigated crises, and Johnny Cash became an emblematic voice for working people. Sporadic 1970s recording attempts produced the singles “Take Me to That Place” b/w “Mississippi Man,” “She Sure Can Rock Me” b/w “Crawdad Hole,” and “Flip Flop and Fly” b/w “Rock Bop.”
In the 1990s, after four decades of part-time musical activity, Earls finally received overdue recognition. European—and especially British—enthusiasm for early American rock & roll and rockabilly brought him to the United Kingdom, where audiences greeted him as a major figure. His Sun recordings were first compiled on an LP by Bear Family Records and later, in the 1990s, on the Charly Records CD Hey Slim, Let’s Bop, a collection considered nearly as indispensable as Presley’s own Sun output. Since then Earls has performed stateside and appeared in Las Vegas alongside Janis Martin and other first-generation rockabilly survivors.
Born August 23, 1932, in Woodbury, Tennessee, Earls was one of seven children and spent most of his youth on a Manchester farm. Exposure to the farm owners’ instrumental playing and singing, combined with his mother’s encouragement, nurtured an early affection for country music and a personal urge to perform. At sixteen he began playing guitar; by seventeen he had relocated to Memphis. He assembled his first band as early as 1949, yet full-time musical pursuits were deferred by marriage in 1950 and the demands of a growing family by the mid-1950s. Still intent on earning a living through country music, Earls formed a new group in 1954 that included Johnny Black—brother of bassist Bill Black—on guitar. The ensemble worked local bars and roadhouses performing hillbilly material, one among hundreds of such acts in the Memphis vicinity. Spending ten dollars to cut a demo at Sam Phillips’ Memphis Recording Service in the summer of 1955 brought Earls to the producer’s attention; Phillips admired the original “A Fool for Lovin’ You” and Earls’ vocal style but insisted a different band would be required for any official session.
Earls and Johnny Black remained together, with Black switching to upright bass, while Warren Gregory joined on lead guitar and Danny Wahlquist on drums. Their initial session produced a finished take of “Lovin’ You” and introduced another Earls original, “Hey Jim,” which Phillips preferred for the A-side. Earls then presented a third original that the producer favored even more. “Slow Down” reportedly prompted Phillips to leap with excitement during the Sun session, and it supplanted “Hey Jim” as the A-side even though Phillips had already renamed the band the Jimbos to exploit anticipated interest in that song. The record reportedly sold between forty and fifty thousand copies without charting, generating sufficient local and regional airplay to perform adequately as a Memphis-area release. Greater national success may have been hindered by Earls’ bakery job, which limited touring to venues near Memphis. Disc jockeys as far away as Texas aired the single and expressed willingness to book Earls & the Jimbos for live appearances had the group traveled to the Lone Star State.
The twenty-five hundred dollars Earls earned from “Slow Down” sales constituted his only compensation, as Phillips declined to issue additional material. Earls continued to frequent the studio, including the occasion when Presley worked on “Mystery Train,” and accumulated enough sides for a full album, none of which Sun released—possibly because Phillips recognized that Earls could offer only minimal promotional support beyond a handful of local engagements. Decades later, the unreleased tracks still astonish: loose, high-energy renditions of “Crawdad Hole,” tender ballads such as “If You Don’t Mind” and “A Fool for Lovin’ You,” and frantic numbers like “Let’s Bop.” Warren Gregory’s agile lead guitar work recalls Karl Farr, while Earls’ urgent vocal delivery remains the dominant force. “Sign on the Dotted Line” evokes Gene Vincent traversing rural Tennessee; “When I Dream” features refined guitar and drum accompaniment that might have suited Elvis Presley’s repertoire or been attempted by Tony Bennett or Bobby Darin; the stark “Take Me to That Place” draws from Earls’ observations of an institution for the mentally ill that he passed while making deliveries; and the spare “My Gal Mary Ann” highlights muted guitar and drums beneath Earls’ powerful, countrified tenor, suggesting Carl Perkins with an added wild edge. All were originals, and their publishing potential alone might have yielded substantial returns.
Earls’ Sun contract concluded in January 1957, effectively ending his recording career despite subsequent offers from Meteor Records and King Records. He continued occasional performances until 1963, when he relocated to Detroit and spent the following decades on a Chrysler assembly line, supporting his family while Presley’s career rose, fell, and recovered, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins navigated crises, and Johnny Cash became an emblematic voice for working people. Sporadic 1970s recording attempts produced the singles “Take Me to That Place” b/w “Mississippi Man,” “She Sure Can Rock Me” b/w “Crawdad Hole,” and “Flip Flop and Fly” b/w “Rock Bop.”
In the 1990s, after four decades of part-time musical activity, Earls finally received overdue recognition. European—and especially British—enthusiasm for early American rock & roll and rockabilly brought him to the United Kingdom, where audiences greeted him as a major figure. His Sun recordings were first compiled on an LP by Bear Family Records and later, in the 1990s, on the Charly Records CD Hey Slim, Let’s Bop, a collection considered nearly as indispensable as Presley’s own Sun output. Since then Earls has performed stateside and appeared in Las Vegas alongside Janis Martin and other first-generation rockabilly survivors.
Albums
