On October 21, 1985, a television concert was filmed called Blue Suede Shoes: A Rockabilly Session. The show, often referred to as Carl Perkins & Friends, was a celebration of Carl Perkins career. He was joined by Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Dave Edmunds, Slim Jim Phantom and Lee Rocker of the Stray Cats (where the hell was Brian Setzer!), Roseanne Cash and a host of other musicians. The concert was taped live at Limehouse Studios in London and later broadcast on the BBC and on Cinemax in the U.S.
The offered lyric sheet for Perkins' classic hit "Matchbox" was written in Perkins' own hand as a reference for the other musicians playing with him on the show. Later, perhaps even that night, Perkins autographed the sheet. It should be noted that while Perkins signed the lyrics, this is not what would be called a "presentation" set of lyrics--those are often done by artists strictly as autograph pieces. These are performance-used, handwritten lyrics by the man who penned the song. It's an important distinction.
The players ebbed and flowed in and out for various songs during the concert, but on "Matchbox" Perkins is joined by Ringo Starr on drums and vocals, Eric Clapton on lead guitar and vocals, Dave Edmunds on guitar and several other musicians. The rendition is one of the finest ever done, as Perkins, Starr and Clapton take turns on verses, and then all finish the song together. It follows that the lyrics may have been created for one of the two artists as a courtesy by Perkins. And while they would have graciously accepted them, we can guarantee neither of them really needed them--Perkins was a huge influence on both. The sheet measures 8 3/8 x 11 3/4, and forgiving the mis-torn notebook page at the top, the sheet presents in Near Mint to Mint condition.