Restless (Carl Perkins song)

"Restless" is a 1968 song written by Carl Perkins and released as a single on Columbia Records. In 1991, it was recorded by Mark O'Connor in collaboration with Vince Gill, Steve Wariner, and Ricky Skaggs under the credit Mark O'Connor and the New Nashville Cats.

"Restless"
Single by Carl Perkins
B-side	"11-43"
Released	1968
Genre	Rockabilly
Length	2:45
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Carl Perkins
Producer(s)	Bill Denny Larry Butler
Carl Perkins singles chronology
""Shine, Shine, Shine"" (1967) "Restless" (1968) ""Me Without You"" (1971)

Background

The song was recorded on September 27, 1968, and released as a 45 single, 4-44723, on Columbia, in December, 1968, backed with "11-43", reaching no. 20 on the Billboard country chart.^[1] The recording, produced by Bill Denny and Larry Butler, also appeared on the May, 1969 Columbia LP Carl Perkins' Greatest Hits.^[2] The song also appeared on the 1992 Carl Perkins compilation album Restless: The Columbia Recordings. Carl Perkins performed the song on the Kraft Music Hall episode hosted by Johnny Cash on April 16, 1969.

Notable recordings

George Thorogood and The Destroyers recorded the song on their 1980 studio album More George Thorogood and the Destroyers on Rounder Records.^[2] Emmylou Harris recorded the song in 1982 on the Last Date album.

Mark O'Connor and the New Nashville Cats version

"Restless"
Single by Mark O'Connor and the New Nashville Cats
from the album The New Nashville Cats
B-side	"Dance of the Ol' Swamp Rat"
Released	1991
Genre	Country
Length	5:25
Label	Warner
Songwriter(s)	Carl Perkins
Producer(s)	Mark O'Connor Jim Ed Norman
Mark O'Connor singles chronology
"Restless" (1991) "Now It Belongs to You" (1991)

Mark O'Connor had a Top 40 hit in 1991 in an all-star recording featuring Vince Gill, Ricky Skaggs, and Steve Wariner, collectively credited as "Mark O'Connor and the New Nashville Cats". This version reached no. 25 on the Billboard country chart in the U.S. and no. 19 on the Canadian country chart. The recording also won a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.

References

1. Perkins, Carl; McGee, David (1996). Go, Cat, Go!. New York: Hyperion Press. ISBN 0-7868-6073-1. OCLC 32895064.
2. Second Hand Songs: Restless.

Sources

• Guterman, Jimmy. (1998.) "Carl Perkins." In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 412–413.
• Naylor, Jerry; Halliday, Steve (2007). The Rockabilly Legends: They Called It Rockabilly Long Before They Called It Rock and Roll. Milwaukee, Wisc.: Hal Leonard. ISBN 9781423420422. OCLC 71812792.
• Pareles, Jon (20 January 1998). "Carl Perkins Dies at 65; Rockabilly Pioneer Wrote 'Blue Suede Shoes'". The New York Times. p. B12. Retrieved 4 December 2009.
• Perkins, Carl; McGee, David (1996). Go, Cat, Go!. New York: Hyperion Press. ISBN 0-7868-6073-1. OCLC 32895064..