"Restless" is a 1968 song written by

Carl Perkins Carl Lee Perkins (April 9, 1932 – January 19, 1998) Pareles. was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. A rockabilly great and pioneer of rock and roll, he began his recording career at the Sun Studio, in Memphis, beginning in 19 ...

and released as a single on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

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. The recording, produced by Bill Denny and Larry Butler, also appeared on the May, 1969 Columbia LP ''Carl Perkins' Greatest Hits''.Second Hand Songs: Restless.
/ref> The song also appeared on the 1992 Carl Perkins compilation album ''Restless: The Columbia Recordings''. The song became a major hit again in 1991 in a new all-star recording by

Mark O'Connor Mark O'Connor (born August 5, 1961) is an American fiddle player and composer whose music combines bluegrass, country, jazz and classical. A three-time Grammy Award winner, he has won six Country Music Association Musician Of The Year award ...

and The New Nashville Cats. Carl Perkins performed the song on the

Kraft Music Hall ''The Kraft Music Hall'' was a popular old-time radio variety program, featuring top show business entertainers, which aired first on NBC radio from 1933 to 1949. Radio ''The Kraft Program'' debuted June 26, 1933, as a musical-variety progra ...

episode hosted by

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American Country music, country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later s ...

on April 16, 1969.

Notable recordings

George Thorogood and The Destroyers George Lawrence Thorogood (born February 24, 1950) is an American musician, singer and songwriter from Wilmington, Delaware. His "high-energy boogie-blues" sound became a staple of 1980s rock radio, with hits like his original songs "Bad to the ...

recorded the song on their 1980 studio album '' More George Thorogood and the Destroyers'' on

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by Al ...

Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter and musician. She has released dozens of albums and singles over the course of her career and has won 14 Grammys, the Polar Music Prize, and numerous other honors, includin ...

recorded the song in 1982 on the '' Last Date'' album. Ben Wasson recorded the song in 2009. Carl Perkins also recorded the song in a duet with

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were an American Rock music, rock band from Gainesville, Florida. Formed in 1976, the band originally comprised lead singer and rhythm guitarist Tom Petty, lead guitarist Mike Campbell (musician), Mike Campbell, ...

for the ''Go! Cat Go!'' album in 1996.

had a Top 40 hit in 1991 in an all-star recording featuring

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ...

, and

Steve Wariner Steven Noel Wariner (born December 25, 1954) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Initially a backing musician for Dottie West, he also worked with Bob Luman and Chet Atkins before beginning a solo career in the late 1 ...

that 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 The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. American rockabilly legend Mac Curtis covered the song on his 2011 album Songs I Wish I Wrote, which sadly turned out to be his last album.

References

Sources

* Guterman, Jimmy. (1998.) "Carl Perkins." In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music.'' Paul Kingsbury, Ed. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 412–413. * * *. {{CMA Musical Event of the Year Carl Perkins songs 1968 songs Vince Gill songs Ricky Skaggs songs Steve Wariner songs Songs written by Carl Perkins Columbia Records singles 1968 singles Vocal collaborations