By Darryl Morden. 

Carl Perkins himself would have wanted to sit in as Johnny Rivers and Dwight Yoakam remembered the great rock ‘n’ roll pioneer in a tribute concert that brought out Stephen Stills and Graham Nash…When Perkins died last month after a long battle with cancer, the songwriter and performer was hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt. This evening, arranged by Rivers, was put on to help balance the books and contribute funds to Perkins’ charity for abused children. Rivers recorded with Perkins some years ago at the legendary Sun Studios, founding a friendship…Influences and cross-connections were revealed as Rivers and Yoakam traded off on Perkins tunes and sang their own songs, backed by a seven-man band that included guitarists Waddy Wachtel and Herb Pederson…For instance, is Yoakam’s melancholy hit of a few years ago, "A Thousand Miles From Nowhere," truly that far from Rivers’ evocative "Muddy River" of 1969? And surely, Perkins’ classics like "Honey Don’t" and "Matchbox" are rock ‘n’ roll guideposts for anyone trying to find their way the right way…The duo also focused on Perkins’ songwriting for others, such as "Daddy Sang Bass," which he wrote for Johnny Cash. Yoakam sang lead vocal on that one, and Jennifer Warnes stepped to the mike for two more such numbers: "So Wrong," originally sung by Patsy Cline, and "Silver and Gold," which Perkins wrote for Dolly Parton…Jim Hendricks, who wrote Rivers’ "Summer Rain," was brought out to play a little guitar on a new tribute song to Perkins, while Stills and Nash led the full house in "Teach Your Children" and joined the ensemble for a rousing Rivers-led stomp through his own 1964 hit, "Memphis."…The inevitable encore of "Blue Suede Shoes" brought out Perkins’ sons Greg and Stan, on guitar and keyboards, along with George Thorogood and Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, all taking their turns at verses to close out the night….