Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, and Carl Perkins Sing a Roaring Rendition of “Matchbox” – And It’s So Good!

Johnny Cash, one of the most famous singers of all time, had a hit TV show back in the 1970s where he had bands appear to perform live. One night on November 5th, 1970, the show’s musical guest was a group known as “Derek and the Dominoes”. Now it just so happens that back before Eric Clapton was a hit solo artist, he was a part of a band named, you guessed it: Derek and the Dominos!

Even with this recording being decades old, the sound is crisp and clear, as if it was recorded today.  The band performed two great hits,  “It’s Too Late” with just Eric and the boys, then Johnny came out to join them all in a roaring rendition of “Matchbox”.

Johnny Cash interviews Eric Clapton after the performance and they discuss that blues singers in the United States were influencing the sound coming from British bands.

Clapton says that there is not much in the way of music in Britain so they collect records from the United States.  Johnny then told Clapton that he was so happy that the audience was so receptive to the band. Then there’s a surprise. Clapton tells Johnny that one of the best blues musicians around should come out and sing with them, and then they introduce the amazing Carl Perkins.

Carl hits the stage and plays with the whole gang.  They sing the hit song “Matchbox” and the crowd goes crazy.  The electric guitars combined with the acoustic makes for an awesome sound.

During the show, Johnny Cash seems a bit shy and reserved and it is awesome to see him join in and sing with the band and Carl Perkins.  Note: There are two songs on this video. We’ve set it to play right when the song starts with Johnny Cash, but Clapton fans might want to rewind to the beginning to catch all of the performance.