On This day – Great Balls Of Fire
Oct 8, 2009 On This Day
On this day in 1957 Jerry lee lewis recorded “Great Balls of Fire” his follow up to “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going’ On”.
As you might have guessed if you have read previous posts I am a great fan of Sam Phillips and Sun Records. Not so much for the individual tracks as such more the effect of Sun Records. Sun changed music. What was essentially black music played for and by black people became music for both black and white. Sun owner Sam Phillips ran no colour bar all he heard was the music (with more than a nod towards his profit of course).
Anyway, Jerry Lee Lewis, often billed as the wild man of rock ‘n’ roll was pioneer of the new popular music that we all love. Someone once said that we build on the shoulders of giants, one of those giants is Lewis.
It is hard to imagine today the hysteria that rock ‘n’ roll caused among responsible adults. They feared subversion, anarchy, revolution, promiscuity, and that the status quo could be challenged. Well, the world certainly changed. A great song and well worth celebrating.
Tags: classic rock music, jerry lee lewis, On This Day, rock and blues, sam phillips, sun records
On This Day – Thanks for the Eggs Dad!
Sep 1, 2009 On This Day
On this day in 1956 Jerry Lee lewis turned up at Sun records wanting to an audition, financed by his father selling 30 dozen eggs to raise the money for the trip! This was not the first time his parents had helped Jerry Lee with his musical ambitions. When he was 8 he showed such promise playing the piano that his parents mortgaged their house to buy him his own piano.
Unfortunately, when Jerry Lee turned up to ask for an audition Sam Phillips was on holiday. Jack Clemment who was the resident producer at Sun Records agreed to let him record 2 demos. One was ‘Crazy Arms’. When Sam Phillips returned from holiday in Florida he was impressed. ‘Crazy Arms’ sold 300,000 copies locally.
Jerry Lee became a studio musician for Sun Records appearing on records by Carl Perkins (’Your True Love’ & ‘Matchbox’). Back in the recording studio in his own right 1957 became a huge year for Jerry Lee. He recorded and released ‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’, ‘Great Balls of Fire’, ‘Breathless’, and ‘High School Confidential’.
‘Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On’ was recorded in one take and the vibrancy of the track shows that. It’s vitality took the world by storm. In 1957 Jerry Lee outsold Elvis, he was that big. His career took a nose dive a year later, however, when during a UK tour the British press revealed his marriage to his young second cousin.
‘Revealed’ is not really what happened. The details of the marriage to Myra Gale Brown were not secret. Marrying second cousins was not unusual in the South. The fact that she was 14 scandalised the British press. They did not like rock ‘n’ roll, it was seen as a threat to the natural order of things in society. In any event the scandal forced the end of the tour and nearly ruined Jerry Lee’s career.
Jerry Lee was always a bit loose with the rules about marriage. That his first divorce had not come through did not stop him from marrying Jane Mitcham in September 1953. He was still married to Jane when he married Myra.
Tags: carl perkins, classic rock music, jerry lee lewis, On This Day, rock and blues, sam phillips, sun records
Sam Phillips Dies 30 July 2003
Jul 30, 2009 Blues, Departures, On This Day, rock and blues
Sam Phillips did more than most to shape popular music in the 50s and 60s.
As Owner and leading light of the mighty Sun Records he discovered or developed Presley, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Conway Twitty, Jerry Lee Lewis and more.
Inpite of this roll call of talent it is easy to forget that the path that Sun Records trod was not always easy. He had to sell Elvis’ contract to RCA to raise enough cash for the label to continue in 1955.
The legacy left by Sun Records is great and glorious.
Tags: blues music, classic rock music, love rock music, On This Day, real rock and blues, rock and blues, sam phillips, sun records
The Legacy of Sun Records (part 2)
Jul 4, 2009 About and things, Uncategorized
I was thinking about the tv programme I saw the other day and then wrote about.
I had forgotten abour Sonny Burgess and so was very pleased to be reminded (apart from the very late mid week night). The programme was also noteable for a couple of other reasons. Billy Lee Riley was also on and was the only person critical of Sam Phillips. The basis of his criticism is that Phillips did not promote his record ‘Red Hot’, in fact he stopped promoting it in favour of another record. The other record was ‘Great Balls of Fire’. Personally, I think that Phillips got that one right!
There were a couple of other things I took from the programme.
Billy Lee Riley came across as self serving and an egoist, he said that his influence was on a par with that of Carl Perkins and Elvis.
Sam Phillips had an unfeasibly thick and lustrous head of hair for a man of his age (80 when he died) as well as a full set beard. Not a grey hair in sight. I want to know what his diet was, or what product he used!
Third Eye Blind were interviewed and Hargreaves was asked whether the Sun Stars were his heroes. He said no, he did not revere those people, he revered the people whoe revered the Sun stars. Very nicely put.
Tags: classic rock music, love rock music, sam phillips, sun records
The Legacy of Sun Records (part 1)
Jul 2, 2009 About and things
Last night I got home from work late, as is normal, wanting nothing more than a meal and something mindless to watch on TV I began chanel hopping. There I cam across a programme called The Legacy of Sun Records. (Yesterday I noted the sale of Sun records by Sam Phillips,see here)
It was quite a good programme featuring interviews and performances of the second string acts signed to Sun by Phillips. Among those was the wonderful Sonny Burgess, now in his 70s he was interviewed and caught in performance supported byJerry Smith on keyboards and the amazing Ace Cannon on sax. He has more energy while singing on stage than many men half his age, and his voice the same power, but even more authority with the passage of time.
The upshot was an unexpected very late night hunting through CDs and records………..
Tags: classic rock, love rock music, sam phillips, sun records
On This Day – 1st July
Jul 1, 2009 On This Day
I have a friend who does a mean ‘White Rabbit’ karaoke. Most people seem not to know what song she is singing when the music start but they all stop drinking to listen. Jo owes all that to this day in 1967 when Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit entered the Billboard chart. Mind you, the best version of this song is by Patti Smith (I know, heresy).
On this day in 1969 Sam Phillips sold Sun Records to Shelby Singleton. Whether it was a ‘good thing’ for either music, or the label, is an argument for another time. Just think about the people Sam recorded;
Elvis Presley
Carl Perkins
Roy Orbison
Johnny Cash
Jerry Lee Lewis
Tags: On This Day, sun records, white rabbit
