Jerry Lee Lewis
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Jerry Lee Lewis
All the news outlets are reporting Jerry Lee has passed at age 87.
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Re: Jerry Lee Lewis
Again!Jack Stoner wrote:All the news outlets are reporting Jerry Lee has passed at age 87.
They reported his death a couple of days ago, then they all had to retract the reports.
Pretty tough guy. Maybe he'll come back again.

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Last edited by Ricky Davis on 28 Oct 2022 12:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Ricky Davis
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It's my contention that Chuck Berry holds the crown for his poetic lyrics and Little Richard for his stupendous voice.
Jerry Lee Lewis, however, was the whole package. I saw him in Britain in, maybe, '61. Heretical as it may be, I think JLL's 'What'd I Say' surpasses even Ray Charles' original. At the Mitcham Granada, I watched Lewis pull off that piano part along with his stunning vocal.
For me, he's the greatest of that whole '50s genre.
I got to tour alongside The Killer in 1987. He was as unpredictable as he was brilliant. Often the worse for wear, we'd get used to him being half-carried from the limo to the airplane yet he never ceased to surprise us on-stage. Endlessly imaginative, you'd look around you and see the entire cast of the tour watching him from the wings: Emmylou and her band, The Bellamy Bros, Newgrass Revival, Tania Tucker (I was with David Allan Coe), we all wanted to see him perform.
I suppose it's just a matter of time. He'd hardly taken care of himself in his life, yet he outlasted all his contemporaries - Presley, Perkins, Cash, Berry and more.
I think I'll play some of Jerry Lee's '70s country records - another genre that he conquered.
RIP, Maestro.
Jerry Lee Lewis, however, was the whole package. I saw him in Britain in, maybe, '61. Heretical as it may be, I think JLL's 'What'd I Say' surpasses even Ray Charles' original. At the Mitcham Granada, I watched Lewis pull off that piano part along with his stunning vocal.
For me, he's the greatest of that whole '50s genre.
I got to tour alongside The Killer in 1987. He was as unpredictable as he was brilliant. Often the worse for wear, we'd get used to him being half-carried from the limo to the airplane yet he never ceased to surprise us on-stage. Endlessly imaginative, you'd look around you and see the entire cast of the tour watching him from the wings: Emmylou and her band, The Bellamy Bros, Newgrass Revival, Tania Tucker (I was with David Allan Coe), we all wanted to see him perform.
I suppose it's just a matter of time. He'd hardly taken care of himself in his life, yet he outlasted all his contemporaries - Presley, Perkins, Cash, Berry and more.
I think I'll play some of Jerry Lee's '70s country records - another genre that he conquered.
RIP, Maestro.
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R.I.P. Killer.
One of the greatest all around entertainers ever IMHO!!
Ron
One of the greatest all around entertainers ever IMHO!!
Ron
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We need to turn the TWANG up a little
It's not what you play through, it's what you play through it.
They say that tone is all in the fingers...I say it is all in your head

Some of the best pieces of life are the little pieces all added up..Ron
the value of friendship. Old friends shine like diamonds, you can always call them and - most important - you can't buy them.
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Roger Rettig, Thanks for sharing your memories of touring with Jerry Lee Lewis. I would have loved to have seen one of the shows as it is quite the artist list you posted.
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Was it something like this, or perhaps a little more frantic?Roger Rettig wrote:.... Heretical as it may be, I think JLL's 'What'd I Say' surpasses even Ray Charles' original. At the Mitcham Granada, I watched Lewis pull off that piano part along with his stunning vocal.
For me, he's the greatest of that whole '50s genre.
RIP, Maestro.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSUBUS4zUJs[/url]
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A Jerry Lee concert story
I attended a Jerry Lee Lewis concert in his country music 'heyday', about 1971. His first song was the perfect choice: "You Win Again", the great Hank Williams song, and one of JLL's early records.
He pretty much "brought the house down" right there. His singing was soulful and heartfelt, his piano solo was inspired. The packed house gave him a tremendous ovation.
As the applause was dying down, Mr. Lewis spoke softly, "I sure wish someone would write me another song like that."
Of course, there won't be another song like that, and there won't be another Jerry Lee Lewis.
Glad to see he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame last week.

He pretty much "brought the house down" right there. His singing was soulful and heartfelt, his piano solo was inspired. The packed house gave him a tremendous ovation.
As the applause was dying down, Mr. Lewis spoke softly, "I sure wish someone would write me another song like that."
Of course, there won't be another song like that, and there won't be another Jerry Lee Lewis.
Glad to see he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame last week.
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This is the 1961 studio cut and is his playing is rockin' with great technique.Roger Rettig wrote:... It's the studio cut that's the best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owCiPI4xBn4
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Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg?
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That's it, Herb.
Abandoned and up-tempo, certainly, but those piano fills are immaculate.
His voice, for me anyway, was always captivating. That should have been a hit for him but it was a dark period in his career and sales were poor. The same happened to another good single he cut that year - 'Ramblin' Rose'/'I've Been Twisting'. His vocal melding of country and blues was remarkable.
Abandoned and up-tempo, certainly, but those piano fills are immaculate.
His voice, for me anyway, was always captivating. That should have been a hit for him but it was a dark period in his career and sales were poor. The same happened to another good single he cut that year - 'Ramblin' Rose'/'I've Been Twisting'. His vocal melding of country and blues was remarkable.
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I was in a band that fronted Jerry Lee Lewis in Columbus Georgia around 1982. He was playing one of his first shows after having major surgery. He had nearly died back then. He was very thin, but he sure put on a show.
I never thought he would live this long. Heck, I never thought I'd live this long.
I never thought he would live this long. Heck, I never thought I'd live this long.
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Of course I am from that era and was in my teens when Jerry Lee hit the air waves and just shook everybody up along with all the other rock & rollers of that time that have been mention.
What an era!! But as others have said Jerry Lee could do it all and make you shake or cry. I got to see him when I was 20 years old and what a awesome concert. RIP Jerry Lee, J.R. Rose.
What an era!! But as others have said Jerry Lee could do it all and make you shake or cry. I got to see him when I was 20 years old and what a awesome concert. RIP Jerry Lee, J.R. Rose.
NOTHING..Sold it all. J.R. Rose
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