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"Great Balls of Fire" | ||||
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Single by Jerry Lee Lewis | ||||
B-side | "You Win Again" | |||
Released | November 1957 [1] | |||
Recorded | October 8, 1957 | |||
Studio | Sun Studio (Memphis, Tennessee) | |||
Genre | Rock and roll | |||
Length | 1:52 | |||
Label | Sun 281 | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | Sam Phillips | |||
Jerry Lee Lewis singles chronology | ||||
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"Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 popular song recorded by American rock and roll musician Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun Records [3] and featured in the 1957 movie Jamboree . It was written by Otis Blackwell and Jack Hammer. The Jerry Lee Lewis 1957 recording was ranked as the 96th greatest song ever by Rolling Stone . It is written in AABA form. [4] It sold one million copies in its first 10 days of release in the United States making it one of the best-selling singles in the United States at that time.
"Great Balls of Fire" is best known for Jerry Lee Lewis's original, which was recorded in the Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, [3] on October 8, 1957, using three personnel: Lewis (piano/vocals), Sidney Stokes (bass), and a session drummer, Larry Linn, instead of the usual Sun backups Jimmy Van Eaton (drums) and Roland Janes (guitar). Lewis was quoted in the book JLL: His Own Story by Rick Bragg, (pg 133), as saying "I knew Sidney Stokes but I didn't know him that well either, and I don't know what happened to them people. That's the last time I ever seen 'em. That's strange isn't it?" It was released as a 45rpm single on Sun 281 in November 1957. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard pop charts, No. 3 on the R&B charts, [5] and No. 1 on the country charts. [6] It also reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, [7] [8] and appeared on the New Zealand Singles Chart and the Dutch Top 40.
The song was featured in a performance by Jerry Lee Lewis and his band in the 1957 Warner Brothers rock and roll film Jamboree, which also featured Carl Perkins, Fats Domino, Buddy Knox, and Dick Clark. The recording was released in the UK on London Records.
The tune opens up side 2 of Lewis's 1964 album Live at the Star Club, Hamburg .
Chart (1957–1958) | Peak position |
---|---|
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40) [9] | 30 |
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ) [10] | 8 |
UK Singles Chart (The Official Charts Company) [7] | 1 |
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles | 1 |
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
New Zealand (RMNZ) [11] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
In 1998, the 1957 recording of "Great Balls of Fire" by Jerry Lee Lewis on Sun Records was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. [16]
In the 1986 film Top Gun , LTJG Nick "Goose" Bradshaw (portrayed by Anthony Edwards) plays the song in a bar with his family and Pete "Maverick" Mitchell (Tom Cruise). The song is available on the Top Gun soundtrack special edition released in 1999. The song is performed again in the sequel, the 2022 film Top Gun: Maverick by Goose's son LT Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (portrayed by Miles Teller). During the editing process, it was determined that the song would evoke flashbacks of Goose’s death while Maverick watches from outside the hard deck bar. [17]
Teller's performance is included on that film's soundtrack Top Gun: Maverick (Music from the Motion Picture) , on which it is labeled as a live performance. Paramount Pictures later released the extended scene of Teller's performance as Rooster on YouTube on June 16, 2022. [18]
Jerry Lee Lewis was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock 'n' roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made his first recordings in 1952 at Cosimo Matassa's J&M Studio in New Orleans, Louisiana, and early recordings in 1956 at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee. "Crazy Arms" sold 300,000 copies in the Southern United States, but it was his 1957 hit "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" that shot Lewis to worldwide fame. He followed this with the major hits "Great Balls of Fire", "Breathless", and "High School Confidential".
Carl Lee Perkins 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 in 1954. Among his best known songs are Blue Suede Shoes, Honey Don't, Matchbox and Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby.
"Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" is a song written by Dave "Curlee" Williams and sometimes also credited to James Faye "Roy" Hall. The song was first recorded by Big Maybelle, though the best-known version is the 1957 rock and roll/rockabilly version by Jerry Lee Lewis.
"Chantilly Lace" is a 1958 rock and roll song by The Big Bopper. It was produced by Jerry Kennedy, and reached No. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Bruce Channel covered the song on his 1962 album, Hey! Baby. The song was also covered by Jerry Lee Lewis in 1972.
"Lewis Boogie" is a song written by Jerry Lee Lewis in 1956 and released as a single in June 1958 on Sun Records, Sun 301, backed with "The Return of Jerry Lee". The recording was reissued in 1979 as a 7" 45 single as Sun 29 as part of the Sun Golden Treasure Series. The song was also released in the UK and Canada as a single.
"Wild One" or "Real Wild Child" is an Australian rock and roll song written by Johnny Greenan, Johnny O'Keefe, and Dave Owens. While most sources state that O'Keefe was directly involved in composing the song, this has been questioned by others. Sydney disc jockey Tony Withers was credited with helping to get radio airplay for the song but writer credits on subsequent versions often omit Withers, who later worked in the United Kingdom on pirate stations Radio Atlanta and, as Tony Windsor, on Radio London.
Great Balls of Fire! is a 1989 American biographical drama film directed by Jim McBride and starring Dennis Quaid as rockabilly pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis. Based on a biography by Myra Lewis and Murray M. Silver Jr., the screenplay is written by McBride and Jack Baran. The film is produced by Adam Fields, with executive producers credited as Michael Grais, Mark Victor, and Art Levinson.
"That Lucky Old Sun (Just Rolls Around Heaven All Day)" is a 1949 popular song with music by Beasley Smith and words by Haven Gillespie.
This is a detailed discography for American rock and roll, country, and gospel singer-songwriter Jerry Lee Lewis (1935–2022). One of the pioneers of rockabilly, Lewis recorded over 40 albums in a career spanning seven decades. Lewis was a versatile artist, and recorded songs in multiple genres. Lewis, in 1986, was one of the first inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and was the last surviving rock and roll pioneer of Sun Records. Some of his best known songs are "Great Balls of Fire", "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", and "High School Confidential". His album, Live at the Star Club, Hamburg, is widely considered one of the greatest live concert albums ever. In his lengthy career in music, Lewis had 30 songs reach the top ten on the "Billboard Country-and-Western" chart. Lewis was regarded as one of the greatest and most influential pianists of the rock and roll era, and was ranked number 24 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time".
Dallas Frazier was an American country musician and songwriter who had success in the 1950s and 1960s.
"Let's Have a Party" is a 1957 song written by Jessie Mae Robinson and recorded by Elvis Presley for the movie Loving You. It was released as a single in the United Kingdom under the title "Party" and peaked at #2 in the UK Singles Chart. Wanda Jackson recorded the song for her first album, Wanda Jackson, released in 1958. The song was released as a single by Jackson in 1960 and entered the UK chart on 1 September of that year, spending eight weeks there and reaching #32; it also reached #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1960. The Jackson version was later featured in the 1989 film Dead Poets Society. Her recording of the song was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2024.
"Brown Eyed Handsome Man" is a rock and roll song written and recorded by Chuck Berry, originally released by Chess Records in September 1956 as the B-side of "Too Much Monkey Business." It was also included on Berry's 1957 debut album, After School Session. The song title was also used as the title of a biography of Berry.
"High School Confidential" is a 1958 song written by Jerry Lee Lewis and Ron Hargrave as the title song of the MGM movie of the same name directed by Jack Arnold.
Beyond the Sun is the eleventh studio album by Chris Isaak, released through Vanguard Records on October 18, 2011. It is a collection of songs recorded by Sun Records artists Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis. Some of the songs were originally released on Sun Records. The record itself was recorded at Sun Studio, Memphis, Tennessee and the cover photograph was taken by Sheryl Louis outside the studio on Union Avenue.
Earl Solomon Burroughs, known professionally as Jack Hammer, was an American pianist, singer, and songwriter, credited as the co-writer of "Great Balls of Fire".
She Still Comes Around (To Love What's Left of Me) is the ninth album by Jerry Lee Lewis. It was released on Smash Records in 1969.
The Golden Hits of Jerry Lee Lewis is the third studio album by musician Jerry Lee Lewis that was released on Smash Records in 1964. It was Lewis's first album with the label after leaving Sun Records.
"Baby Baby Bye Bye" is a song recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis and released as a single in March 1960 on Sun Records, Sun 337, featuring the Gene Lowery Singers, backed with "Old Black Joe". The recording was reissued in 1969 as a 7" 45 single as Sun 42 as part of the Sun Golden Treasure Series. The song was also released in the UK in 1960 as a 45 single on London Records as HLS 9131.
"Baby, Hold Me Close" is a song written by Jerry Lee Lewis and Bob Tubert and released as a single by Lewis in the U.S. in February 1965 on Smash Records. The song was also released in the UK in 1965 as a 45 single on Philips Records.