 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(January 2015) |
| Soul My Way | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1967 | |||
| Recorded | May and August, 1967 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 26:56 | |||
| Label | Smash | |||
| Producer | Jerry Kennedy | |||
| Jerry Lee Lewis chronology | ||||
| ||||
Soul My Way is the seventh album by Jerry Lee Lewis released on the Smash label in 1967.
Jerry Lee Lewis signed with Smash in 1963 and, after four years, Mercury executives did not seem to know what do with him. Although he remained very popular in Europe, and a riveting live performer, he enjoyed little chart success. Mercury had tried an album of Sun Records remakes ( Golden Hits of Jerry Lee Lewis in 1964) and a country-themed album (Country Songs for City Folks in 1965) but they did not come close to recapturing the triumphs Lewis had enjoyed with Sam Phillips. Rock and pop music had also changed enormously by 1967, making it more difficult for Mercury to figure out how to market Lewis. As Colin Escott notes in the sleeve to the 1995 Mercury compilation Killer Country , by the late '60s "Jerry's idea of rock music was almost ten years out of date. In private conversation, he would offer the opinion that the Beatles should go back across the Atlantic at a slow walk, but no amount of posturing could turn back the clock."[ citation needed ]
By 1967, producer Shelby Singleton left Mercury to form his own label and Jerry Kennedy would take complete charge of Lewis's recordings. Kennedy eventually produced Jerry Lee's comeback single "Another Place, Another Time" the following year, which ushered in a string of country hits for Lewis well into the next decade but, as biographer Joe Bonomo writes in Jerry Lee Lewis: Lost and Found, by 1967 Kennedy was "scratching his head over what the heck to do. Jerry Lee's lone album in 1967, the curious (and among Killer fans somewhat infamous) Soul My Way, was a hodgepodge of old tracks and new that Kennedy attempted to unify with variety show pizzazz."[ citation needed ] The album is noteworthy for its cover of Bobby "Blue" Bland's "Turn On Your Love Light" and its take on Texas songwriter Mickey Newbury's psychedelic "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)", which features Lewis playing harpsichord.[ citation needed ] Three tracks, "Wedding Bells", the Lewis original "He Took It Like a Man", and "Betcha Gonna Like It" had been recorded during sessions dating back to 1963 and 1964.[ citation needed ]
Soul My Way was released November 1, 1967 to commercial and public indifference, failing to crack the Billboard chart.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Turn on Your Love Light" |
| 2:33 |
| 2. | "It's a Hang Up, Baby" | Eddie Reeves | 2:17 |
| 3. | "Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)" | Cindy Walker | 2:28 |
| 4. | "Just Dropped In" | Mickey Newbury | 2:27 |
| 5. | "Wedding Bells" | Claude Boone | 2:33 |
| 6. | "He Took It Like a Man" | Jerry Lee Lewis | 1:53 |
| 7. | "Hey! Baby" |
| 2:11 |
| 8. | "Treat Her Right" | Roy Head | 2:01 |
| 9. | "Holdin' On" |
| 3:06 |
| 10. | "Shotgun Man" | Cecil Harrelson | 2:45 |
| 11. | "I Betcha Gonna Like It" |
| 2:42 |
| Total length: | 26:56 | ||
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 'n' 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".
Charles Allan Rich was an American country singer. His eclectic style of music also blended influences from rockabilly, jazz, blues, soul, and gospel.
"Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" is a psychedelic rock song written by Mickey Newbury and best known from a version by The First Edition, recorded in 1967 and released to popular success in 1968. Said to reflect the LSD experience, the song was intended to be a warning about the dangers of using the drug.
Another Place, Another Time is the eighth album by the musician Jerry Lee Lewis, released in 1968 by Smash Records. It was Lewis's "comeback album" and features a stripped down, "hardcore" country sound that yielded two top five country hits, his first major chart success in a decade.
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.
She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye is the 13th album by pianist and singer Jerry Lee Lewis. It was released on Mercury Records in 1970.
Sings the Country Music Hall of Fame Hits, Vol. 1 is the 10th album by Jerry Lee Lewis released on Smash Records in 1969.
Sings the Country Music Hall of Fame Hits, Vol. 2 is the 11th album by Jerry Lee Lewis 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.
Country Songs for City Folks is the fifth studio album by Jerry Lee Lewis released on the Smash label in 1965.
Memphis Beat is the sixth album by Jerry Lee Lewis released on the Smash label in 1966.
Would You Take Another Chance on Me? is an album by Jerry Lee Lewis that was released on Mercury Records in 1971.
The Killer Rocks On is an album by Jerry Lee Lewis that was released on Mercury Records in 1972.
Who's Gonna Play This Old Piano...Think About It, Darlin' is an album by Jerry Lee Lewis that was released on Mercury Records in 1972.
Southern Roots: Back Home in Memphis is an album by Jerry Lee Lewis released on Mercury Records in 1973.
Odd Man In is the 31st album by Jerry Lee Lewis. It was released in 1975 on the Mercury label. The album title was credited to Joanie Lawrence.
Country Memories is the 33rd studio album by Jerry Lee Lewis, released on Mercury Records in 1977.
Jerry Lee Keeps Rockin' is the 34th studio album by Jerry Lee Lewis, released on Mercury Records in 1978.
The Golden Cream of the Country is the 12th album by Jerry Lee Lewis. It was released by the Sun Record Company in 1969.
"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.
