Click on the headline to link to a YouTUbe film clip of Jerry Lee Lewis performing in his golden age.
Elvis, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Bo Didderly. Yes those are the men who created rock and roll as we know it. However in that list do not forget one Jerry Lee Lewis. Fate dealt him an uneven hand due to the foibles of his personal life but his form of rockabilly/boogie woogie piano driven music and madman presentation must be placed in the mix of influences that drove the best of early rock. If for no other reason that that he is one of the few ‘still standing’ from that generation it is nice to see what the Killer can do in his 71st year in concert in New York City in 2006 with a host of guests some old, some young. Clearly off these performances he has lost a couple of steps. Hell that kind of energy that Jerry Lee produced in the 1950s definitely had a short shelf-life. There are some nice clips from that period intertwined with the concert by the way. Nevertheless here he can still give out on some tunes like in the old days. Take his set with Ivan Neville, for example, especially on Who Will the Next Fool Be. Tom Jones on Green, Green Grass of Home. Norah Jones on Your Cheating Heart. And on and on. In fact the covers of his old material and some Hank Williams material highlight this concert. If you have a couple of hours better take advantage of it. Then you will know what it was like when men (or women) played rock and roll for keeps.
No comments:
Post a Comment