It struck me that I haven’t yet marked the passing of the last of the original rock n rollers, Jerry Lee Lewis. Chuck, Buddy, Gene, Eddie, Elvis… all the rest are long gone. Some died very young (I often find myself wondering what Buddy Holly would have done next), but only Jerry Lee got to really grow old disgracefully. A controversial figure, to be sure, but there’s no denying the power of his music.
For songs that mention Jerry Lee by name, we need look no further than Jerry Lee himself. Here are just a few…
Jerry Lee Lewis - A Damned Good Country Song
Well, I’ve took enough pills for big Memphis town
Ol’ Jerry Lee's drank enough whiskey to lift any ship off the ground
I’ll be the first to admit
Sure do wish these people would quit it
You know it’s tough enough
To straighten up
When these idiots won’t leave you alone
Jerry Lee Lewis’s life would make a damned good country song
Jerry Lee Lewis - Trouble In Mind
Troubled in mind, I’m so blue
But I won’t be blue always
Cause that ol’ sun’s gonna shine
On ol' Jerry's back doorstep someday
Jerry Lee Lewis - Rockin’ My Life Away
I’m just rockin’ and rollin’ my life away
My name’s Jerry Lee Lewis and I’m darn sure here to stay
Jerry Lee Lewis - Better Not Look Down
In which Jerry Lee gives advice to the Queen. Curious that they both left us within just a couple of months of each other.
And did you know that Jerry Lee Lewis invented Jive Bunny? He might as well have…
Jerry Lee Lewis – The Return Of Jerry Lee
Finally, and perhaps most apt…
Jerry Lee Lewis - When I Take My Vacation In Heaven
Jerry Lee is going to spend his vacation in Heaven
With loved ones gone on before Jerry Lee
It’ll be Jesus, my saviour
Forever and ever
Please spend your vacation with me
See? He’s not really gone. Just taking an extended vacation.
What about other songwriters? What do they have to say about Jerry Lee?
Let’s start with Ray…
The Kinks – One Of The Survivors
He digs Jerry Lee Lewis, Dion and The Belmonts,
And Johnny and The Hurricanes.
In case you’re keeping score, Johnny Paris died in 2006. Dion DiMucci, on the other hand, is still with us. I guess he might be the last man standing now. (Unless we count Willie Nelson, 6 years older than Dion and still going strong.)
The late Ian Dury also placed Jerry Lee in some very fine company…
Ian Dury & The Blockheads – Dance of the Crackpots
From Rosemary Clooney to Jerry Lee Lewis
From Debussy to Thelonious Monk
It’s the modern art of the human heart
The shape of things to funk, funk, funk
And here’s a song that name-drops everyone from Creedence to Otis to Missy Elliott to Korn. Chances are this one will pop up again.
One more of those, Paul Heaton’s celebration of jukebox records…
Paul Heaton & Jacqui Abbott – 7” Singles
However, we must remember that Jerry Lee Lewis wasn’t exactly a paragon of virtue. For example…
Jerry Lee Lewis had a child bride
Only thirteen, but he said he's justified
Indie rocker Ike Reilly writes lyrics more suited to a rap song, but though he’s been described as “rude, crude and lewd”, he also has something to say, and does so in quite a clever way.
The Ike Reilly Assassination – I Don’t Want What You Got (Goin’ On)
Chuck Berry, Cadillac, Ludacris, Cadillac
Jerry Lee Lewis with his balls on fire
In the back of a Rocket 88
With an out-of-state plate and an underage date
Cars and girls and drinks and songs
Leave that shit in the middle of the road
What about love and what about trust?
And that’s not the only trouble Jerry Lee got into. Remember the time he shot his bass player? (It was an accident, apparently, but he still got sued.)
Reverend Horton Heat - Death Metal Guys
Jerry Lee Lewis shot his bass player down
Down to the ground
But death metal guys would have eaten his brain
And people call Jerry Lee Lewis insane!
There’s no denying Jerry Lee had a bit of a reputation… but was he really evil?
Ministry – Jesus Built My Hotrod
"Soon I discovered that this rock thing was true
Jerry Lee Lewis was the devil
Jesus was an architect previous to his career as a prophet
All of a sudden, I found myself in love with the world
So there was only one thing that I could do
Was ding a ding dang my dang a long ling long"
Then again, you could argue that’s what made him interesting! More interesting than a lot of young rock stars these days…
The Stone Coyotes – American Child
Somebody tell me
What’s going on?
Where are the wild ones?
Where have they gone?
Give me Jerry Lee Lewis
Give me Joey Ramone
Some of these new boys
They say they want to fight
But it takes them three days
To get the drum sound right
In truth, there were far more records that mentioned Jerry Lee than I’ve got time or inclination to feature here. But here are just a few of them…
Ringo Starr – I’ll Be Fine Anywhere
Johnny Hallyday – Excusez-moi de chanter encore du rock and roll
Drive-By Truckers – Demonic Possession
Eddy Mitchell – Les Filles de Jerry Lee Lewis
Miranda Lambert & The B52s – Music City Queen
Van Morrison – In The Days Before Rock n Roll
But this is the song I chose to close with today. Because Frank Turner understands the spirit of rock n roll that Jerry embodied. And just like I do, Frank still believes…
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