Great Jerry Lee photo

Just found this great photo on the web. It's from the Killer's Grand Ole Opry debut in 1973. He's sat next to Del Wood with a chunky looking Kenny Lovelace in the background.

George Jones - Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes

George Jones is 79 today. Check out this classic 1985 video for Who's Gonna Fill Their Shoes? Apart from Willie, Merle and Jerry Lee I think all the others in it are dead. How the hell are the Killer, the Possum and the Red Headed Stranger still alive. Obviously the other guys didn't abuse themselves enough!

There's a few lumps in the throat moments in the video, like the clip of Jerry lee pounding the keys and a lovely smile from Marty Robbins. When it flashes to Johnny Cash the hair's on my neck stood up - what presence the man had.

Anyway, happy birthday George, take a ride into town and have a beer. There must be some gas in the lawn mower!

Jerry Lee on All Stars Anything Goes - 1977

I've no idea what All Stars Anything Goes is, but a guess would be that it's a bit like the UK's It's A Knockout with the odd celebrity addition. These clips are weird. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine seeing Jerry Lee in this type of thing. What strikes me is how fit he looks in 1977 when you consider what Elvis was like (even before August!).

To think that him and Tom T. Hall would be in a sack race together. Wierd. Basically it's Mercury Records against RCA. Choose your favourites and cheer them on. Go Jerry.

On a more serious note, Jerry Lee has just has to cancel his European dates as he is reported to be seriously ill. Get well Killer, we need you.

Kingcats – In The Mood

Kingcats – In The Mood
Foot Tapping FT091

Tracklisting: 1.PROMISED LAND; 2.LONESOME LIFE FOR ME; 3.TREAT ME NICE; 4.LOSING SIDE OF ME; 5.PERFECT WORLD; 6.IN THE MOOD BOOGIE; 7.DONT' LEAVE ME NOW; 8.TIME OF MY LIFE; 9.WALK ON BY; 10.WASH MACHINE BOOGIE.

I’ve raved over these guys before, both on record and on stage. Their latest Foot Tapping offering doesn’t disappoint and maintains the high standard they’ve set for themselves. Again the format is a short album full of well chosen covers and reminds me of the type of albums you used to get in the late 70’s.

As with their earlier Back On Track CD, there’s a trio of Elvis covers. Treat Me Nice and Don’t Leave Me Now showcase the quality of Bill Crittenden’s voice but add little to the original. The CD opener is something else though – they romp through Promised Land. I love the way the Kingcats turn the 70’s Elvis songs into 50’s rockabilly, a further example being Crittenden’s cover Hurt for an album he did with The Sweet Georgia Boys – check it out.

Again the covers on this album are well chosen. Jerry Lee’s In The Mood Boogie is a fine band workout that differs little from the Killer’s and the cover of the old nutmeg Washing Machine Boogie is superb. Crittenden is similar in style to James Intveld, so their cover of his Perfect World was always going to be good. Perfect voice, perfect song, perfect world indeed. Lonesome Life For Me and Time Of My Life are very Elvisy and the Mavericks Losing Side Of Me is tailor made.

The best song though, and one that I haven’t been able to stop playing is Leroy Van Dyke’s Walk On By. It’s a brilliant version and even manages to surplus Leroy’s original. The vocals on this are superb. On my review of Back On Track I finished by saying that BC was the Paul Ansell. If he keeps this up he’ll be the new Elvis. Bill Crittenden take a bow.

Reasons to Love youTube No.1 - Lightnin' Hopkins

Lightnin' Hopkins - Baby Please Don't Go

Wham Bam Sam playing the much covered Big Joe Williams classic. Lightnin' plays the guitar solo with the love and freedom that Jerry Lee sometimes plays a piano solo. It looks so effortless - amazing. The only negative thing I can think of is that his quiff wasn't as pomped as it sometimes was.

Lightnin' Hopkins - Mojo Hand 1962

I've seen five peice bands who couldn't boogie like this mutha.

Clip from The Blues According to lightnin' Hopkins

Has the blues ever been more powerful than Lightnin' and Howlin' Wolf. This five minute clip comes from the brilliant 1967 documentary dedicated to Lightnin' Hopkins. Check him out 30 seconds in, that quif I mentioned is just a comb away.

Jerry Lee Lewis Highway - Memphis, TN

The good folks of Memphis, Tennessee have decied to rename part of Getwell Road, the Jerry Lee Lewis Highway. Click on the link below to see WMC TV's coverage of the ceremony with the Killer looking frail but proud.

WMC TV Coverage

23 years today - I Saw The Light

Jerry Lee Lewis, Civic Centre, Newport, South Wales, UK
April 16th 1987

It was 23 years ago today that I saw Jerry Lee live for the first time. I still ain't over it yet. The guy was phenominal that night and he became the love of my life. The misses has learnt to deal with it - some things you just can't compete with.

If you thought that the Killer was past it in '87, check out the clip below. His hands were always quick but at the 58 second mark he takes his jacket off so quick you won't believe it!

Jerry Lee in Close-up action

Anyone know the story behind this mad clip?

Update: Thanks for Flip for the following - "Tony Palmer ITV music doc from 70s All You Need Is love, now out as dvd box".

Jerry Lee Lewis Live in France, 1972

Palais d'hiver, Lyon, France, 9.5.72

Is there any other guy in the world who mid song would shove the mic in his pants and comb his hair. Class.

Jerry Lee Lewis: European Tour 2010

Diba International Concerts has announced the dates for Jerry Lee Lewis' next European Tour. The tour, also featuring Linda Gail Lewis & Some Like It Hot and the
Memphis Beats will run from July 20th to August 1st. I'n not sure whether any othe dates will be added, but the current itinary is;

20.07.2010 - Laslo Papp Sportarena, Budapest, Hungary
23.07.2010 - Lycabettus Theater, Athens, Greece
28.07.2010 - Volkshaus, Zurich, Switzerland
01.08.2010 - Tampere Hall, Tampere, Finland

I've started telling my misses how lovely she looks and to leave the dishes, I'll do them. Not sure whether that'll get me to Athens, but you gotta try. I've been to Budapest and it's a beautiful city, it would make a great city break, with a Killer concert thrown in.

Jerry Lee Lewis - Lonely Weekends - youTube

The blurb on the youTube page says "Jerry Lee performs an intense version of Charlie Rich's Sun Records hit "Lonely Weekends" on the Midnight Special in 1973".

What it doen't say is that the piano solo is as whacky as the suit. Whatever, it's a magical version with a brass section that says Memphis soul and a yodel at the end that says Nashville country. The Killer fused the two like his enemy/friend down the road.

Jerry Lee Lewis in Melbourne Australia, 1989

In 1989 Jerry Lee played three nights in Melbourne in a Legends of Rock concert series. One of the concerts was televised at the time in Oz, but hasn't been released on video or DVD. It's great to get some unseen professionally shot footage with a white-hot band of Memphis Beats, including Kenny Lovelace, Joel Schumaker and Buck Hutchison. The overhead shots give a wonderful display of the Killer's deadly piano playing. The wild version of Great Balls of Fire will knock yer socks off.

Why You Be Gone So Long

High School Confidential

Whole Lotta Shakin'Going On

Great Balls Of Fire

The John Terry EP

Side A
Jerry Lee Lewis - Last Cheater's Waltz
Trent Tomlinson - Cheatin’ On My Honky Tonk

Side B
The Pearls - Your Cheatin' Heart
Dale Watson - Cheatin' Heart Attack

Since I've been having a break from the blog, the British press have been having a field day with John Terry, laughably awarded Father Of The Year around the same time he was poking team mate Wayne Bridges' misses. I know they say in football that when the left back leaves his position, the centre half covers the hole, but this was still a bit naughty. I hate John Terry, so I'm loathe to name an EP after him, but what the hell, he did provide the inspiration for an EP of cheating songs, so here goes.


I love Jerry Lee more than I love life itself, and when he sings a Sonny Throckmorton song, if jest don’t get any better. Their 1978 collaboration, Middle Aged Crazy is in my top 10 songs of all time, an absolute peach. From the same year came Last Cheater's Waltz. This was a period where Jerry Lee was singing country music better than anyone outside of George Jones’ house and Throckmorton starting a three year run as the Nashville Songwriters Association’s, Songwriter of the Year the song couldn’t help but be pure gold. Taken from the Killer’s final Mercury album, Keeps Rockin’, it’s one of the great cheatin’ songs. “She was going to pieces when he walked in the door, She had to see him she can't wait no more, Tonight she'll be with him no matter the cost, As the band plays The Last Cheater's Waltz”.

Trent Tomlinson is a modern country singer who won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. His debut album Country Is My Rock, from 2006 produced three Top 40 singles, Drunker Than Me, One Wing in the Fire and Just Might Have Her Radio On. A couple of them are pretty good but it’s the album track, Cheatin’ On My Honky Tonk that really appeals to me. Set to a modern day country rocker beat, the lyrics are great fun, with Tomlinson being embarrased to be going home when he should be tonkin’ with his buddies. “Hey, I'm cheatin' on my honky-tonk, 'Fraid my friends are gonna talk, Tryin' hide it best as I can, Well, I don't want no-one to know, What I'm doin', where I go: Think I'm any less of a man, I know they'll really kill me,
Try to pull me back if they only knew, I've been cheatin' on my honky-tonk, An' comin' home to you.” I look forward to his upcoming album, A Guy Like Me later this year. As Waylon said “Are you sure Hank done it this way”, well, no he didn’t, but then he never did it like Waylon either. Ignore the modern drums, and this is a honky tonk classic.


And if ol’ Hank didn’t do it Trent Tomlinson’s way, he sure didn’t do it like the Pearls. They were a doo-wop band on the Onyx label, a short lived affair from New York whose either prime-time woppers were the Velours. Their 1957 cover of the Hank Williams classic is a brilliant interpretation that leaves you wishing they’d stayed around long enough to do a full album of Hank covers. Check out the 1998 CD, Here Come The Pearls on Onyx 2003 to sample such delights as The Vow, Zippity Zippity Zoom and the fabulous, Ice Cream Baby.

It was a rave review in Country Music People that led me to buy Dale Watson,’s 1995 Highton debut, Cheatin’ Heart Attack. It was the same day I bought my first Anson Funderburgh album, Rack ‘Em Up, with my favourite track, Lemonade. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I still believe this is still Dale Watson’s finest album to date. Nashville Rash is a brilliant insight into the way Music City has done away with the old legends that’s as relevant today as it was 15 years ago. The whole album is hardcore honky tonk music, with Merle to the fore.

Observer Videos

Following the Observer story I posted the other day, the papers website now has a pile of videos of some of the artists featured. Click on the link below to see Nick Tosches talk about Jerry Lee and see the links at the side of the page.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/video/2010/jan/20/american-legends

Jerry Lee Lewis, 74, photographed at the London hotel, New York, 30
October 2009. Photograph: Jamie-James Medina

Jerry Lee Lewis: the hellfire pianist
Ray Davies of the Kinks on the original punk

The Uk newspaper, the Sunday Observer today issued their final instalment in the 76 issue OMM (Observer Music Monthly), which ran from 2003 to 2010. This was Jerry Lee's second time on the cover, no mean feat for a mag that focussed mostly on modern music.

the text that ran with the photo came courtesy of Ray Davies and read, ""Before Jerry Lee came along the piano was all Winifred Atwell and Russ
Conway. A bit polite. I remember him playing on the Six-Five Special and
I'd literally never seen anything like it. He had that long curly hair
and he was playing with one leg up on the piano. He looked like a complete
punk, but really cool at the same time. White shirt, black suit. The
coolest. Obviously a man with demons, but the fact he didn't seem quite
safe to be around added to the attraction and the power of the
performance.

"That was it. It affected me more than Elvis Presley. I bought High
School Confidential from the movie of the same name.

"The first concert I went to was Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and
Duane Eddy. Both Jerry Lee and Little Richard were doing their
extravaganza, but somehow Jerry Lee had the edge with the hair and the
body language.Again, it was something I'd never seen before. Since then,
I've seen him play lots of times. The last time was at the Festival Hall
about six years ago, when he was on with Chuck Berry. I think he'd just
had a stroke or something and he wasn't quite his normal self, but he
was still playing great piano.

"It's not obvious, but there is an influence there. There's piano onYou
Really Got Me and All Day and All of the Night, and most of the time
they're doing chops with the right hand like Jerry Lee would have
done.I've never met him, though. I stay away from my heroes, because I
want them to stay heroes. After all these years, High School
Confidential is still my favourite and still seems to sum him up: 'You
better open up, honey, it's your lover boy, me, that's a knockin' - bam,
ba-bam!' Genius."

Key recording: Sun Essentials (Charly, 2006)

Jerry Lee Lewis in the Los Angeles Times

The following article appeared in todays Los Angeles Times. Good to see the Killer still making the news.

Jerry Lee Lewis: Whole lot of playin' going on
Rock's original wild man may have mellowed a bit, but he's still busy pounding the keys. And even playing a little guitar. His latest project is a country album.

Reporting from Las Vegas - Jerry Lee Lewis sinks into a regal looking leather chair backstage at the House of Blues. The 74-year-old rock 'n' roll pioneer has just completed an impressive hourlong set at a private party for an associate of country star Tim McGraw. He's sharply dressed in a white vest embossed with floral curlicues, over a simple black shirt tucked into black denim jeans.

But the most striking thing about his physical presence might be his skin: Few of even the hardest-living rock or country musicians have been through as much as the man also known as the Killer. Yet his face is youthful, smooth -- not the battle-scarred war zone of wrinkles likeKeith Richards and Merle Haggard wear.

And there are those fingers: elegant, long and graceful, and still fully capable of tickling, tapping or pounding the ivory keys of the instrument with which he is synonymous.

"You can't beat a piana," he drawls.

Indeed, he displays such respect for the instrument that it's hard to believe he ever actually torched one -- though legend, of course, holds that he did precisely that, a good decade before Jimi Hendrix tried the same trick with a guitar. It was that act that helped earn the Louisiana native another nickname, the "Ferriday Fireball."

"I like to play guitar too," he says in an almost confessional tone. "I play my guitar just about as good as anybody plays guitar. Yeah! I can play some heavy blues, and some good rock 'n' roll on guitar . . . But I don't want to do that, because then I'm gonna be obligated to do it. I know [fans] expect to hear a piana . . . They're not going to allow the other Jerry Lee."

Sun discovery

It's difficult to imagine anyone -- fans included -- being able to box in Jerry Lee. His signature hits "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On" and "Great Balls of Fire" were explosive songs full of unbridled lust that left adults of the sedate 1950s convinced that the devil himself had arrived in the world to claim their teenage children.

While Jerry Lee might have mellowed with age, he is, as acknowledged by the title of his 2006 album, "Last Man Standing -- the Duets," the only surviving icon of a singular generation. Among the artists Sam Phillips discovered and first recorded at Sun Records in the 1950s -- including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins -- Lewis, the biggest hellion of them all and the one Phillips once described as "on balance, probably the most talented human being I ever had the opportunity to work with," has outlived every one.

"Last Man Standing" is chock full of superstar duets with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, B.B. King, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and a slew of others, which helped it sell nearly 200,000 copies.

Many of those guests are back, with new names added to the list, for another set that Steve Bing and his Santa Monica-based Shangri-La Music label plan to issue early next year (a five-song sampler EP was made available online last month).

A third album is set to follow about nine months later.

But it's not strictly about big names paying their respects. Among the raw tracks Bing is working up with the album's co-producer, veteran drummer-to-the-rock-gods Jim Keltner, is one featuring "the other Jerry Lee," with Lewis accompanying himself on guitar on a freewheeling, country blues rendition of Cash's "Folsom Prison Blues."

Naturally, he remakes the lyrics to fit his own outsized personality: "I shot a boy in Memphis / Didn't want to watch him die," adding a sardonic little "heh-heh" after his revamp.

And there's Lewis at the piano, singing the gospel song "Peace in the Valley": "The bear will be gentle and the wolf will be tame / The lion shall lie down with the lamb . . . [and] I'll be changed from this creature that I am."

Lewis is more lamb than lion these days, although he flashed a bit of the old bite at the recent 25th anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden. After a laudatory introduction by Tom Hanks, Lewis kicked over his piano stool to start the second night's show, delighting the crowd.

The country side

One surprise amid the 43 songs he's put down with Bing and Keltner is his take on Kris Kristofferson’s "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down," which Cash turned into a No. 1 country hit in 1970. "I never heard John's record," Lewis says, and it's easy to believe him after listening to the 100% Jerry Lee version that streamed from the monitors recently at a Hollywood recording studio.

A lot of the songs he's recorded for Shangri-La have been on his set list for decades. Others, like the Rolling Stones' "Sweet Virginia," he would learn after a few listens in the car on the way to sessions.

"He's the quickest study I ever worked with," said producer Jerry Kennedy, who oversaw hundreds of Lewis' country recordings in the 1960s and '70s after his rock 'n' roll fame flamed out.

"He'd get to town an hour and a half or two hours before we would start recording, he'd listen to the new song five, six, seven or eight times, and then he knew it," Kennedy said by phone from his Nashville home. "I think he uses a song likes a script: He crawls inside it and does his thing like an actor . . . He never did anything the same way twice -- that's what was wild."

During playback of Lewis' rendition of "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down," Kristofferson was in the control room. He shook his head while wearing an expression of amazement and pride.

"God almighty," he said. "If I ever thought back in the day I'd be hearing this . . . I'd think somebody brought me back from heaven to hear that."

The "Last Man Standing" project was intent on reviving Lewis the rocker; this time around, the focus is on the country facet of his music. That's where he resurrected his career in the late 1960s, after he had become a pariah for marrying his 13-year-old cousin Myra. Virtually overnight, he went from commanding $10,000 a night to out-of-the-way gigs that paid $25.

The wild ups and downs of his life from that point on have been well-documented: six wives, four of whom he divorced, the other two died; two sons lost in separate accidents; his own addiction to drugs and alcohol, which led to bleeding ulcers that nearly killed him in 1985. And of course, the renaissance he's experienced in the last few years.

"When I moved in back in 1999-2000, he was not the same person," said his daughter, Phoebe, from his marriage to Myra, who also has served as his manager for nearly the past decade. "He was depressed, he was in a bad marriage. It took us some time, but with his commitment and my commitment, and putting together a good team of people, we turned it around. It's like he started over again."

Added producer Kennedy, who last worked with Lewis 35 years ago: "He deserves any good things that can happen. What a great talent."

Busy touring

Lewis wasn't on hand to take in any of the kudos directly. While many of those working on the new album were hunkered down in Hollywood, Lewis was in Linz, Austria, in the middle of a month-long European tour.

At this stage of Lewis' career, touring isn't about milking a fabled name for nostalgia value on the oldies circuit, but facilitating his ability to continue performing while he's both able and inspired to play.

When he's not, Phoebe's happy to head home to Nesbit, Miss., where Jerry Lee relaxes in front of a TV watching "Gunsmoke" reruns or old Gene Autry westerns. ("Anybody who doesn't like Gene Autry," he says with a sneer, "is a weirdo.") Sometimes, he entertains himself and his daughter with songs he loves, including pop standards "Autumn Leaves" and "Stardust."

There'd been talk of him traveling to Los Angeles the night after the Vegas party for another show, but he and Phoebe decided to scrap it so they could get home a day early and rest up for the European tour.

"That one was gonna pay $40,000," he says with a nod that seems to carry with it the memory of those $25 nights of yore -- and even a glint of pride that it's one he can now afford to pass up. "That's a lot of money, Killer."

Elvis songwriter Aaron Schroeder dies

Aaron Schroeder, who wrote no fewer than 17 songs for Elvis Presley died earlier this week in Englewood, New Jersey aged 83, following a long battle against a rare Alzheimer's-like form of dementia. He was a composer, lyricist and/or producer for more close to 2,000 songs.

Born in Brooklyn, New York his first success came in the late 1940s when Rosemary Clooney scored with "At a Sidewalk Penny Arcade". Others to record his songs included Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Perry Como, Pat Boone, Sammy Davis, Jr., Nat King Cole, Roy Orbison, Dionne Warwick, Art Garfunkel, Arlo Guthrie and The Beatles.

As a producer, he helped launch the careers of Randy Newman, Jimi Hendrix, Al Cooper, Barry White and Gene Pitney. He also worked for Hanna-Barbera, where he provided the music for The Banana Splits and also had the honour of writing the children’s classic, "Scooby Doo Where Are You?"

But it’s as a songsmith for Elvis that he made his biggest impact. He provided the King with five numbers 1’s, including the massive worldwide hit, "It's Now or Never". Their work together each side of Elvis’s stint in the army are just mind blowing.

Despite co-writing Rubber Ball for Bobby Vee he will still be remembered as a great songwriter.

Have a look at this least and drool. Don’t just read it quick, look at the title, think about the song and how great it is and then the full impact of the magnitude of his songwriting should hit home. This is what legendary really means.

For Elvis:
Stuck on You
Good Luck Charm
A Big Hunk O'Love
I Got Stung
Don’t Leave Me Now
Anyway You Want Me
First In Line
Got A Lot Of Livin’ To Do
I Was The One
In Your Arms
Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me
Shoppin’ Around
Young And Beautiful
Young Dreams

For some other rockers
Apron Strings (Cliff)
Because They’re Young (Duane Eddy)
Grizzly Bear (Jack Scott)
Halfway to Heaven (Conway Twitty)
Make Me Know You’re Mine (Conway Twitty)
My Boy Elvis (Janis Martin)
Today’s Teardrops (Roy Orbison)
Wild Cat (Gene Vincent),

Mickey Gilley Paralysed

Country singer MICKEY GILLEY has been left paralysed from the neck down after suffering a near-fatal fall. The 73 year old cousin of Jerry Lee was helping a friend move house in Branson, Missouri in July (09) when he tripped backwards over a door frame and fell awkwardly on his back.
The accident caused permanent damage to his vertebrae and he has been confined to life in a wheelchair - but Gilley knows he is lucky to be alive after doctors feared he would never survive his injuries.
He told the National Enquirer, "I hit the back of my neck and was unconscious for two days. When I awoke, I was in a complete panic because I couldn't move anything. I thought, 'Am I going to be like this for the rest of my life?'
"But I felt very fortunate to be alive. I was on the brink of death."
Gilley is slowly building up the strength in his arms and he's refusing to give up hope of making a return to music.
He adds, "My hands haven't completely come back, and I'm hoping that they will so I can play piano again.
"My goal (is) to get back on the road and performing again. I miss that more than anything else."

Battle of the Song No.5 - Flip Flop & Fly

I love this song, even helped give me my nickname, first heard it on JLL`s mid 60s Smash lp Return Of Rock and he did a cool live version on his later live in Vegas album, then I got the BIG Joe Turner original on Atlantic, brilliant stuff like most of his uptempo Atlantic gems, backbeat heaven with intermitent honkin,she`s so small she can mambo in a telephone booth, here too we have a live in Germany version by the great man from the mid 60s, more of a jazzy swining version, Otis Rush is on there and he`s introduced by piano legend Roosevelt Sykes.

In the 70s I saw grainy betamax tapes of Elvis on the Dorsey Bro tv shows which knocked all his 60s movies into Col parker`s big headed stetson in one fell swoop, he did Big Joe`s Shake Rattle N Roll (which he cut for RCA Victor of course ) but showing he`s collest of da kool he slips in a chorus of Flip towards the end, later RCA issued this live cut on the Golden Celebration lp box ( better quality than the dodgy ole boots from Taiwan).

The 70s rockabilly revival reissues brought Johnny Bell's frantic 59 version on Brunswick, mmmm, large Joseph n rockabilly go hand in glove, awesome.

Then from that JLL tv pilot series mentioned in earlier posts we get primo Killerfest of raw roadhouse boogie,mmmmm.

Which is best, pays yer money takes yer choice,think my nod goes to the original 45/78,but it`s agreat song as testified by these cool covers.

Flip


Big Joe Turner Atlantic 78

Big Joe Turner -Flip Flop & Fly (live 66)

Killer - Flip Flop & Fly

Johnny Bell - Flip Flop & Fly ( Brunswick)

The King - Shake Rattle N Roll/Flip Flop & Fly

Flip's Killer Klip # 4

JLL, Johnny Cash & Carl Perkins live Stuttgart Germany - 1981

Back in 70s and 80s good ole boy promoter Mervyn Conn used to bring to Uk and Europe some stunning country festivals, the London Wembley ones were usually filmed by the BBC for later highlights transmissions, the first one I attended in 81 has matchbox, Wanda jackson, carl perkins and jerry lee on a rockabilly night, the highlight being when Carl came out to play a couple of songs with JLL at the end of the show,I even bought my first Betamax video so I could ecord the BBC show later that year, then in Paris they did it again (a real wild ending which is also on video) and then in Holland and Germany JLL and Carl joined Cash to jam on gospel and rock n roll numbers at the end of his set. Rodany Crowell later mixed the german show for release as the Survivors album on Columbia, a few years later the Class Of 55 album was cut in Memphis by Chips Moman with the Big O joining in.

I`ve never seen any footage of the 81 Stuttgart show until fairly recently and here`s a chunk of JLL with Cash and his band doing Will The Circle Be Unbroken, joined by Carl as well,enjoy this historical recreation of three quarters of the Million Dollar Quartet.

Flip