how did you hear about Jerry Lee Lewis

[Tony Papard]

[quote="Tim in St. Louis"][quote="Tony Papard"] I joined the fan club after seeing him 'live' for the first time at Golders Green Hippodrome in December of that year
Hey Tony... What do you remember from that first show? Was he wild or tamed a little? Just interested in your stamped memories of that first encounter.quote]

Not much I'm afraid, except being mesmerized by his whole demeanor and stage act. My brother and I only attended the first show that nite, which was probably less wild than the second show. His hair all stayed in place, though it was not cut short till the next year I believe. So I never witnessed it falling round his head like on the Granada TV special, etc.

I do remember how he'd look at the audience and up at the ceiling when playing, hardly ever at the piano as he does nowadays. And he joked with the audience, picking out one woman in particular and flirting with her. When she let out a squeal of delight he said: 'I don't think you and me could get along after all honey, you sound a little peculiar to me!'

I loved his show so much I wanted to go in for the second house, but it was sold out, and we lived 20 miles away in Welwyn Garden City at the time so had to catch the last Greenline long-distance bus home from outside the theater.

The really wild show I remember was two years later at the Wimbledon Theater, South London in 1966, when loads of fans invaded the stage during the second show, and the manager who came on stage to plead with them to go back to their seats, was pulled across the orchestra pit and used as a bridge for more fans to climb on stage. Jerry just climbed on top of the piano and rocked on! Magic!

[chris morris]

In 1963 when I was 12 all my mates were fans of the latest British groups but for some reason I was more interested in vintage rock'n'roll. The elder brother of a school mate lent me some Little Richard and Fats Domino singles and "Whole lotta shakin ." In September 1964 I watched the Granada T.V. special....and the rest, as they say, is history. I've been a huge fan ever since. I didn't get to actually see Jerry live until 1968 at Kempton Park . He's still the best live act I've ever seen and Gene Vincent is probably the next best in terms of on-stage excitement. Thanks to Peter Checksfield I've been able to re-live some of the great and slightly chaotic 80s concerts on DVD and they are as good as I remembered.

Chris

[W_Skinner]

Many years ago.
I was already into rock 'n roll and boogie, esp. Status Quo.
Then I happened to watch the "Legends of R&R" gig in Rome on TV. Very cool. The following night I had a dream of myself playing the piano, seeing my hands through my own eyes.
Next morning I started to learn it by myself on my sister's old keyboard...
Today I still enjoy bashing a piano and wow some chicks

[wolfgangguhl]

You enjoy bashing chicks?

[W_Skinner]

Rarely, Wolfgang. Actually I meant "wowing"

[rockin532000]

Back in school in the early 70's we had two musical parties. One being the Beatles' fans and the other listening to Elvis. (I am coming from the country side of Switzerland and that's why we might have been a little bit behind the time...). Of course, I was an Elvis fan myself but I still did miss something in his music.

It wasn't until summer 1977 (I was 12 years old) when I was on holiday with my parents in Austria (for Austrians among us: Krems an der Donau) where I found a very cheap priced LP of some Sun recordings by Jerry.

And that's when it really changed for me (musically speaking). A further big boost came when I saw him the first time live in 1981.

Best Wishes
Joerg

[jonny williams]

i bought a little richard LP and a jerry lee (hallmark Great Balls Of Fire) lp from a guy at school for a quid so he could buy cigarettes...i later learned they were his dads lps !! .....but thats where i first heard him, must have been late 1981....the following year i saw him on BBC's Sing Country ...fromk the wembly festival when he did four songs Rockin my life away,Bobby McGee,Pick me up on your way down, and drinking wine.....then i was completey hooked !

[cbii]

I met him when I was around 4 or 5 years old.

[bailbath]

I met him when I was around 4 or 5 years old.

If you don't mind me asking how long ago was that? With a famous Dad like you have, how 'normal' was it meeting famous people like Jerry Lee? Did you ever meet someone in connection with your Dad/music business who made a lasting impression on you good or bad? Heavy question maybe but fascinating for a fan!
Ian

[peterchecksfield]

I met him when I was around 4 or 5 years old.

If you don't mind me asking how long ago was that? With a famous Dad like you have, how 'normal' was it meeting famous people like Jerry Lee? Did you ever meet someone in connection with your Dad/music business who made a lasting impression on you good or bad? Heavy question maybe but fascinating for a fan!
Ian

This would've been some time in the 60s I think...

[cbii]

I met him when I was around 4 or 5 years old.

If you don't mind me asking how long ago was that? With a famous Dad like you have, how 'normal' was it meeting famous people like Jerry Lee? Did you ever meet someone in connection with your Dad/music business who made a lasting impression on you good or bad? Heavy question maybe but fascinating for a fan!
Ian

I guess around 1965 or 66 being my first time meeting Mr. Lewis. Since I'm in my dad's band now, there have been many, many more times to see him on the road. There were so many people over that time, the "Celebrity" status of people like Mr. Lewis or Uncle Bo was never a real factor for me. They were just people my father knew and or worked with. It pretty much came down to seeing most of them in their most relaxed moments. Just milling around backstage interacting with each other and having a good time.

In 1995 at the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame dedication Concert in Cleveland Ohio, I met Bruce Springstein. A really, really nice guy (as was the entire band). Another one was my dad telling us "some guy" (Taylor Hackford) was making a movie about him and they would be at Berry Park a few days filming. I'm expecting a small crew interviewing in the parlor at the house asking questions for a couple of hours and that would be that. OH NO! I get to BerryPark and find out they are in the studio not the main house. No big deal. I walk inside, glance to my left and see Keith Richard on the bandstand starting to play his Telecaster, WTF? This is not a sit down interview! I introduced myself and found a new old cousin from the UK. The wildman that the media makes of Keith was not the person I got to know. There's countless others that also were the absolute coolest people on Earth, did not use there fame and celebrity as a weapon and are still my friends to this day.

There have been some pompous asses that let the fame get to their heads however, they are few and far between. They usually are the types that are always in the spot light, soaking up the admiration / adoration and allowing the praise to take over. It's a case of not realizing they bleed like everyone and have to sit down to pinch a loaf (unless they want a real mess on their hands). Thinking about it, of the people that are complete jerks, the demographic make up is primarily newer artists. The just found fame types that don't realize they still have to perform their bodily functions just like us "NORMAL" people.

[szerelem24]

My father suggested I could listened to a MC of Jerry Lee Lewis, a compilation of songs from Smash/Mercury years including 'The Greatest Live Show On Earth'. It was a piece from the 'Rock History' music-cassette collection he borrowed from my cousin. I was about 10 or 11 years old then, and I loved it. I remember I started playing it once a day, and finished playing it three times a day.

Two years later the GREAT BALLS OF FIRE MOVIE had its premiere what did easier (but not easy) to find Jerry Lee Lewis albums in Spain. The internet era fixed that handicap fortunately.


Iñigo,
Rockin' in the Haunted House

[unchained]

I'm interested in the Blues & Country so this automatically gets a person into JLL I believe.

I kinda hate that pop, no talent having now-a-days and 80's music so any old artist will do but a man got his favorites.