Jerry Lee Lewis records Elvis(Sun rumor)

[Tony Papard]

There are two articles in the current Jan/Feb 2009 issue of Fireball Mail which have puzzled me.

One is a mysterious 'cousin' of Jerry Lee and Mickey Gilley, Lindsay Rae Spurlock, described as an 'indie rock artist'. She certainly exists as she has a Website/My Space entry, but no mention there of any connexion with Lewis or Gilley. She looks far too young to be a first cousin.

If she's a distant cousin, I just wonder why we've never heard about her before, and how exactly is she related?

The other mystery is a supposed third Sun LP 'Jerry Lee Lewis Sings Elvis'. In FBM there is even an LP sleeve shown, both front and back, with full title listings and a catalog number - LP 1294.

Titles listed for this project which never happened are:

Lawdy Miss Clawdy, Hard Headed Woman, Good Rockin' Tonight, Shake Rattle & Roll, Blue Moon of Kentucky, I Forgot To Remember, Hound Dog, Jailhouse Rock, Mean Woman Blues, I Love You Because, Tomorrow Night, When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again.

Some of these tracks have been released by Shelby Singleton after he bought the Sun catalog, but not Hard Headed Woman, Shake Rattle & Roll or Blue Moon of Kentucky, but Peter Checksfield lists these titles, along with many others, in the 'Killer' book discography as unconfirmed rumors of recordings by Jerry at Sun.

Alll this info apparently comes from the late Michel Grezes and was published in a 1968 edition of the former French JLL fanzine, 'Teen Beat Letter' #14. Also listed in this article is a number called 'I Get The Jitters' by Otis Blackwell, recorded by Jerry during his last Sun session in 1963, along with 'Mule Skinner Blues'. The Hank Williams song 'Kaw Liga' is also listed as a song Jerry cut for Sun, as is a 1959 cut of 'Reelin' and Rockin'', and 'Lovin' Cajun Style' from the 1962 session which produced 'Sweet Little 16'. Peter's 'Killer' discography also lists all these titles as unconfirmed rumors of Jerry Lee recordings at Sun.

So it is the LP, complete with sleeve and serial number, which is the real mystery. The serial number would fit in pretty well with the two released Sun albums while Jerry was with the label - numbers 1230 and 1265.

'Lawdy Miss Clawdy', 'Hard Headed Woman', 'Shake Rattle & Roll' were all apparently recorded in 1963 for the 'Jerry sings Elvis' album.

I just wonder why I've never heard of this album project before, and how it got so far as to have a sleeve designed for it, and a catalog number allocated, yet was never released?

Perhaps Singleton bought the rights before it was issued and canceled the project?

I wonder if any of these titles, and the others Peter mentions in the 'Killer' discography as unconfirmed rumors, will ever see the light of day.

[Perk]

Hi Tony,

I receivied a list with these Sun songs years ago from rocker Peter Molecz. I recall Paul Macphail thought it was not real. He´s on here so i hope he updates us all on why he thinks it´s not real information. I forgot it myself as i tend to belivie in and hope that those recordings are in excistense somewhere : )))

As for Lindsay Spurlock, i have no idea.

Perk

[peterchecksfield]

I asked on the other forum about Lindsay a few weeks back, but even Graham & Kay hadn't heard of her. Has anyone asked a family member (Phoebe, Linda, etc?).

[Andrew McRae]

So it is the LP, complete with sleeve and serial number, which is the real mystery. The serial number would fit in pretty well with the two released Sun albums while Jerry was with the label - numbers 1230 and 1265.

...
I just wonder why I've never heard of this album project before, and how it got so far as to have a sleeve designed for it, and a catalog number allocated, yet was never released?

My interpretation of the account of this project is that the concept of the album and the sleeve design are of very much more recent origin - perhaps simply done for the benefit of this article within the last few weeks? And /or anticipating that the magazine might have been issued on 1st April. Certainly the cover bears all the hallmarks of a modern font-type, whilst the mock-up for the rear doesn't really look like an LP sleeve design anyway, more suitable for a CD... Moreover, the catalogue number SLP 1294 certainly would never have been contemplated - all Sun LP releases had numbers that were multiples of '5' - i.e. they ended either with a zero or a five, in a sequence from 1220 to 1275. Anyway, I'm sure Freddy and/or Wim can provide an explanation!

There were, in fact, plenty of 'third' Sun LPs anyway.... first up was the French London label issue "Album No 3", dating from 1965, collecting 12 tracks from Sun 45s that didn't make it onto the first two. UK fans might think of the slightly later London collection "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" as the 'third' Sun album. Then there was 'Sun' SLP 1280 "Alive & Rockin'" from the mid/late '80s- a bootleg that actually featured 'Session' an Elektra out-takes amongst other odds and sods!

Andrew

[peter molecz]

There must be a mixture between facts and rumours concerning all the songs listed in Teen Beat Letter and the German magazine Teenage Letter
from Dec 1967.
Facts are, that a lot of these songs were released later by Shelby. Another
fact is that there was planed obviously a third LP with Elvis songs. I don´t have the new FBM already and cannot refer to this article.
Rumours are, that some of the unreleased songs Jerry did during concerts in the early 60`s and could be mixed up with studio stuff in the can.
The most wondering point for me is, that the writer of the article in
Teenage Letter gives us the impression, that he has listened to studio songs, not live versions.

Peter M.

[peterchecksfield]

Another
fact is that there was planed obviously a third LP with Elvis songs.

Is this really "fact"? I've never heard about this before.

[Andrew McRae]

peter molecz wrote:
Another
fact is that there was planed obviously a third LP with Elvis songs.


Is this really "fact"? I've never heard about this before.

Nor have I! And if we're not careful, I think it's in danger of developing into an 'urban myth'. My reading of the article is that it is no more than Freddy speculating with the idea, based on the list of song titles rumoured to have been 'in the can' at Sun, and then mocking up a related sleeve! I don't believe for a minute that the idea ever occured to Sam Phillips in 1963 or at any other time.

Andrew

[Rocky]

Paul here. All this list began sometime in 1965 when I first sent it to Wim and it was listed in an early Fireball Mail. At the time, Jerry had released "Carry Me Back To Old Virginia" and we were compiling a list of unlisted songs in the Sun vault, yet to be released. About 75% of them were on the mark, the others came from people like Ronnie Kellerman, Gary Skala, and even Jerry himself. In a phone call from Gary Skala in September of 1963 he informed me that Jerry had recorded an Otis Blackwell song at his last Sun session called "I Get the Jitters". A few years later in 1965 while visiting Gary at his house in Long Island, he said it never took place. Jerry was going to record it and dropped it. As for "Lovin' Cajun Style", Jerry performed it on stage several times and actually thought he recorded it at Sun, but this never happened. Songs like "Hard Headed Woman", "Blue Moon of Kentucky", "Kaw-Liga", and "Mule Skinner Blues" were all reported from different sources as recorded - they never were. All of Jerry's Sun material has been released. Hope this clears the matter up. Back in 63 Sam once was quoted as saying he was going to release 5 albums by Jerry if he had resigned with Sun...sings Elvis, sings Hank Williams, sings Jimmie Rodgers, etc. Just Sam shooting the breeze.

[peterchecksfield]

All of Jerry's Sun material has been released.

I remember when the Charly vinyl boxset came out in 1983, & the people who compiled it were insisting that titles like 'Great Speckled Bird' & 'Birthday Cake' were never recorded. Then 4 years later the tapes surfaced...

[peter molecz]

The Dec. 1967 article in the German magazine "Teenage-Letter" is still very mysterious for me. I just found the first page of the copies Thomas
Sobczak sent me in 1991 and will try to translate the part concerning the "JLL sings Elvis" planned LP:

GOOD ROCKIN`TONIGHT
"....Jerry has recorded this early Elvis hit, composed by Brown and recorded by Pat Boone and Ricky Nelson too, already in 1958. So we can expect a real Jerry rocker without sax and chorus."

LAWDY MISS CLAWDY
"....Jerry recorded this song, composed and firstly recorded by LLoyd Price, for the Elvis LP too. He brings the song in a great rock style with unique piano. A real JLL rocker - recorded not before 1963."

HARD HEADED WOMAN
"....also recorded for the Elvis album in 1963. It seems, Jerry is rocking at his best and followed by a wild sax."

SHAKE, RATTLE AND ROLL
"....this rocker, was composed by Calhoun in a Jerry Lee style from today.
JLL sings the song very fast and rockin`and is accompanied by a big band.
Recorded in 1963 too."

BLUE MOON OF KENTUCKY
"....Jerry recorded this Monroe tune for the Elvis LP too, but not in the
original hillbilly Elvis sound. Jerry does the song in a more pop style and
the solo guitar is very fine."

I FORGOT TO REMEMBER TO FORGET
"....Jerry recorded this song in the wellknown countrystyle already in 1961
at the same session as "Cold, Cold Heart". Jerry don´t bring the song in the Elvis style, but more in the way he did his country/blues songs from
Hank Williams. Composer are Kesler and Feathers."


Maybe there will be a mixing up with live songs Jerry did in the early 60`s. But it´s interesting, that all "unissued Elvis songs" should have been recorded in 1963.

I don´t have the original issue of this magazine and I even don´t know
the name of the writer - I only got copys from Thomas a longtime ago.


Peter M.

[Tony Papard]

No doubt we'll hear that after recording these Elvis songs at the last Sun recording session in 1963, Jerry Lee took out some paraffin/kerosene, sprinkled it all over the studio piano, set light to it, and walked out of the studio saying to Sam Phillips: 'Let that son-of-a-bitch Elvis follow that!'

[Andrew McRae]

BLUE MOON OF KENTUCKY
"....Jerry recorded this Monroe tune for the Elvis LP too, but not in the
original hillbilly Elvis sound. Jerry does the song in a more pop style and
the solo guitar is very fine."

Curiously, this title did once appear on a JLL Sun album....it features on the first edition of Sun 145 "Roots", issued in 1982... on later, more widely available pressings it was replaced with "Drinkin' Wine Spo-dee-o-dee"

Andrew

[Andrew McRae]

Songs like "Hard Headed Woman", ....Mule Skinner Blues" were all reported from different sources as recorded - they never were

The scene; Mid Tennessee, circa 1965. Two music bods share some relatively recent memories of recording sessions with Jerry Lee Lewis

1st muso: "Sure, he was really cooking that day - when was it, let me see, the early fall of '63, over at Sam Phillips' studio.."

2nd muso: "Really, so what did he cut?"

1st muso: "Oh, I don't remember the exact titles; there was one storming rocker, all about Adam being messed around by Eve, and Samson and Delilah; it really sped along"

2nd muso: "Wow, sounds like 'Hard Headed Woman', the old Elvis hit".

1st muso: "Heck, I dunno, could be. Then, you know, a few months later, early '64 there was another session, he really rocked it up, can't remember the name of one song, but there was something in it about a mule, I recall".

2nd muso; "Really; he's always been big on Jimmie Rodgers, sounds like he cut 'Mule Skinner Blues', then"

1st muso "Sure, I dunno. This stuff hasn't been released but it's definitely in the can".

A day or two later, the 2nd guy tells a third muso that he's heard that Jerry Lee cut "Hard Headed Woman" and "Mule Skinner Blues" for Sam Phillips.

Nothing the 1st muso said is untrue. It happened.

Fast forward to late 1967. Smash Records issue "Soul My Way".

Think about it.... better still, go listen to it! (And concentrate on "He Took It Like A Man" and "I Betcha Gonna Like It"!)

Andrew