The Killer Plays Boogie Woogie Classics By Meade Lux Lewis

[peterchecksfield]

Presumably this album (supposedly released by Checkmate records in 2007, & reviewed in the latest Fire-Ball Mail) is another "joke"?

I'm getting a little tired of these...

[bailbath]

I think this one was on a Jazz website on April 1st but was mentioned on forums. It's funny what people repeat that becomes a 'fact'.
Ian

[bailbath]

Here is the article - http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=25183

The Killer Plays Boogie Woogie Classics by Meade Lux Lewis
Jerry Lee Lewis | Checkmate (2007)
By Ken Dryden
Discuss

Although Jerry Lee Lewis devoured boogie woogie at the age of ten, he soon incorporated it with gospel and country to develop his own style of rockabilly. But he always admired the giants of boogie woogie, particularly Meade Lux Lewis (who died in a 1964 car crash).

Shortly after this tragedy, Jerry Lee Lewis went into the studio to record a tribute to the fallen giant but omitted a rhythm section entirely, sticking strictly to solo piano. Given the difficulties that Meade Lux Lewis had getting opportunities to record boogie woogie during the last few years of his life, it should come as no surprise that Jerry Lee Lewis was unable to find a label to issue it at the time. This long forgotten session remained in the can until it was finally issued in 2007 by the fledgling Checkmate label.

It will shock listeners, who think of the Killer strictly as the hit maker who recorded “Great Balls of Fire” and “Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On,” as he demonstrates tremendous chops playing the late pianist's compositions, including powerful romps through up-tempo interpretations of “Randini's Boogie,” “Bear Trap Stomp” and even the intricate “Hammer Chatter.” But Lewis also shows a subtle side interpreting the likes of “Yancey Special” and “Boogie Tidal.” He even gamely attempts “Blues Whistle,” though he obviously isn't as accomplished a whistler as Meade Lux.

Jerry Lee Lewis definitely shares one common tendency with Meade Lux Lewis: like the composer in later years, his rendition of the hit “Honky Tonk Train Blues” is played too fast, blurring the details of this timeless piece, though it does make for a show-stopping finish.


Just in case someone wants to believe this - Personnel: Jerry Lee Lewis: piano; George Jones: liner notes. Published: April 01, 2007

Here's another one Ken Drysden has done -


The Lost Piano Session
Hermann Goring | Zyankali (2008)
By Ken Dryden
Discuss (1)

Although Hermann Göring was Adolph Hitler's second in command in Nazi Germany, the commander of the Luftwaffe and a World War I ace, it was easy to dismiss the dumpy, pompous leader with numerous rows of medals on his chest as a drug-addicted, overconfident fool. Göring was greatly surprised when he drove himself to surrender to Allied troops at the end of the war, thinking he would be treated as a prisoner of war and not realizing he was sought as a war criminal.

Göring was a known lover of opera but, like more than a few Nazi officers, he had a secret passion for jazz, even though the American Negro was hardly considered to be worthy of comparison to the so-called Aryan “master race.” Studying a bit of piano with a captured American airman who later died of tuberculosis, the Field Marshal entered a studio to record a few songs for his own amusement on reel-to-reel tape (already in use in Germany during the 1940s), which he intended to give to friends. But when the tide of the war turned against Germany, the project was set aside, never to be fully realized.

The music fell into Allied hands when the ruins of Göring's home were searched by Allied soldiers, one of whom brought back the tape. Frankly, these performances are amateurish by any standard, as Göring's sense of rhythm is erratic and he hits more than his share of clams as he tries to play various show tunes and swing favorites, which include “Ain't Misbehavin,'” “I'm Beginning to See the Light” and “I Surrender Dear.” Fortunately, he rarely plays more than two or three choruses. Why anyone would want to release this music is beyond me, other than as a historical curiosity. The one untitled original was whimsically named “Spandau Blues” by the CD's producer, even though it was recorded prior to Göring's surrender.



Track listing: Begin the Beguine; Ain't Misbehavin'; Stormy Weather; I Gotta Right to Sing the Blues; I'm Just Wild About Harry; I'm Beginning to See the Light; I Surrender Dear; Spandau Blues.

Personnel: Hermann Göring: piano.

[martin bates]

I think this one was on a Jazz website on April 1st but was mentioned on forums. It's funny what people repeat that becomes a 'fact'.
Ian

thanks for clearing that up, - I was curious on reading it in FBM !!!

Martin.

[Andrew McRae]

Yes, but notwithstanding all the bullshit and April Fools jokes, at last we do know for an absolute, guaranteed fact that Jerry Lee DID record an album of jazz/swing vocal numbers with the Billy May Orchestra in Los Angeles in late 1963, Bones Howe producing it. The album was, of course, dedicated to Myra.

Some newcomers to this Forum might not be aware of this rare Jerry Lee album, so it's worth another mention. And it's always good to have an excuse to feature a photograph of the album sleeve!




Andrew

[Tony Papard]

Yes, but notwithstanding all the bullshit and April Fools jokes, at last we do know for an absolute, guaranteed fact that Jerry Lee DID record an album of jazz/swing vocal numbers with the Billy May Orchestra in Los Angeles in late 1963, Bones Howe producing it. The album was, of course, dedicated to Myra.

Some newcomers to this Forum might not be aware of this rare Jerry Lee album, so it's worth another mention. And it's always good to have an excuse to feature a photograph of the album sleeve!




Andrew

Aw shucks! Nice try Andrew. The wink and the absence of Jerry Lee's photo on the sleeve are, however, a bit of a give away.

Nice editing of the fake album cover though.

[Andrew McRae]

Tony! I am aghast! Are you doubting my word? There is no photographic trickery involved here, and every word I have written is absolutely true!!

Peter Checksfield, who knows more than anyone on this subject, will confirm the veracity of my previous post.

Andrew

[peterchecksfield]

Tony! I am aghast! Are you doubting my word? There is no photographic trickery involved here, and every word I have written is absolutely true!!

Peter Checksfield, who knows more than anyone on this subject, will confirm the veracity of my previous post.

Andrew

I swear on my mother's life that this is a 100% genuine album & that it really IS Jerry Lee!!!

[jayhawks]

Tony! I am aghast! Are you doubting my word? There is no photographic trickery involved here, and every word I have written is absolutely true!!

Peter Checksfield, who knows more than anyone on this subject, will confirm the veracity of my previous post.

Andrew

I swear on my mother's life that this is a 100% genuine album & that it really IS Jerry Lee!!!