Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls Of Fire! (1957) 4K

Jerry Lee Lewis - Great Balls Of Fire! (1957) 4K

Jerry Lee Lewis performing "Great Balls of Fire!", released originally in 1957.

It reached #1 in US Billboard Hot Country Singles, #1 in UK Singles Chart, #2 in US Billboard Hot 100, and #8 in New Zealand Charts.

Otis Blackwell, a prolific songwriter who wrote many hits for Elvis Presley, wrote this song with Jack Hammer, who at one point was a member of The Platters. Blackwell died in 2002 at age 70.

The song became Lewis' signature tune, a perfect fit for his incendiary style. "A person tells at least a little bit about himself in any song he cuts," Lewis said years later. Lewis grew up in a religious household and was conflicted over whether or not he should record this. He and Sun Records owner Sam Phillips argued as Phillips tried to convince him to sing it.

This was released in England the same month that Lewis married 13-year-old Myra Gale Brown, who was the daughter of his cousin (and bass player) J.W. Brown. At the time, Lewis was headlining shows with Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry, but when the UK press found out, public outrage forced Lewis to leave the country. Back in the States, his career faltered as radio stations refused to play his records and stores refused to sell them.

One of the many rock stars this influenced was Eric Clapton, who said: "I remember the first Rock & Roll I ever saw on TV was Jerry Lee Lewis doing 'Great Balls of Fire.' That threw me - it was like seeing someone from outer space."