Jerry Lee's Greatest

Background

Although Lewis recorded with Sun Records from 1956 to 1963 - far longer than Elvis Presley or Johnny Cash - only two LPs were ever issued on Sun under Jerry Lee's name, the second being Jerry Lee's Greatest in 1962. Part of the reason for the lack of material was no doubt producer Sam Phillips's waning enthusiasm in the wake of Lewis's scandalous marriage to his 13-year-old cousin Myra, which erupted on a tour of Britain in 1958, derailing the star's career. In his authorized 2014 biography Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story, Rick Bragg quotes Phillips as he explained his reasoning to Sun researcher Martin Hawkins: "I was always very cautious about putting out a lot of product on my artists just to ensure a certain amount of income...You only have to look at some of the crap they put out on Elvis Presley, just because he was in a picture show or something...When Jerry Lee took a beating from the press it would have been stupid to try and cram product down people's throats. Believe me, just before that happened, Jerry was the hottest thing in America." Jerry Lee's Greatest includes mostly later cuts from Lewis's run at Sun, with AllMusic's Cub Koda suggesting that, "While tracks like "Let's Talk About Us," "What'd I Say," and "As Long as I Live" have their own charm, this set simply isn't the place to start a Jerry Lee collection..." The album includes Lewis's biggest hit, "Great Balls of Fire," which had been left off of his debut LP.

Track listing

1. "Money" (Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy, Jr.) - 2:30
2. "As Long As I Live" (Dorsey Burnette) - 2:25
3. "Hillbilly Fever" (George Vaughn) - 2:05^†
4. "Frankie and Johnny" (Traditional) - 2:30
5. "Home" (Roger Miller) - 1:58
6. "Hello, Hello Baby" (Traditional) - 3:20

7. "Let's Talk About Us" (Otis Blackwell) - 2:05
8. "What'd I Say" (Ray Charles) - 2:25
9. "Break Up" (Charlie Rich) - 2:36
10. "Great Balls of Fire" (Otis Blackwell, Jack Hammer) - 1:50
11. "Cold, Cold Heart" (Hank Williams) - 3:02
12. "Hello Josephine" (Fats Domino, Dave Bartholomew) - 1:41

^† Mislabeled as "Country Music is Here to Stay" (Ferlin Husky) on the original LP.