Great Balls of Fire
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"Great Balls of Fire" is a 1957 song written by Otis Blackwell and sung by Jerry Lee Lewis. It was released as a 45rpm single on the Sun Records label. The song title is derived from a blasphemous Southern expression that makes light of the Pentecost's defining moment when the Holy Spirit manifested itself as "cloven tongues as of fire" and the Apostles spoke in tongues.
The song was ranked as the 96th greatest song ever by Rolling Stone Magazine.
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[edit] Movie
In 1989, a motion picture of the same name detailed part of the life of Jerry Lee Lewis. It starred Dennis Quaid and Winona Ryder.
The film depicts the part of his life where he became a teen idol, to the point where many thought he would supplant Elvis Presley as the "king of rock and roll". It also shows episodes of the singer's life where he had to battle alcohol addiction, and where he romanced his 13 year old cousin. The movie takes viewers through a part where Lewis and his under-aged cousin went to Mississippi and married secretly, then had her father make threats against him, and the general public turn their backs on the singer once a British reporter (Peter Cook) discovered he was married to his teen-aged cousin, upon the couple's arrival in London.
The movie ends after Lewis learns he is about to become a father, as his wife and cousin tells him she has become pregnant.
One of the film's most famous aspects is its closing text card, reading: "Jerry Lee Lewis is playing his heart out somewhere in America tonight."
The film was, for the most part, considered disappointing, to the point where some cast and crew members (including a younger T-Bone Burnett) had their names removed from the project. Despite its poor reviews, Quaid received much acclaim for his performance.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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[edit] Covers
- Dolly Parton also recorded a version in 1979.
[edit] Great Balls of Fire (ELO version)
| "Great Balls of Fire" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Song by Electric Light Orchestra | ||
| from the album The Night the Light Went on (in Long Beach) | ||
| Recorded | 1974 | |
| Genre | Rock and Roll | |
| Length | 3:06 | |
| Label | Warner Bros | |
| Writer(s) | Otis Blackwell | |
| Producer(s) | Jeff Lynne | |
| The Night the Light Went on (in Long Beach) track listing | ||
| "In the Hall of the Mountain King" (6) (a) |
"Great Balls of Fire" (6) (b) |
"Roll Over Beethoven" (7) |
| Flashback track listing | ||
| "Four Little Diamonds" (14) |
"Great Balls of Fire" (15) |
"Xanadu (new version)" (16) |
In 1974 Rock band Electric Light Orchestra covered "Great Balls of Fire" on their "Long Beach" live album. This version was relatively unheard of, even by fans of the group owing to the difficulty of obtaining the album until Jeff Lynne remastered the track and included it on the career defining box set Flashback in 2000.
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