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Jerry Lee Lewis: Greatest Live Performances of the 50s, 60s and 70s
Jerry Lee Lewis Greatest Live Performances of the 50s 60s and 70s
Actor: Jerry Lee Lewis
Genres: Music Video & Concerts
NR     2007     1hr 11min

Time Life is proud to offer the first-ever career-spanning collection of 19 unforgettable live performances from the '50s through the '70s by Jerry Lee Lewis. This includes his greatest hits such as, "Breathless," "Grea...  more »

     
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Movie Details

Actor: Jerry Lee Lewis
Genres: Music Video & Concerts
Sub-Genres: Pop, Rock & Roll
Studio: Time Life Records
Format: DVD - Color
DVD Release Date: 05/22/2007
Original Release Date: 05/22/2007
Release Year: 2007
Run Time: 1hr 11min
Screens: Color
Number of Discs: 1
SwapaDVD Credits: 1
Total Copies: 0
Members Wishing: 5
MPAA Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Languages: English

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Movie Reviews

THE MEMPHIS SKYROCKET IN HIS PRIME
Franz Douskey | Nesbit, Mississippi | 06/08/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"Great overview of thirty years of Jerry Lee Lewis' career. Of all the ten rock 'n' roll pioneers, only Chuck Berry and Lewis kept the fire going. This DVD is divided into three decades. We get Jerry on the Steve Allen Show tearing up "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," but the follow up of "Great Balls of Fire" on the Steve Allen Show isn't here. The next two cuts, "You Win Again" and "Great Balls of Fire" are not live, but lip-synched on the great Dewey Phillips Pop Show TV Show. Any glimpse of Dewey Phillips is worth the trip. Before Imus, before Wolfman Jack, there was Dewey Phillips playing black artists in the early fifties in the segregated deep south.


The final cut from the 1950's is from Dick Clark's first Saturday night Bandstand Show. Jerry Lee cuts through "Breathless." The teenyboppers in the audience are more focused in trying to clap in time. It's quite a struggle for them, poor dears.


The 1960's segment is live and primitive. Jerry Lee back in England a few years after he was booted out. He is more gutsy and gritty and frenetic on this Granada Concert Special than at any other time in his career. The crowd is really into it, to the point of grabbing Jerry Lee and holding on while Jerry Lee Lewis is wailing and tearing up the piano. Some music critics believe that Jerry Lee Lewis' frantic, inciting performances in England and Germany in the early 1960's were the genesis of Punk Music. Let's face it, no one was performing with equal fervor at the time. Elvis had been neutralized, Chuck Berry was doing time, and Little Richard couldn't decide if he was gay or straight, or whether he should continue the evil path of the Devil's music or become a minister. Eventually, Little Richard became a panelist on Hollywood Squares. So, Jerry Lee Lewis was the only rock 'n'roll pioneer who lived what he believed, and paid the heavy price. In case you've forgotten why preachers preached against his music, why radio stations literally banned his records, and why Dick Clark went into hiding when the road got rough, watch the 1960's segment of this DVD. Clear evidence that Jerry Lee Lewis has the devil in him and he has to come out.


The 1970's finds Jerry Lee more sedate, singing his substantial country hits live on Ralph Emery's Pop Goes The Country. There is even a duet with his double first cousin, Mickey Gilley, who Jerry leaves in the musical dust.


As a bonus, there is a chopped up interview from 1993. Time-Life should have just kept the interview intact. But since it is a "bonus," no points lost, but Colin Escott usually has higher standards.


If Ken Burns ever wakes up and does a series on the History of Rock 'n' Roll, he would have to use much of what is on this DVD. But you don't have to wait for Ken Burns to wake up. You can see it now!"
FERIDAY GREATNESS
BILLYBOBUK | PLANO,TX | 05/31/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"THIS TIME LIFE RELEASE IS GREAT.INCLUDES FULL PERFORMANCES FROM:
THE STEVE ALLEN SHOW 1957
DEWEY PHILLIPS POP SHOW 1957
THE 1964 GRANADA UK SHOW-COMPLETE PERFORMANCE,CHAOTIC,BUT PURE JOY,
POP GOES THE COUNTRY-70'S PERFORMANCES FROM THE RALPH EMERY SHOW,INCLUDING A GREAT SESSION WITH COUSIN MICKEY GILLEY.
BONUS INCLUDES AN INTERVIEW WITH JERRY FROM THE SUN STUDIO IN MEMPHIS,AND THE TRAILER FOR "HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL"
THIS RELEASE IS WHAT FANS HAVE BEEN DREAMING OF,COMPLETE PERFORMANCES,GOOD SOUND.
THE MUSIC ARCHIVES ARE FULL OF GREAT STUFF,THE ONLY WAY WE CAN GET IT OUT IS TO SUPPORT RELEASES LIKE THIS---THANK YOU TIME LIFE-MORE PLEASE."
Essential
K. E. Holton | 06/12/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ok this is a great DVD with some great performances and a interview from Jerry Lee in 1993 at Sun records.Plenty of highlights best for me is Lewis boogie in the section with Jerry Lee's cousin Mickey Gilley who was a country superstar at the time.It is interesting to see the different years including the first Steve Allen performance of Whole lotta shakin'.The quality is as good as you can get from I guess the sources they used with some Jerry Lee fan's on forums saying they could have used the master of the 1964 Granada show.If you want to see a discussion on that there is one on the new Jerry Lee Lewis forum.I can't put a link here but if you go to Wikipedia Jerry Lee Lewis page there is a link there.You can see some screenshots of this DVD taken from my pc on that forum.I would have given this 5 out of 5 but although it is interesting to see the Duey Phillips show it is lip synched (one of the few times JLL has done that) so I would have preferred to see another late sixties performance instead.I would recommend this DVD as it is great to see one of the greatest performers in action especially if you have not been able to see his first performance on tv or just like to see the Killer at work!
IAN"
A long overdue DVD for fans of The Killer!
Cory B. | Arizona | 08/12/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is the DVD that diehard Jerry Lee Lewis fans have been waiting many years for! Lewis will go down in history as one of the most flamboyant live performers in American music and the classic performances here prove that fact strongly. After all these years there are few Lewis DVD's to choose from and very little live footage available of the Killer in his prime. This DVD solves that problem with three different Television appearances from the 50's, a great 1964 appearance on British television, and two appearances from the 70's during Jerry Lee's period as a country music star.

Jerry Lee's historic television debut on the Steve Allen show in 1957 has to rank among the most wild and crazy performances in American television as he tears into "Whole lotta shakin goin on" like a madman! The Killer storms through the song with manic intensity, kicking back the piano bench and shouting the lyrics into the microphone as he pounds the piano keys with fury. This performance makes other 50's rockers like Elvis and Chuck Berry look tame in comparison. You can only imagine the horrified reaction of parents as they watched this performance in their living rooms in 1957!

Jerry Lee's performance of "Breathless" on the Dick Clark show is another example of Lewis at his flamboyant best, but I agree the only real disappointment in the DVD is the segment from the Dewey Phillips show where "You win Again" and "Great Balls of Fire" are the original Sun recordings overdubbed and not Jerry Lee singing live.

Next we have a priceless, sensational British television performance from 1964 that is even more outrageous than the TV appearances from the 50's. This is possibly the greatest footage we will ever see of a young Jerry Lee Lewis tearing it up in his absolute prime. The Killer is UNLEASHED in all his wild, flamboyant glory as he rocks his way through a set of six tunes before an audience of fired up British teenagers who are gathered around the piano in a wild frenzy! The final explosive performance of "Whole lotta shakin" has the crowd of teens going crazy with excitement as Jerry Lee stands on top of the piano and tears the place apart!! This footage is a must-see for any lover of classic rock n' roll and is worth the price of the DVD alone. It is a mystery why this great performance was left unissued to the public for over 40 years, but any serious Jerry Lee Lewis fan will treasure it.

At the time this performance was taped in March of 64, Jerry Lee was sadly boycotted from every radio and television station in America as "Beatlemania" was taking over the country. It is fascinating to see Jerry Lee having the exact same effect on a teenaged audience in England that the Beatles were having here in America. Jerry Lee proves without a doubt in this performance that nobody was rocking harder or better in 1964 than the Killer. Beatlemania might have been taking America by storm, but "KILLERMANIA" was definitely alive and well over in England!

The next two television appearances from Ralph Emery's show are much more tame and laid back. Jerry Lee had left the rock n' roll world to become a successful country star in the late 60's and 70's and he performs the great tunes "Who's gonna play this old piano" and Kris Kristofferson's classic song "Me and Bobby McGee". We also get some nice footage of Jerry Lee and his piano playing cousin Mickey Gilley who was also a popular country star at the time. Ralph Emery gives them a brief interview and lets them cut loose on a medley of old tunes including Jerry Lee's great rocker "Lewis Boogie". The Killer's influence on his cousin can be clearly seen here as Gilley sounds a lot like Jerry Lee in both his singing and piano playing.

As a bonus feature we get a rare and excellent interview with Jerry Lee from 1993 where he talks about his early years, moments with Elvis, and more. If you are a long-time Lewis fan or a younger fan like myself who wants to explore the legendary pioneers of rock n' roll, this fine DVD belongs in your collection."